[Archived] The FA Cup.Quarter Final Match Reaction

[philipl]

Great away win for the Rovers players.

Leicester's support totally dominated the Sky coverage I was watching- lots of "###### ground no fans" coming through loud and clear and I doubt the Blackburn End were singing that.

To the game- in truth, Rovers' goal was never really threatened by Leicester- two horrible Neill passes in the first half set up their only chances, both off target. They had one Dublin header and a near post out-numbered scramble in the second half and that was it.

We would have won so comfortably had the balls out of defence been better. I thought Flitcroft was pretty poor and Gamst and Tommo less convincing than against Everton.

The main thing is we are into the Semi-Final. Astonishing stuff after so many years of waiting!

[Flopsy]

to be honnest we should have got a pen when Lucas was dragged back in the box

Or the ref should have let us play on when MGP scored

we're in the semis

lets get to the final

[Flopsy]

Newcastle are 1-0 up

[vindaloobob]

Come draw tomorrow, be booking my tickets and hotel. Anyone from London going ? Loads I'm guessing

i am going to go if i can get a ticket

[1864roverite]

Back in Sunshine laden Leyland with a grin the Cheshire pussy would be proud of.

No pointing beating around the bush. It was a poor spectacal. Leicester came for the money not for the result, to piut all 11 men behind the ball showed their intentions from the off.

Rovers found it difficult to break down and had all of the possession without any product.

Who cares, the game is gone. Rovers won courtesy of a penalty. We are off to Cardiff. We await with trepidation our next opponents.

Please God, if your reading, then Newcastle would do (or Spuds). Please pair those whingeing whining nobsters rfw and arsen whinger together so that they can deflect any build up to the semis with their protracted bickering through the media.

If Rovers can draw either NUFC or Spurs then great.

a semi facing Shearer and Judas ? Now thats a mouthwatering prospect.

Our goal laden hero and faceless manager against the club where they had the greatest success in their current roles.

bring it on

[SAS]

good win , a bit nervy.

were all off to cardiff

[Flopsy]

as we won again today

should I actually go to the semi???

[The1mattjansen]

AWFUL stuff from the rovers fans, sometimes i wish we had a ground that could only hold 20k.

Anyway, the result was right and we'll go on from here...

After all that talk at the start of the season about shearer returning to ewood in the last game of his career, has anyone thought about meeting him in the FA cup final in the last game of his career?

Worth a mention.

[Paul]

Just been checking the Scottish cup semis.....I was surprised to see Rangers aren't playing. Did they get knocked out Bazza or don't you bother with that one?

[Eddie]

Pretty sure they lost to Celtic earlier on

[Paul]

Shame and happening to a big club like them. Gutted for the lad.

[Eddie]

It's fantastic that we're in the semis but I can't help but be concerned about how we've struggled against two frankly mediocre, verging on rubbish, Championship sides.

We seem to lack the poise and passing fluidity which will be essential if we have any hopes of getting to the final. However, with Ferguson gone and Tugay flagging - do we have anyone to prompt a passing game in the middle of the park?

Nonetheless, Hughes deserves praise for getting us this far. I feel sorry for Leicester - what a sickening way to lose.

Going to have to take issue with that. Sickening way to lose? Leicester deserved nothing, zilch, nil from this game. The Leicester defender goes to ground to play the ball in the box and brings down MGP, he gets up tries to step/jump over the defender who brings him down again. This was a nailed on, bang to rights penalty, it's in the rules so they lost. Leicester showed the attacking ambition of a road-kill. They deserved to lose and it would have been a travesty if this had been a draw.

Not a great performance I agree but then the opposition chose to defend with 11 men and play the entire game in their half. This is how you lose games of football. Leicester did not create a single chance, it was 30 minutes before Friedel touched the ball.......and we have to feel sorry for them?

Rovers haven't put in great performances in the cup? I'd argue with that. Against Burnley (twice), Leicester and to a lesser extent Colchester, we were asked to play against teams with only one intention - stop us scoring and hope they can nick one. In each game Rovers did not make mistakes, concentrated hard, took the game to the opposition for 90 minutes and WON. Burnley created four chances in two games, Leicester none at all today - they where there to be beaten.

What else are the team supposed to do? Arsenal, Chelsea, Man Utd etc all struggle to beat teams who are determined not to lose. Look at the game against Chelsea at Ewood, we made them look very, very average as we tried to avoid losing first and foremost.

I'm delighted with the whole team, I feel they are playing for the club and the fans. It's not the greatest football, but it is WINNING football. Given our current squad I'll settle for that.

Would we rather have four wins and a draw out of five or the gutless stuff Souness gave us? You choice, I know who I want to support.

Totally agree with that great post. As I pointed out, had that been one of the big teams they would have been praised for their professionalism of their performance and overcoming a tricky tie, for us, it's that we were crap.

[Blackpool_Rover]

GET IN!

Another day in Cardiff to eat my bank account, not used to cup runs, getting expensive!!!!!!!

Call me crazy but i want arsenal in the draw. Im thinking thats our best chance! Newcastle want this cup too much and are really impressing me in this quarter final so far, imagine nissa against Dyer if he plays like that!

[Bobby G]

United and Arsenal only have the cup to play for and you know they will play all their players so that they dont end the season empty handed.

I cant see us beating United at all.

Arsenal is too iffy,maybe if they stay out of form with some injuries.

Newcastle is our best chance,but they seem to be on form now and I can just see Souness taking them to the final.

Whoever we meet, we are underdogs.

[DanLad]

United and Arsenal only have the cup to play for and you know they will play all their players so that they dont end the season empty handed.

I cant see us beating United at all.

Arsenal is too iffy,maybe if they stay out of form with some injuries.

Newcastle is our best chance,but they seem to be on form now and I can just see Souness taking them to the final.

Whoever we meet, we are underdogs.

Newcastles form is all down to Laurent Robert, IMO.

If he plays well, Newcastle will play well. If not they are very beatable.

[cn_barlow]

Great away win for the Rovers players.

Leicester's support totally dominated the Sky coverage I was watching- lots of "###### ground no fans" coming through loud and clear and I doubt the Blackburn End were singing that.

To the game- in truth, Rovers' goal was never really threatened by Leicester- two horrible Neill passes in the first half set up their only chances, both off target. They had one Dublin header and a near post out-numbered scramble in the second half and that was it.

We would have won so comfortably had the balls out of defence been better. I thought Flitcroft was pretty poor and Gamst and Tommo less convincing than against Everton.

The main thing is we are into the Semi-Final. Astonishing stuff after so many years of waiting!

i thought that they were very, very disappointing considering the numbers they brought. On the other hand we weren't very loud until the goal went in!

Against the big teams in the semi we will undoubtedly raise our game....its the result that matters not the performance!

Cant understand why he didn't start stead though!

[jim mk2]

By Ian Parkes, PA Sport

Leicester boss Craig Levein was “sickened” by the controversial penalty which sent his side crashing out of the FA Cup at the hands of Blackburn.

Referee Neale Barry waited a few moments before awarding the spot-kick as he first glanced across towards his linesman who awarded the ontentious penalty.

Levein, whose Coca-Cola Championship side deserved a replay from what was a dour tie, said: “I am sick.

“If we had lost to a team who had outplayed us and had scored three or four goals then you would say to yourself that you weren’t good enough.

“But the frustrating thing is we were and it is debatable whether Blackburn did enough to win the match. I don’t think they did, but they are through, even though we more than matched them.

“We are disappointed that not just today, but all the hard work in getting to this stage, has been undone by one decision and that’s the sickening part of it.

“I am disappointed by the fact the referee had a decent view of the incident and he didn’t give the penalty. I think if the assistant is going to give a penalty from such an inconclusive situation then he is a very brave man.

“I thought Darren Kenton slid in to try and block the ball, yet the referee is not sure. It’s the linesman who has decided to give the penalty.

“With something like that he has to be 100% certain and I don’t see how he can be. I have watched it three or four times and I don’t think it’s as easy as that, but he seems to think so.

“This is the quarter-final of the FA Cup and had we got a replay and won through to the semi-final then it would have been worth £1 million to £1.5million to us, and that’s a lot of money.”

Blackburn manager Mark Hughes heaped praise on goalscorer Paul Dickov, not only for taking the penalty in the first place but also for battling on with a groin injury which is blighting his season.

“Since he came here Paul has been fantastic,” said Hughes on Dickov, a <AC163>150,000 signing from Leicester last summer. “But he has only been playing at 70% because of the injury he has at the moment.

“Yet he keeps on surprising me by saying he is fit and okay to play in games and then he keeps on going out there and making an impact, as he did again today.

“We are hopeful we can nurse him through the rest of the season and hopefully he will be okay, and knowing Paul he probably will be.

“But he is not doing a great deal in training. He plays games, then recovers and then it is about getting himself right for the next match.

“I can imagine he will be struggling for Wednesday’s game with Liverpool because there is not a lot of recovery time between now and then.”

Hughes was unsure about the penalty incident as he had not seen a replay, but nevertheless he was grateful it went his side’s way.

“He (Barry) took an age to give it, which I could have done without, but thankfully he has pointed to the spot and Paul has stuck his hand up and showed great responsibility,” added Hughes.

“It was difficult for him because of his Leicester connections and the fact they knew which side of the goal he would prefer.

“But we spoke about it during the week and he said if we did get a penalty then he would smack it down the middle - and thankfully he did.

“We are now through to the semi-finals, which is okay, but you have to win them to really enjoy them and that is what we are hoping we are going to do.”

[broadsword]

He's a good loser i'nt he?

[tcj_jones]

Have to say, the Sky coverage gave me the impression that the Leicester support was excellent and ours was extremely quiet.

[Paul]

Leicester support was no better than ours.

[Tom Pringle]

We're going to Cardiff, you're not

Edited March 13, 2005 by Tom Pringle

[Atomicrover]

I guess he didn't see the Tiatto hand-ball, or the pull back on Dickov either - funny game football, it affects your eyesight when you lose.

[tcj_jones]

He makes it sound as if the penalty was controversial... That was one of the most stone wall penalty's I've ever seen.

Conversely, that pull back on Neill was non-existent and certainly not a penalty.

Edited March 13, 2005 by tcj_jones

[stuwilky]

Have to say, the Sky coverage gave me the impression that the Leicester support was excellent and ours was extremely quiet.

The was the case from my seat in the BBE lower.

[DanLad]

"it is debatable whether Blackburn did enough to win the match."

I think that the fact that Leicester did absolutely nothing to deserve the game is NOT open to debate. It's a fact.

They were a niggly lower division team that set their stall out for a draw and play with a second rate, Dion Dublin wannabe up front.(De Vries) All he did was tug shirts and whinge*

We were comfortable for the first 20 minutes without actually producing much and it was only when our passing got a bit sloppy that Leicester even got a sniff of some possession in our half.

Apart from the odd flash of good running from Gillespie and Tiatto running around like a headless T*atto they didn't show anything.

* I just want to differentiate between the shirt pulling and whinging that Dickov does and that of De Vries. The poor little Scottish fella's always getting picked on and is just protecting himself ;-)