Tottenham 2 Aston Villa 0: WATCH HIGHLIGHTS – Spurs breeze past poor Aston Villa to get to FA Cup 4th round thanks to Ben Davies and Son goals

SPURS breezed past a poor Aston Villa in a drab FA Cup third round clash at White Hart Lane thanks to goals from Ben Davies and Son.

The first half was a dull affair, as both sides struggled to find any consistency in the opening stages.

It took either side 28 minutes to record the first shot on target and it was Villa who mustered it, a weak effort from Leandro Bacuna.

The second half started slowly much like the first, and it took until the 70th minute for the opener, provided by left-back Ben Davies, who glanced home a low cross.

And ten minutes later, it got even better for the home side when Son swept home Moussa Sissoko's pull back in the centre of the penalty box.

FACTS, STATS, GOALS & LOLS

• STEVE BRUCE has lost so much weight in recent months that he is barely recognisable these days. Perhaps he could get striker Gabby Agbonlahor on the same diet.
• HIP HOP producer Mike Dean thought he was famous for his work with Kanye West until he started getting Twitter abuse from West Ham fans this week. Maybe he should launch a remix of Can’t Tell Me Nothing in honour of football’s most arrogant official.
• SPURS made nine changes to the team which ended Chelsea’s winning run on Wednesday night. Eric Dier and Toby Alderweireld were the only survivors from Tottenham’s Blues beaters.

• VILLA would have been particularly pleased to see that Harry Kane didn’t even make the subs’ bench for Spurs. The England striker had scored four goals in his previous four games against them.
• ALL the noise at White Hart Lane was coming from the visiting Villa fans, who were quick to remind Spurs of their early Champions League exit with chants of: “Champions of Europe, you’ll never sing that.”
• IS it really only 15 months since England were desperately trying to get Jack Grealish to turn his back on the Republic of Ireland and play for Roy Hodgson’s team? “It’s a funny old game,” as one former Spurs favourite would say.

• MAURICIO POCHETTINO is not a man who usually likes to draw attention to himself in the technical area so we can only assume that he borrowed the fluorescent yellow and turquoise boots he was wearing today.
• WE hope that Spurs kept the receipt when they paid £17million for Vincent Janssen last summer. There are better strikers on the London Underground.
• EASTENDERS ‘star’ Ted Reilly was the half-time guest at White Hart Lane. The reception he received from the crowd was best described as ‘underwhelming’.

• IT is a sign of just how far Spurs have come in recent years that Alan Hutton was once their first choice right-back. The Villa defender has not improved since leaving North London in 2011.
• IT was not surprising that the pressure of Spurs finally told in the final 20 minutes thanks to Ben Davies and Son. They never looked troubled even when Villa had the upper hand and it was only a matter of time.

BIG PICTURE

SOCIAL SAYS

DREAM TEAM RATINGS

SPURS: Vorm 6, Wimmer 6, Alderweireld 6 (Nkoudou 6), Carter-Vickers 8, Trippier 7, Dier 7, Winks 7, Davies 7, Sissoko 8 (Onomah 6), Son 7, Janssen (Alli 6)

SUBS: Lopez, Vertonghen, Wanyama, Walker-Peters

GOALS: Ben Davies, Son

STAR MAN: Cameron Carter-Vickers, 8

THEY SAID

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino: "It's always difficult in the FA Cup, but we played a team that had very good organisation and it was tough to break them. We had lots of possession but a lot patience to try and build from the back.

"I was very pleased in the end, it’s never easy to win in the FA Cup. It was a good opportunity for many players to show their quality."

Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce: “We had to defend well and run a million miles because they are a very good side. We had a big chance in the game.

"I was a touch disappointed with the goal because they didn’t have to do much, one cross into the box and we didn’t deal with it.