Rashford is off mark for Villa as they book semi place

MARCUS Rashford scored his first two goals for Aston Villa as they reached the FA Cup semi-finals with a 3-0 win away against Preston North End yesterday.

- 

The on-loan Manchester United forward struck twice in the space of five minutes either side of the hour as Villa finally broke the resistance of their stubborn Championship hosts at Deepdale.

Jacob Ramsey added a fine third soon after as Villa rubber-stamped their first appearance in the last four of the competition since reaching the final 10 years ago.

In next month's semi-final at Wembley, Villa will face Crystal Palace, who beat Fulham 3-0 at Craven Cottage in Saturday's quarter-final It was Rashford who claimed the headlines, continuing his recent renaissance after falling out of favour at Old Trafford.

The 27-year-old operated as centre-forward for most of a game Champions League quarter-finalists Villa dominated, although Preston forced them to bide their time.

The occasion was a rare one for North End, being their first quarterfinal appearance since 1966.