Marcus Rashford scored his first goals for Aston Villa as the Premier League side broke a spirited Preston North End’s resistance with a 3-0 win in their quarter-final at Deepdale.
The Championship side did well to hold Unai Emery’s side to a goalless first half on Sunday before Villa finally found their range with the on-loan Manchester United forward converting Lucas Digne’s pass on 58 minutes.
He added an assured second from the penalty spot five minutes later after Andrew Hughes had felled Morgan Rogers.
With Preston clearly wilting in their first FA Cup quarter-final appearance in 60 years, the excellent Jacob Ramsey drove at the home defence before smashing the finish into the net for the killer third on 71 minutes.
It keeps Villa in the frame for lifting a first major trophy since the League Cup in 1996 when Brian Little’s side defeated Leeds United 3-0 at the old Wembley.
The draw for the semi-finals handed Villa a Wembley date with Crystal Palace on the weekend of April 26/27 with Nottingham Forest paired with the winner of Bournemouth or Manchester City.