Preston North End’s FA Cup journey ended at the quarter-final stage as Aston Villa’s second-half quality proved decisive in a 3-0 win at Deepdale.
After holding their Premier League visitors to a goalless first half, North End were broken open by Marcus Rashford’s double within five minutes. The forward tapped in from Lucas Digne’s low cross on 58 minutes, before converting a penalty shortly after following a foul on Morgan Rogers by Andrew Hughes.
Jacob Ramsey added a third with 19 minutes remaining, again assisted by Digne, to send Villa into the semi-finals of the competition for the first time in a decade.
Deepdale pride despite the scoreline
In front of their biggest Deepdale attendance since 1971, Preston competed gamely and matched Villa in the opening 45 minutes. While Unai Emery’s side enjoyed more of the ball, Ryan Lowe’s men stayed compact and frustrated the visitors, showing strong organisation and commitment in their defensive shape.
Preston were without first-choice goalkeeper Freddie Woodman through injury, while Kaine Kesler-Hayden was unavailable to face his parent club. David Cornell deputised and made key interventions, including one to deny Rashford from close range early in the second half.
North End’s clearest chance came before Villa’s opener, when Robbie Brady’s deflected shot looped toward Stefan Thordarson, but the midfielder’s header went wide with Will Keane poised to pounce.
The game turned when Digne found space down the left to tee up Rashford for the opener. Soon after, Hughes’ foul on Rogers saw Villa awarded a penalty, with Rashford calmly sending Cornell the wrong way. Ramsey’s powerful finish from the edge of the area completed the scoring, with Digne notching his second assist of the afternoon.
Despite the scoreline, Preston were applauded off the pitch, having reached the last eight of the competition for the first time since 2004. Their route to the quarter-finals included wins over Huddersfield, Chelsea and Ipswich.
Writer’s view
This was a valiant effort from Preston against a side flying high in the Premier League and heading into the Champions League quarter-finals. For 55 minutes, they more than held their own and showed the resilience and structure that have defined their better performances this season. Villa’s technical edge and squad depth eventually told, but the hosts can take credit for how far they’ve come in the competition — and the atmosphere at Deepdale reflected that. With the focus now back on the league, Preston will hope to carry that spirit into the final weeks of the Championship season.
