Morten Gamst Pedersen fired Blackburn into the last eight of the FA Cup with a
blistering strike to win this hard-fought Lancashire duel against Burnley.
The Norwegian, who is fast becoming Blackburn's talisman, struck five minutes
from time to set up a quarter-final against another Championship side Leicester,
and took the shine off one of the goals of the season from Burnley's Micah
Hyde.
Hyde's goal, a flick and curled volley into the top corner, was reminiscent of
Justin Fashanu's for Norwich against Liverpool in the 1980s that became a
perennial Match of the Day favourite.
It would have deserved to win any game but Pedersen again showed what a
flowering talent he is. Tugay had earlier given Rovers the lead with a deflected
shot - off Hyde - in the first half.
With Ryan Nelsen and Aaron Mokoena rock-solid at the heart of the Blackburn
defence Burnley found it difficult to break down Rovers, nevertheless in the
second half especially they matched their neighbours in terms of effort and
often ability.
From the very first minute this looked as though it was going to be a tense
and hard-fought affair, something Robbie Savage did little to dispel after his
late tackle left Tony Grant writhing on the floor.
There was a brief flurry of handbags before referee Howard Webb restored order
and produced a yellow card.
Burnley showed they would not be muscled out of it with a couple of meaty
challenges themselves before Blackburn had a half-decent chance to take an early
lead. Lucas Neill delivered a slanting ball from the right and Pedersen met it
on the volley, but could not keep it down.
Burnley played themselves into trouble when Michael Duff failed to clear and
was robbed by Savage in his own box but Frank Sinclair made an important block.
There was finally a glimpse of an opening for the Clarets after 20 minutes
when John Oster used a nifty corner routine to trick his way past Savage and
aimed inside the near post, but Mokoena managed to deflect the shot behind the
goal.
Paul Dickov gave his marker Gary Cahill a torrid time, and after again turning
him shot low but it lacked the power to trouble goalkeeper Brian Jensen.
On the half-hour Blackburn's pressure told. Burnley struggled to clear
Savage's free-kick, Brett Emerton's volley was well blocked but the ball
rebounded to Tugay 30 yards out. The Turkish midfielder took one touch before
firing in a low drive which took a cruel deflection off Hyde on its way into the
net, with Jensen completely wrong-footed.
Three minutes before half-time however, Hyde make amends, and with one of the
best goals that will be scored in the FA Cup this season.
When he picked the ball up from a throw-in on the right-hand corner of the
area, nothing looked on at all. The former Watford midfielder then flicked the
ball up before curling an absolute peach of a shot over the leaping Brad Friedel
and into the top corner to send the 7,000-strong visiting contingent delirious.
Savage did not appear for the second half, his nagging groin strain having got
the better of him, but within a minute of the restart Nelsen, the impressive New
Zealander captaining Blackburn in Andy Todd's absence, brought a great reaction
save out of Jensen after getting his head to Pedersen's whipped-in cross.
Moore had a good shot on the turn as Burnley tried to counter but could not
find the target, then Emerton's shot at the other end was blocked by his own
player.
Pedersen's delivery at set-pieces was proving a problem for the visitors and
Nelsen made contact with another corner, this time heading down so powerfully
that it bounced up and over the crossbar.
Jay Bothroyd came off the bench for Paul Gallagher to beef up the Blackburn
attack and he wormed into a good position, but the finish did not match up to
his first touch and he pulled it wide.
The match was much more evenly balanced in the second half as Jean-Louis
Valois began to make an impact for Burnley on the left wing. It was one of his
runs that led to Grant letting fly from 20 yards but again Mokoena was in the
way.
Bothroyd only lasted nine minutes before hobbling off and Steven Reid's
arrival pushed Pedersen up front.
With five minutes and extra-time apparently beckoning, Pedersen made the
breakthrough with a thunderous strike.
Sinclair initially cut out the Norwegian's cross but Pedersen took advantage
of a moment's hesitation by Mo Camara and seized on the loose ball before
crashing in a shot that beat Jensen for sheer pace at his near post.
Teams
Blackburn Friedel, Neill, Mokoena, Nelsen, Johansson, Emerton,
Savage (Flitcroft 45), Tugay, Pedersen, Dickov,
Gallagher (Bothroyd 59), Bothroyd (Reid 79).
Subs Not Used: Enckelman, Short.
Booked: Savage.
Goals: Tugay 31, Pedersen 86.
Burnley Jensen, Duff, Sinclair, Cahill, Camara,
Grant (Branch 83), Oster, Hyde (Roche 90), Whittingham, Valois,
Moore.
Subs Not Used: Coyne, Pilkington, Scott.
Booked: Cahill, Grant.
Goals: Hyde 42.
Att: 28,691
Ref: H Webb (S Yorkshire).
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