Two more Paul Scholes goals set up a mouth-watering Worthington Cup final confrontation between bitter rivals Manchester United and Liverpool.

The England maestro extended the hottest scoring run of his professional career by slotting home the Ewood Park double which overturned Blackburn's early lead and prevented a Rovers return to Cardiff in March.

It took Scholes' personal haul to seven in six games and equalled his season's-best tally of 14, emphasising his position as one of the most valuable members of Sir Alex Ferguson's side. It also booked United's first final appearance since 1994.

Ferguson also extended his remarkable record of never having lost a domestic semi-final, his team strolling into a final few would have thought possible at the start of the season.

The visitors were dominant almost from the moment Andy Cole had given them the lead and United's noisy legion of fans were certainly plotting a first cup final journey to Wales long before Ruud van Nistelrooy gave the victory an added gloss by slotting home a 77th-minute penalty.

Having frustrated United twice already in the past month, the home side began with assurity, muscling into challenges and generally causing a nuisance of themselves.

Even Cole looked ready for a physical confrontation, leaving Gary Neville on his backside with one meaty tackle.

Duff and David Thompson were keeping United's midfield stretched by hugging the touchlines and with Garry Flitcroft and Tugay working hard in central positions, the visitors' flexible formation found it difficult to handle.

Having brought Ryan Giggs and Juan Sebastian Veron into the side which battled back to beat Chelsea at the weekend, Ferguson could have expected much better. Once again though, his side found themselves chasing the game.

The Red Devils chief would certainly have been squirming at the thought of Cole becoming the match-winner given his century of goals for the club, yet it was exactly what the former England forward looked like becoming when he latched onto Tugay's perfect chipped pass into the penalty area and lifted the ball delicately over Fabien Barthez.

Just as against Chelsea, however, the strike worked against the scorers as United visibly lifted their game.

Neville and Silvestre were suddenly finding room down the flanks, Roy Keane was dominating midfield and Veron was cutting Rovers to ribbons with the kind of incisive passing his huge price tag demands.

Giggs and van Nistelrooy both saw curling efforts saved by Friedel but in Scholes, the Red Devils have a man who can do no wrong.

Having extended his scoring sequence to five against Claudio Ranieri's men, Ferguson called on his flame-haired maestro to double it. So, in a way, he did, bagging the first brace of his golden streak.

Rovers complained Scholes had handled in the build-up to the initial effort, although replays appeared to show it came off his chest.

The second was just trademark United, piling forward on the break, Neville exposing James McEveley's inexperience by charging into the box when the young defender expected a cross, then delivering the perfect cut-back to Scholes, who had checked his forward burst eight yards from Friedel's goal.

In between, Blackburn had lost Duff to what appeared to be a hamstring injury and with it went much of their goalscoring threat.

With the scent of victory in their nostrils, United emerged after the interval in rampant mood.

Had it not been for Friedel, Rovers would have been history before the match entered its final quarter.

The American's close-range save from Giggs five minutes after the re-start was brilliant enough but the smart reactions required to kick the loose ball away from on-rushing red shirts as he still lay on the ground were sensational.

A full-length stop prevented Keane's 20-yard drive fizzing into the corner, while Giggs was the man again denied when Friedel somehow managed to stop a first-time flick from Silvestre's cross entering the net.

The only Blackburn spark came from tenacious Thompson, who clashed angrily with David Beckham after the England skipper had a penalty appeal turned down; Souness and Ferguson also exchanging words as the air turned blue.

Given Rovers' lack of scoring chances, Dwight Yorke shouldn't have given Barthez a chance to stop his close-range effort from a Thompson free-kick and van Nistelrooy made them pay.

Amazingly, Souness and Ferguson were again exchanging differing opinions in the technical area about whether Friedel should have been sent off for hauling down van Nistelrooy as the Dutchman strode up to send United to Cardiff.

Ferguson quickly calmed down to give Nicky Butt his first competitive action since October, Scholes trotting to the touchline with a job well done and a Millennium Stadium clash with their fiercest rivals to look forward to. Who would have believed it?

Teams:

Blackburn Friedel, Neill, Todd, Taylor, McEveley, Thompson, Flitcroft, Tugay, Duff (Gillespie 34), Cole, Yorke.

Subs Not Used: Short, Jansen, Ostenstad, Robinson.

Booked: Friedel, Thompson.

Goals: Cole 12.

Man Utd Barthez, Gary Neville, Ferdinand, Brown, Silvestre, Beckham, Veron, Keane, Giggs, Scholes (Butt 79), van Nistelrooy (Forlan 84).

Subs Not Used: Phil Neville, O'Shea, Ricardo.

Goals: Scholes 30, 42, van Nistelrooy 77 pen.

Att: 29,048

Ref: J Winter (Cleveland).