some key goals in West Ham's following fixtures, including two goals in the FA Cup quarter-final against Manchester City, which was vital in continuing the team's inspiring FA Cup run in 2006. In West Ham's semi-final against Middlesbrough, Ashton broke Middlesbrough goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer's cheekbone. He caught Schwarzer with his elbow in an aerial challenge in the first half. This incident did not go well with the Middlesbrough fans, who booed Ashton for the remaining time he was on the field. Ashton however, made an apology to Schwarzer and to 'Boro fans and said that it was accidental and that no malice was intended. To cap off a pivotal season in Ashton's career, he scored a goal and was a thorn in the usually solid Liverpool defence in the 2006 FA Cup Final, which eventually ended (after a 3–3 draw) in a 3–1 penalty shootout victory for the Merseysiders. Ashton had been a doubt in the build-up to the match after picking up a hamstring injury in the Premier League match versus West Bromwich Albion. However, despite not participating in any intensive training before the final, Ashton declared himself fit, and duly produced one of the most impressive displays in his short time at West Ham. Despite not managing to secure a place in Sven-Göran Eriksson's England squad for the 2006 World Cup, Ashton impressed sufficiently to draw praise from football pundit Alan Hansen. and then West Ham manager, Alan Pardew. He scored 6 goals in 16 appearances in his first half-season with the club. During the summer of 2006, Ashton was linked with moves away from Upton Park, one club that was mentioned the most was Newcastle United. However, Alan Pardew claimed Ashton would be "going nowhere". Ashton suffered a broken ankle while on England duty in August 2006, which meant that he was forced eventually to miss the whole of the 2006–07 season. In his absence, West Ham were fighting relegation for virtually the whole season, which led to speculation that Ashton would leave if the club was relegated. Eggert Magnússon, the club's chairman, stated in March 2007 that Ashton would not be allowed to leave until the following January at the earliest if the club were to go down. In the event, the club avoided relegation on the final day of the 2006–07 season. Ashton returned to the West Ham team on 14 July 2007 in a