[Archived] Villa Semi Final 2Nd Leg

[mellison24]

....because we scored 2 consolation goals after Villa had effectively killed of the tie? That's what we're supposed to be proud of? What the hell?

YES! It's what the rovers of old used to do. They fought for the shirt and the club's pride. It's people like you that ruin the game for well-meaning fans. If they were 'lucky' goals, Id agree. But they were well-crafted and Olsson's was pure class!

[Hughesy]

Disagree - and strangely agree with Sam. The first goal was what changed the match - I doubt Samba would have been in the position to give away the penalty if it wasn't for the ref's mistake/oversight for the first goal.

Totally agree with your first sentence - for once we can hold our heads high. The players - and our away support - did us proud.

I agree with you totally that we wouldnt of been in that position..........Villa wouldnt of scored in that 1st half but for the ref.

The 1st villa goal came from a 2 handed push, knocked on by heskeys hand and slammed in by Warnock - Thats why TV replays are needed in Big decision making.

Once again the big club get the rub of the green when it matters most!

[Darth Paul]

You need to try and get excited Mr E...football has changed.8th-12th is something to aspire to,13th-20th something to accept and be fearful of.1st-7th,not going to happen...you need to re-set your expectations I'm afraid to say.Football has changed and not for the better...

Spot on...Big Sam was right- too may fans still think it is the Jack Walker era and would do well to remember that those days have gone. A mate bought me the 95-96 season review today on video and even in a bad season it was frightening how good Shearer was ( I would suggest he had an even better season that year than the Championship season)...most clubs have never had kind of quality to go mad about from the stands week in, week out and I am sure we will never see the like again at Rovers or anywhere else so move on...

[Steve Moss]

Disagree - and strangely agree with Sam. The first goal was what changed the match - I doubt Samba would have been in the position to give away the penalty if it wasn't for the ref's mistake/oversight for the first goal.

And don't forget Samba was sent off for much the same action as Aston Villa's defender inflicted on Dunn inside the box. And that didn't get called.

Then again, these calls habitually go against the Rovers so we should be used to it by now.

[John]

Generally, I do think playing young guys like Kalinic and Olsson helps. They work so hard plus have quality too!

Provides much needed energy and in Olsson's case, pace, to the team.

[Tom]

Olsson never stopped running tonight, thoroughly deserved his goal

[Exiled in Toronto]

Rubbish. Pedersen had an excellent game offering the craft and guile in midfield that has been missing for much of the season and should stay in that position from now on.

He did, but I prefer central midfielders who can tackle, or at least attempt to. He didn't get near a Villa player all night. Reid looked a better bet to me when he came on

[hollowsr]

I agree with those that said tonight I think Mr Samba will be getting a bit of the cold shoulder from one or two, a very rash challenge when to win the ball would have been near on impossible.

Other than that a great performance! Olsson and Kalinic again continued from Sunday, good performances from them both and shock of horrors a good game by Gamst, thought he played really well in CM, if we can put him there and Olsson left wing we could have a decent side.

Can't fault the lads for having a go when it was easier to roll over. Played some good football at times tonight and showed we do well when we play like this.

As for challenging for top 6 think it will be a long time before we do this again. With the budget and spending we have I think staying up is good and one day we will have to come to terms with the fact that if it continues like this we will be relegated.

But lets not get downhearted tonight, we can be proud to be Rovers fans tonight.

[Paul Mellelieu]

What a shame. A decent effort from the lads and plenty of very good performances, not least from Peds mark 2. Four goals and one man up front. Well I never!

Now let's see that kind of effort every week.

[Drummer Boy]

10. The manager. Ok we lost, and we conceded six, but we very easily could be celebrating a place at Wembley tonight. I think Sam has quite rightly bought himself a few games grace now from some of the clowns and doom mongers on this board and at Ewood. Are these people big enough to give him that?

Have to agree with you on this - I'm no admirer of Sam based on how we have played this season ........... until the Fulham game (and perhaps the second half of the first leg) when he seemed to realise and capitalise on the fact that we have good technical players capable of playing good football. Watching us mix the long ball with good quality possession football has been a revelation this last week and, if Sam is big enough to adapt his philosophy to the resources at his disposal then I am big enough to put aside my intense dislike of the fodder served earlier in the season and get behind the man. I may even become more vociferous again having moreorless gone mute at matches on account of the fact that I refuse point bank to boo the team, could not bring myself to cheer the dross being served up and concluded that silence was the better option.

The last week has given me huge grounds for optimism largely for the reasons outlined by Darth Paul but really down to what I perceive to be a change in Sam's approach to how we go out and play to achieve a positive result. He has really used his squad well and exploited the hunger in there whilst starting to tap into the experience and quality we all know to be there. About time and long may it last!!

[cruz]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Samba had to make a call and he saw a chance to get the ball but never. It's just one of those things that you do when you don't have the benefit of watching a slow-mo replay from your armchair.

BUT it's not the first time Samba has been rash and it won't be the last.

[Kelbo]

Good call 47er

Some of the negatives on here are silly, we went for the win and but for an wawful reffing decision, I think we would have nicked it!1

[begresko]

Incredible match. Terrible referee. I dont mind when referees make the odd mistake, even when its a big one. But he made a string of poor decisions. Rovers played really well. To score 4 at villa is a real acheivement. I am a very proud rover and cannot wait for the wigan match. Even though I know I will be extremely disappointed. But hey thats the life we lead.

Kalinic is a cracking buy. Olsson looks invigorated and exceptional tonight, peds played really well. I watched the game with four villa fans and not one of them had a bad word to say about the way we played.

Effort and desire. That will keep me a happy blackburn fan.

[colin]

Finally for the first time this season Rovers have given me something to be proud of. Every player from the keeper to the subs gave it their all and given a better slice of the luck we'd be booking our tickets for Wembley.

We can pontificate all night about Villa's first goal being a foul. Yes it was but they are the breaks. Sometimes you get them sometimes you don't. Had that goal been disallowed at our end I would have been very aggrieved.

Another big turning point was Samba's poor decision to tackle Agbonlahor, who isn't the best finisher in the world when one on one. Had he stayed on his feet it was 50-50 on whether Gabby would have scored and if he had we would have gone on to win the tie given our superiority with 11 men.

Alas it was not the case and Villa intelligently took full advantage of their extra man by stretching what was before the sending off a superior Rovers midfield and back line.

However even with man disadvantage Rovers still kept looking for goals, even if it was more to do with pride than anything else, and that was the thing that made me feel proud.

We are down and out of the cup but the performance gives us hope that maybe we can push on and get a bit further away from the drop zone, especially away from home.

Lastly I have been far from chuffed with Big Sam this season but tonight I would like to congratulate him on getting his starting line up spot on. We pressed Villa and caused them to be nervous and had the referee and linesman been to specsavers Sam would have masterminded a shock and we'd be going to Wembley now.

UP THE ROVERS

What s/he said.

[Mozzer]

all i can say is IM PROUD TO BE A ROVER

[Miker]

I don't even want to bother with the people being negative on here. Too many people clearly come on here because they are whinging trolls.

Everyone complained about us not entertaining, or the team not giving it their all etc. etc. but at the end of the day, we did give it our all and with a whopping TEN goals scored during the match, you can't ask for much more entertainment than that. 6-4 has to be some sort of record.

I am truly by the devastated by the loss, I just can't make sense of it. We looked like we were going to go and win it 3-0, but instead lost 6-4. I expect Samba to come out and apologise to the team and the fans. I can't fault his commitment in previous games, but he has to put up his hand and say he killed it for us today.

Unlike so many on here, I wanted us to get into the final, but I didn't expect us to. I don't expect us to be challenging for Europe either. This is still just a transitionary season with not too much to get excited about, but credit to the team for giving us a memorable semi final match. I am still excited for the future, as we have some very promising youngsters in the team now and that's something to be positive about.

[deftangel]

Pride restored in the Blue & White halves to me. It was a gooner who jinxed it, texting me before Villa's "goal". Absolutely ridiculous decision not to blow up for a foul on Nelson in the modern game when you can so much as blow on a keeper and give a free kick away.

Samba made a mistake, no doubt. A mistake he may not have made were we not on the back foot after dominating the game. Agbonglahor isn't a brilliant finisher, I'd have given Robinson 50:50 in a one on one with him. That's difficult to process in the half second Big Chris had to think about it and he wasn't a million miles away from getting the ball. Just one of those things.

The pitch invasion at the end was beyond laughable. Did we invade the pitch in 2002? They should be embarrassed. I cannot wait to see them get fisted with a brick by either Manchester team in the final. That's the class of a club who have won sweet fa recently. They are a good counter-attacking side and no more.

It's important that Sam builds from here. Recent games have been complete dross but tonight has shown what the squad is capable of. We need to move on, play some of the younger players and not revert back to aimless hoofs up to an isolated striker. The buck stops with Sam and he has taken a lot of well deserved criticism over the last few weeks but it is fair to say he was pretty close to chalking up a cup final next to a relegation save. That might not be the truest perspective on his reign but those are the facts.

Whether he can get this performance out of the players week in, week out remains to be seen. I think it's fair to say we've got a decent crop of young players for him to work with. Nzonzi, Kallinic, Hoillet etc. Even Olsson is coming along. He needs to show us signs of gradual improvement for the rest of the season.

The day is often darkest before dawn. Here's hoping the sun started rising last Sunday.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

A game of one third and two thirds. For 30 minutes Rovers shocked the watching audience in the stadium and on T.V. with a silky display of passing football. Villa couldn't get near us. Two goals and some of the best football from Rovers in years. Then the refereee misses a push on Nelsen that I saw in real time on T.V. Villa get lucky in the aftermath and Warnock slots it home. Villa fans realise they can come out from behind the sofa now. Shortly after that came the game changing moment, Our centre halves are un hinged by an over the shoulder ale house ball from Heskey and Agbonlehore skips away from Samba. I saw this guy miss a pan full of easier chances on MOTD on Sunday, obviously Samba didn't watch that programme. Instead of trying to just pressurize the striker Samba elects to make a kamikaze tackle from behind with the wrong leg. Red card and penalty follow as night follows day. Milner puts away a great pen in spite of a valiant effoert from Robbo. Half time arrives at 2-2 but we fear the worst.

Second half starts with Villa giving an object in how to play 10 v 11, make the pitch as big as you can. We seem still shell shocked by the reverse in fortunes and can't get the ball often enough to pose any threat. Villa make hay and score 3 more whilst we're at 6's and 7's. Rovers then rally with great courage and commitment to score two of their own. We are still trying to force the pace when we're mostly caught up field and Young sprints away to finally kill us off with a last minute goal. Football can be a cruel game.

Game well and truly over

I'm left deflated but proud of our efforts. The way we were playing who knows how the game may have ended but for Samba listening to the voices in his head ? I thought Sam got tonights line up and level of performance dead on and he gets my praise for that.

Scores

Robinson- 8 Couldn't be blamed for any of the goals, made several top notch saves.

Chimbonda- 5 Very poor tonight,age seems to have caught up with him.

Samba- 5 Shocking tackle could be said to have thrown whatever chance we had away. Having said that we missed him at both ends of the pitch in the second half.

Nelsen- 7 Gutsy performance but must blame his self for allowing himself to be muscled out for the first goal.

Givet-7 Looked happier at centre half , never gave up the fight.

Emerton -6 Worked hard through out, another one who never gave up.

Dunn -5 Didn't contribute much before limping off after a fairly low key tackle from Petrov.

NZonzi- 6 Put himself about, he's having to play too many games for a young guy. Mainly because Grella is never fit.

Pedersen- 6 Looked decent in his new role, As I said a while ago he's worth a try in midfield, his lack of pace isn't shown up as much there.

Ollsen-8 Very bright performance, another move I reccomended a while back. He's not a great defender but he's fast and he's got a decent touch. Great goal.

Kalinic- 8 This lad 's going to a good player one day, while he had players linking up with him he looked great. Totally isolated second half but he ran his tripes out. Had to be subbed, he'd gone.

Subs

Reid- 6 Did OK when he came on, finding his feet slowly but surely.

Mc Carthy- 5 Got one great chance but had to take it early because his pace has gone. Blasted it wide.

Di Santo 5- Came on for Kalinic, looks very ordinary to me, maybe a goal would help.

[BPF]

I'm gutted.

But we scored four away from home! four! Very impressed with Niko.

Although we went out I feel as though we can build on this. Playing football is the way forward!

Keep it up boys.

[Gamst]

To sum up tonights game, there were bits of the old Rovers and bits of the powderpuff rovers we have been seeing lately. The way we played in the first 30 mins reminded me of the gutsy rovers of old, who go to big teams and give them a good old fashioned scaring. We were sharp and crafty and actually converted our chances. Proving the critics and pundits wrong and silencing big stadiums was something we did regularly under Hughes and we did this for a while tonight. Sadly though, as has been the case in recent months away from home, when the ball was swung into our box, it ended up in the net. It is a very poor habit that we seem to have developed. Look at the Man City match and today as examples; The opposition barely created anything, but seemed to score whenever they got chances. Tonight we kept conceding goals, and obviously being down to 10 men contributed greatly, but we are fragile at the moment. Defensively I feel we are slow and easily carved open. We also seem unable to clear our lines and don't pressurise players enough when in positions to take on a long range shot or a cross (eg, Young for opening goal and opening goal for Birmingham city). As is often the case under Sam's management, we fought back again. Whilst this is positive, it is very frustrating as it shows how well we can actually play. At Brum and Man City it was the same. The team seem to give us a little hope by fighting back, but it usually isn't enough. It is easier to play well when you are behind as the pressure is off. You have to question whether we have enough of a winning mentality when we need to go behind before we can play well. We are never going achieve a great deal whilst this keeps happening (granted, tonight we actually started well for a change, but still ended up having an almighty mountain to climb).

With regards to the players tonight, I felt the defence were all a bit slow. Chimbonda didnt react when the ball came out to Warnock and Nelsen went down very easily when nudged by Agbonlahor. Givet didnt close Young down and allowed Young to get a good cross in. It was Samba's aberration that truly cost us tonight though. He obviously felt he could win the ball, but it was a poor decision. Let the ugly mug shoot, if he scores we are still in the match. Get sent off and concede a penalty and the match is over. It is easy to criticise retrospectively and Samba only had a couple of seconds to make the decision, but it has cost us a chance of getting to Wembley and that must count as a major error of judgement. He has been poor in recent weeks. Defenders are turning him easily and his decision making seems clouded. He should have really conceded a penalty in the 1st leg but the ref decided it was a dive...clumsy defending either way. I really do prefer Givet at centre back and he will get the opportunity to prove himself now samba is suspended. Givet is our best centre back in my view and is a missused force when placed at full back where he lacks the pace to cope with players like Ashley Young.

I felt the midfield actually excelled themselves today. How often have we been able to say that over the last couple of seasons? Whislt it was 11 v 11, Pedersen and Nzonzi actually outplayed Milner and Petrov and that is some achievement. Pedersen looked creative and crafted the second goal. It was a good call from Sam to place him in the middle. He lacks the pace to play on the wing in my opinion. He does have the range of passing to hurt teams though and it is so very frustrating that he only produces this intermittently. Dunn was mediocre really and his injury is another blow, but I think we posess the players to hurt teams without him. He was not involved in the really good moves today and was not involved on saturday. Ollson on the wing is a bit of a revelation! Looks nippy and has a good touch and range of passing. His talents are much better utilised on the wing as he is a liability in the defence. Reid also looked fit and quite sharp! This was really pleasing to see!

As for the strikers, McCarthy looks like a spent force. He can be effective at home against lesser opposition, but he doesn't do enough in most matches. He is slow, podgy and lazy and we are basically just carrying him. He also moans and has a self inflated opinion of his skills (self inflated torso also). Kalinic looks like an excellent player! He gets in goalscoring positions and has that touch of pace to worry defenders. He looks like he could develop into a real class act. We really do need another striker to support him and whilst you may all think I should be sectioned, I actually think Beattie would be the man for the job! He is a demon in the air and we do bombard teams aerially and he holds the ball up well. Could be the ideal foil for Kalinic. He would certainly be better than Roberts at doing this as I think he has a little more ability and Di santo is not quite up to it yet in my view.

Promising night and a performance that we can have some pride about and take some confidence from! There have been too many occasions where we have played big teams and been embarrased. Sam made the right calls tonight and deserves some credit. Some of the flaws were still there to be seen though and we really must improve if we don't want a relagation dogfight.

[Blue n White Rover]

Credit to Big Sam, the players and the support. Even though there was around 2500 of us, we were singing right up till the final whistle and it was an absolute brilliant game. Just watched the highlights on Skysports, and the ref did really stop us on our way to Wembley.

Big Sam packed the midfield and MGP was great in the middle too. Villa couldn't play their usual style of football and we contained them comfortably, and this is where Sam got his tactics spot on for us.

Kalinic was again great, did he get credited the 1st goal? Started the attack for the second goal and finished it. Olsson was again magnificent and I just hope this time next week we are playing the same type of attractive football because it was great too watch.

Really proud of the team tonight and we can hold our heads up high as we have not been disgraced!

[Hughesy]

TONIGHT WE GOT OUR ROVERS BACK!!!

Please sam continue with an attacking mentality - Olsson on the left & Kalinic upfront offer us so much more.

[BPF]

Di Santo 5- Came on for Kalinic, looks very ordinary to me, maybe a goal would help.

This will be his last season in the Premiership

[Hughesy]

Di Santo tries very hard, but his lack of goals seem to of affected him & he looks a shade of the ability that Kalinic possesses. Maybe it will change with a goal?

Id still like to see them tried together in a 4-4-2

[Blue n White Rover]

By the way, we played 4-5-1 didn't we up until the sending off?