Unai Emery hailed Aston Villa's mentality as they held firm against Tottenham to book their place in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday.

A dominant first-half performance from the visitors at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was rewarded with goals from Emiliano Buendia and Morgan Rogers.

However, Spurs fought back, halving the deficit through Wilson Odobert, though they could not find a second goal, with Randal Kolo Muani and Xavi Simons both having goals disallowed.

Villa are the first side to eliminate Spurs from the FA Cup in back-to-back seasons since Manchester United did so in 2007-08 and 2008-09 (both in the fourth round).

The victory means that Emery's side continue to fight on three fronts for trophies this term, and the Spaniard was thrilled with how his side adapted to losing some of their control in the second half.

"The first 45 minutes, we controlled the game like we planned," Emery told BBC Match of the Day.

"We created chances, we scored two goals, we dominated, and we defended very well. The second half, Spurs started pushing more, they scored a goal.

"Progressively in the second half, we were feeling better on the field. Again, good positioning and dominating with the ball. Not creating big chances but getting the control of the game like we planned and how we did in the first half.

"Of course, in 90 minutes overall, I think we deserved to get this win, and of course, how the players responded on the field showed the mentality we're building is really fantastic."

Buendia was involved in both Villa goals and netted for the first time in the FA Cup. He is now on six goals for the season in all competitions, his best return in a single campaign for the club.

As for Rogers, he has been directly involved in more goals against Spurs in all competitions than he has against any other opponent in his professional career (six – four goals, two assists), scoring in all three of his appearances at this venue.

Emery was particularly impressed by the pair and felt Buendia's versatility in particular was key.

"Both players were fantastic and played 90 minutes. Of course, the qualities and the skills of Buendia are really helping us a lot," he added.

"And playing 90 minutes, with his versatile position, playing in a left side and inside as a 10, we did both during the match. In each position, he's performing very well and his commitment to help, get his task done and focus, overall, is really fantastic.

"Especially the performance of Morgan [Rogers] and Buendia was really fantastic, and each one can feel comfortable playing with their qualities."