Aston Villa 0-1 Stoke City: Sam Vokes knocks out last season's finalists

Sam Vokes scores for Stoke against Aston VillaGetty Images

Sam Vokes has scored four goals in his past five appearances in the EFL Cup

Championship side Stoke will host Tottenham in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup after beating last season's finalists Aston Villa in the fourth round.

Sam Vokes scored the game's only goal in the first half - the veteran striker heading home following a corner.

A much-changed Villa, beaten by Manchester City in the 2019-20 final, struggled for clear cut chances.

Anwar El Ghazi went closest but shot straight at goalkeeper Adam Davies.

Stoke, who beat Wolves - another top-flight outfit - in the second round, were good value for their win as they continued their positive start to the season.

The Potters have lost just once in seven games in all competitions, winning four of their past five.

Vokes caused the Villa defence plenty of problems with his physicality, missing the chance to get his second of the game when he headed wide in the second half.

Substitute Ollie Watkins had a shot pushed over by Stoke keeper Davies as Villa tried to find an equaliser in the closing stages but the visitors defended well to secure their place in the last eight.

'A massive missed opportunity' - what they said

Aston Villa boss Dean Smith: "It's a massive missed opportunity and I said that to the players. I don't often get into them at half-time but I did today because we were that poor in the first half.

"With the tempo we played at it was a lacklustre first half and an awful performance. The first-half performance was way below the standards.

"We got rewarded (at Bristol City) last week and rightly so. What I expected was a similar performance but we were too lacklustre and made too many mistakes on the ball."

Stoke manager Michael O'Neill said: "It was a really good performance, I'm delighted. We handled the game really well.

"It gives us a bit of confidence going into Sunday's game (against Birmingham)

"It's a nice situation to be in, we haven't got a lot to lose but they managed it really well. The cup has been a very worthwhile competition for us because we have a big squad and we can utilise it."

A rare blank for Villa - the stats

  • Stoke have won each of their past three EFL Cup ties against sides from a higher division - their best such run in the competition.

  • Aston Villa failed to score for the first time in 10 EFL Cup matches, this after having scored 26 goals across their previous nine fixtures beforehand.

  • Having scored just one goal in his first 16 EFL Cup games, Vokes has since scored four goals in his five appearances in the competition for Stoke City.

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