Aston Villa beat Wycombe Wanderers 2-0 in their FA Cup third-round replay on Tuesday evening, setting up a tie against Premier League giants Manchester City in the next round.
Despite Remi Garde fielding a strong side, it did take a while for the Villans to break through, with Ciaran Clark opening the scoring 15 minutes from time. That goal eased fears, and Idrissa Gueye finished things off in the final few minutes.
Little to speak of in the first half
Villa Park was nowhere near full, with a crowd of just 20,000 piling in for the action. They weren't treated to a classic from the start, with Jordan Ayew going close on a couple of occasions. Playing in tandem with Rudy Gestede and Scott Sinclair, Ayew struck one into the side netting, before sending another effort into the goalkeeper's hands.
Wycombe weren't letting the hosts have it all their own way though, and Michael Harriman struck over the crossbar, before Brad Guzan was forced into an excellent save. Playing in the replay offered an indication that Mark Bunn is now Garde's number one 'keeper for the league, but Guzan reminded the Frenchman of his qualities by pushing Sam Wood's shot wide.
Wood's strike was the closest that either side went in what proved to be quite a mundane first half, leaving the home fans restless and in need of some goals to warm them up.
Second half goals see Villa through
They did eventually get those long awaited goals, but it did take some more toiling, with Ayew missing another decent chance and Scott Sinclair getting little reward for his constant running.
Despite all their attacking players on the pitch, it was a defender who opened the scoring, as Ciaran Clark made it 1-0. With Wycombe failing to clear from a flurry of balls into the box, the Irish centre-back eventually met Ashley Westwood's cross, sending a powerful header into the corner.
Idrissa Gueye was the man who doubled their lead moments into stoppage time, thanks to good work from Rudy Gestede. With the ball bouncing around in the area, the target man brought it down and tee'd up Gueye, who curled the ball into the bottom right-hand corner, ensuring that Villa made it four games unbeaten.
Manchester City await in the next round
They haven't much time to turn their attentions away from the FA Cup, with only one game between now and their fourth round tie against Manuel Pellegrini's City.
That game is against West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League on Saturday, away from home in what will surely prove to be a tough test against the Baggies. Despite their good form, Villa are still 10 points away from safety, and must surely beat their rivals to stay in with a slim chance of avoiding relegation.
Following that comes the trip to City, and the fans will be praying that the Citizens field a weakened team if Garde's men are to get past them and into the fifth round.