Analysis: FA Cup capitulation leaves Aston Villa treading Europa League tightrope
If Villa are to end their 30-year trophy drought this season, it will almost certainly have to be in the Europa League.
Barring an increasingly likely turn of events in the Premier League title race, it is the only route to silverware left open to Unai Emery’s team after an FA Cup defeat to Newcastle which ranked as their most maddening result of the campaign.
For a fair of the evening it seemed the officials - and to a lesser extent their rather toothless opponents - were trying to gift Villa a passage into the fifth round.
The home side took the lead thanks to a Tammy Abraham goal which should have been flagged offside, saw Lucas Digne escape with only a yellow card for a rash challenge and then watched on with disbelief as the same player avoided conceding a penalty despite handling the ball a good yard or two inside the box.
And yet Villa failed to reap the benefit of those calls due to a decision not even referee Chris Kavanagh and his assistants could get wrong.
Seconds before half-time - and just seconds after a Villa corner - goalkeeper Marco Bizot took out Jacob Murphy 40 yards from goal to leave Emery’s men defending their one-goal lead for the entire second half a man down.
It was a task which proved beyond them, though even then there was frustration at the manner of Newcastle’s comeback.
Emi Martinez’s poor punch from the free-kick which should have been a penalty allowed Sandro Tonali to equalise with the visiting side’s first shot on target of the match.
