At the same time, Aston Villa were visually in complete control of the match as expected, tenaciously defending Stevenage did not concede a single shot on goal for a long time and held the ball almost 80% of the time. But Leandro Dendoncker, who five minutes before the end of regular time, lost the ball cheaply in a scuffle with Dean Campbell and subsequently grounded it from behind in an open goal-scoring opportunity. The Aston Villa defensive all-rounder received a red card for his actions and his side were awarded a penalty which was converted by Jamie Reid.
The 21-year-old Campbell then entered the Stevenage history books for good moments later when a goal, only his second of his professional career, sealed the midget’s progress to the next stage of the competition. “A simple goal. Villa fell asleep defending a corner,” former Aston Villa striker Dion Dublin described the key situation.
Aston Villa have thus confirmed that they are not doing well in FA Cup battles, as they have lost an incredible eighth game in a row. The disappointment was compounded by the fact that the unexpected defeat happened in their own stadium. “I am very sorry for the fans. We are really disappointed, in the end we lost everything we had worked on for the previous 80 minutes,” said coach Unai Emery sadly. Around three thousand Stevenage fans, however, witnessed a breakthrough at Villa Park that will be remembered for a “They’ve had their wildest dreams come true. They must have thought Aston Villa was the end of their journey through the tournament. But it was a well-deserved promotion,” praised the Dublin outsider.
But beware, it is not the first time that the city’s team at the gates of London have surprised the favorites of the top flight in the FA Cup. Exactly twelve years ago, Stevenage faced Newcastle United, whom they beat 3:1.
It’s also a complete shock financially, by the way. According to Transfermarkt.com, the total value of Stevenage’s current squad is €3.9m, with Phillipe Coutinho, one of their current opponent’s players, moving from Liverpool to Barcelona in the summer of 2019 for a price almost 35 times higher. .
