Manchester United 4 - Blackburn Rovers 1
A Game of three thirds - Two to Rovers and one to United
The scoreline doesn't tell the story, even if United deserved their win - for an hour Blackburn held the Reds, and had a half time lead thanks to Matt Derbyshire. It all started so well - a record 76,098 filled Old Trafford and Rovers started with a game plan that saw them hold the home side and break down their defense. After half an hour a Morten Gamst Pedersen cross found Matt Derbyshire who scored from 6 yards to complete a memorable week. 0-1 at the interval and the press room buzzing with talk of another historic result for Mark Hughes men. Part two saw Sir Alex boys turn on the pressure, and their reward came when Paul Scholes beat Brad Frieldel to bring the scores level. The home fans seemed to sense a turn round, and ten minutes later the Reds took the lead when a Cristiano Ronaldo cross found Michael Carrick to make it 2-1. Ten more minutes elapsed and still no test for Van der Sar from Rovers. Chris Samba was adjudged to hand ball - giving Ronaldo a free kick which Friedel saved - however Ji-Sung Park was on hand to claim United's third. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer came off the bench, and as so often happens claimed the home side's 4th with a minute to go.
Mark Hughes told MANCHESTER UNITED RADIO "For 60 minutes we were really in the game. The crowd were anxious and I felt we were going to capitalise on it. But they were able to galvanise themselves and show why they are champions-elect. This year, they have played the best football."
The result leaves Blackburn in 10th place with 40 points and Aston Villa at Ewood Park next Saturday. (31st March 2007)
bbc.co.uk (match report) ALSO rovers.co.uk (reaction)
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HISTORY - as David Bentley scores England's first at the new Wembley!!
... then Matt Derbyshire claims one too!
A new era of International football was launched at the new Wembley today, with the Under 21's taking on Italy. Both Rovers boys - Bentley and Derbyshire - were there to be part of the historic event. For Blackburn Rovers - it was an afternoon to be more than proud off, and the records will now always show that Bentley was the first England player to score under the arch. Giampaolo Pazzini opened the scoring [25 second] for Italy (and went on to claim a hat trick) - but it was Rovers David Bentley who was on hand to equalize for the hosts from a free kick. Wayne Routlegde made it 2-1 to England and then (not to be denied) the dream year for Matt Derbyshire continued when he claimed England's third. Of course Pazzini actually scored the first goal (and hat trick) at the stadium - but for England Bentley will dine out on his achievement for years to come - and Matty will be at the same table.
60 thousand fans guaranteed a great atmosphere as the new era got under way. Blackburn Rovers will hope to take the whole team there if they can beat Chelsea in the semi-final of the FA Cup next month. (24th March 2007)
bbc.co.uk (match report)

Gray for Leeds United
Michael heads back across the Pennines
Blackburn Rovers have announced that Michael Gray is to rejoin Leeds United on loan. He's agreed a one-month deal with an option to stay on at Elland Road until the end of the season. He was previously on loan for a spell with Leeds in the 2004-05 season.
Gray signed an new contract at Ewood Park less than a year ago (see below) (23rd March 2007)

Blackburn Rovers v Chelsea
... at Old Trafford
The FA have decided on the venues for this years Cup semi-finals. BBC Sport say Old Trafford and Villa Park have will play host, with the tie between Watford and Man Utd (live on the BBC TV) played at Aston Villa's stadium on Saturday 14 April at 1730 BST. In the second semi-final, Blackburn v Chelsea on the Sunday at Manchester United's home. Kick off at 1600 BST.
Tickets will be priced at £25, £35, £45, £55 and will be sold via the ticket offices of the four semi-finalist clubs.
rovers.co.uk say: "A Blackburn Rovers delegate is at Old Trafford this afternoon with the FA to discuss ticketing arrangements, the club hope to make an announcement on those ticketing arrangements within the next 48 hours." (20th March 2007)

Blackburn Rovers have announced their ticket allocation of 30,000 tickets for the FA Cup semi-final with Chelsea at Old Trafford.
They say that tickets should arrive at Ewood Park from the FA by the middle of next week.
Blackburn fans get the East Stand at Old Trafford and the team will use the home dressing room but wear their away kit. (21st March 2007)

bbc.co.uk AND rovers.co.uk

Blackburn Rovers ... will play ... Chelsea
As Spurs go out 1-2
It was still 0-0 at half time, and the London rivals still undecided on who'd meet Blackburn for the semifinals. Then on 54 minutes, Andriy Shevchenko showed his skill with a lovely finish, to give the visitors the lead. Next up on the hour, it was Shaun Wright-Phillips who took a left footed shot from about 20 yards out and slammed the ball in to the bottom right of the net 0-2. Spurs thought they had a life line when Dimitar Berbatov was brought down, and Robbie Keane scored from the spot. And that was how it ended - despite continued pressure from both sides & about 6 minutes of added on time.
So it will be Blackburn Rovers v Chelsea in this years semi final.
The other replay saw Manchester United progress via Cristiano Ronaldo from the penalty spot. 1-0 the final score at Old Trafford.

So the FA Cup semi Finals 2007 are:-
Blackburn v Chelsea
Watford v Manchester United
Played the weekend of 14 and 15 April.
(19th March 2007)
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Blackburn Rovers 1 - West Ham 2
How did that happen?? First goal for Samba ...
And three classic errors from officials ...
This game will be remembered for three decisions - two of which might keep Rovers out of Europe and keep West Ham in the top flight.
Even the Hammers Manager admitted on SKY TV that their second goal never crossed the line, and Mark Hughes sees it a evidence if it was needed that electronic goal line technology is needed no. At the break Rovers had had 60% of the possession and should have been ahead. A minute after the break they were thanks to a first goal headed home by Chris Samba ... Then it all started to go badly wrong. On 70 minutes Brett Emerton was adjudged to have fouled on Carlos Tevez, then he was booked for 'unsporting behaviour'. Bobby Zamora also saw yellow for 'unsporting behaviour'. A penalty was next, taken Tevez. Rovers would claim it was never a penalty, with no contact - West Ham would claim they needed some luck. 1-1 and all to play for. Then the real controversy when Brad Friedel made a fantastic save, the resulting corner taken by Matthew Etherington - David Dunn booked for 'unsporting behaviour' and as the ball bounced around the box, Bobby Zamora was credited with a goal. That despite the fact that Tevez was off side .. and THE BALL DIDN'T CROSS THE LINE! 1-2, and the final insult came deep into injury time, when Lucas Neill seemed to push David Bentley as the ball came in and hit his hand. The yellow car being his second, was followed by a red and Bentley misses the Man U game in two weeks time. Plus, the card was issued 4'40 into injury time, when only 4 mins was shown by the fourth official! RADIO ROVERS took call after call complaining about the decisions, and to be fair the fact that Rovers didn't take their chances. But make no mistake the match will be remembered for the wrong decisions rather than the right reasons.
Mark Hughes told RADIO ROVERS:"I think it was laughable the performance of the officials today. Key decisions in a crucial game for both teams have all gone West Ham's way. We certainly didn't deserve to be on the end of key decisions that we were today. Speaking about the penalty: "There was no contact whatsoever from my view, I think he (Tevez) was already on his way down. I don't think the referee was going to give it, unfortunately the assistant referee gave the decision. If that was bad enough, the second goal was even worse, Tugay cleared the first effort off the line, but surely Carlos Tevez was in an offside position when he stopped Bobby Zamora's attempt on the line. I've looked at the incident myself, the guy on the line who stopped it going over is actually their guy, so it is laughable that they haven't been able to sort that one out, and to give a goal in that situation is a joke really." (17th March 2007)
bbc.co.uk (match report) ALSO rovers.co.uk (reaction)
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Rovers duo - could be first to play at the new Wembley
Matt Derbyshire & David Bentley get the call
The dream of playing in the FA cup final at Wembley can wait a few weeks - the first two pairs of Rovers boots to touch the turf of the new National Stadium could be Bentley and Derbyshire! Both players have received call ups for the Under 12 squad who are due to play Italy on March 24th.
The tickets sold out instantly - and the first 60 thousand to walk under the arch will be part of the testing needed for a full license allowing for the FA cup finals amongst other top events this season. It's a fantastic opportunity for both players - and a true piece of football history
The Full squad will be:
Alnwick (Tottenham), Camp (Derby), Hart (Manchester City); Baines (Wigan), Cahill (Aston Villa), Davies (West Brom), Hoyte (Arsenal), Rosenior (Fulham), A Taylor (Middlesbrough), S Taylor (Newcastle); Bentley (Blackburn), Cattermole (Middlesbrough), Huddlestone (Tottenham), Milner (Newcastle), Reo-Coker (West Ham), Richardson (Manchester United), Routledge (Tottenham); Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Derbyshire (Blackburn), Lita (Reading), Nugent (Preston), Young (Aston Villa). (14th March 2007)
rovers.co.uk ALSO thefa.co.uk (full details)

Blackburn Rovers ... will play ...
Well what do you think?
Yes it's not Watford - Rovers will meet Chelsea or Spurs in the semi-final of this years FA Cup. First out of the bag and no surprise the fate conspired to leave the window open fro a Man U v Chelsea final at Wembley. And of course a chance too of a Rovers v Spurs semi - with reminders of the League Cup- final at Cardiff. Spurs will play Chelsea at White Hart Lane on 19 March following the 3-3 draw at Stamford Bridge on Sunday when the Blues came back from 3-1 down. The tie will see a postponement of Blackburn at home to Watford in the league - with both teams committed to the cup on April 14th, the game will now take place four days later on Wednesday 18th April with at 8.00pm. The venue has not yet been announce - but could be at the City of Manchester Stadium or Villa Park.
John Williams told rovers.co.uk "To win the competition you have got to beat the best teams along the way, and we certainly deserved to be there after the hard run to get to this stage beating Everton, Luton, Arsenal and Manchester City. "Lets hope we can go one better and reach the final."

Full Draw
Blackburn v Chelsea or Tottenham
Watford v Middlesbrough or Manchester United
Ties will be played the weekend of 14 and 15 April.
(12th March 2007)
bbc.co.uk (full details) ALSO rovers.co.uk PLUS facup0607

AARON MOKOENA
& MATT DERBYSHIRE

THE FA CUP
Quarter Final

Blackburn Rovers 2 - Manchester City 0
Rovers first to book Semi-Final place
Rovers made it three wins out of three over Manchester City & as a result booked their place in this years FA Cup Semi-Final. City came low on confidence but applied plenty of early pressure, spending much of the first 20 minutes in the Rovers half. But then on 27'00 Aaron Mokoena was connected with a Warnock pass to open the scoring and claim his first Blackburn goal. Sadly for Aaron,'The Axe' fell to a second yellow in the second half and was dismissed with half an hour to go. But Blackburn battled on with ten men, bringing on Robers, Zurab and Peter to freshen things up. With 2 seconds of normal time left it was Sergio who turned provider for a first ever senior goal at Ewood Park for Matt Derbyshire. Man City never tested Brad Friedel, who was a spectator for most of the match. The City fans helped create a great atmosphere and push attendance to just under 28,000.
Mark Hughes told RADIO ROVERS: "It was a number of first's, Matty Derbyshire's first goal here so he's delighted with that. Aaron Mokoena as well and we are all delighted for him. His day itself hasn't turned out as well as he would have liked but he's been fantastic in recent weeks and I'm really pleased he got his goal. Aaron is an important member of the squad and we are all delighted for him. There were big performances all over the field."
So Blackburn wait 'till Monday lunchtime to find out who they meet next. Replays are needed for Middlesbrough v Manchester United (2-2) and Chelsea v Spurs (3-3) but Plymouth lost at home to Watford 0-1. (11th March 2007)
bbc.co.uk (match report) ALSO rovers.co.uk (reaction)
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Bolton 1 - Blackburn Rovers 2
Benni does it again - twice!
Blackburn moved within 3 points of 6th place as Benni McCarthy found the net twice - both times from the penalty spot! When the two teams met at Ewood last October Rovers were also awarded 2 penalties - but failed to score from either spot kick. This time Benni had no trouble beating the keeper.
At the break this Lancashire derby was still all square at 0-0, then Gary Speed brought down David Bentley, and McCarthy opened the scoring with his first penalty of the day on 57 minutes. Just ten minutes later Abdoulaye Faye fouled Benni and Mr. Styles pointed to spot again. Rovers leading scorer did it again and Blackburn had a 2-0 advantage. Jason Roberts came off the bench and should have made it three, and then with just 3 minutes left Nicolas Anelka got one back for Bolton. With just moments to go Abdoulaye Faye thought he'd salvaged a point - but his apparent goal was flagged off side.
Mark Hughes told reporters: "For us to come to Bolton and put in that performance and win the game was great. The last few minutes were a little bit nerve-wracking but I don't know where the official got the four minutes of stoppage time from. We're a good side and it takes a lot to convince people we can play. We've had injuries but now we're in the mix."
The win takes Blackburn within three points of 6th place and despite an injury time win by Spurs at West Ham, Rovers are now 10th on 40 points. (4th March 2007)
bbc.co.uk (match report) ALSO rovers.co.uk (reaction)
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Jeffers goes out on loan
A month at Ipswitch
Blackburn Rovers have agreed to let Francis Jeffers join Ipswitch Town for a one month loan deal. Mark Hughes believes that the striker needs games and with Matt Derbyshire showing such great form, felt a loan for Franny would help him.
Ipswich boss Jim Magilton told the club website "It's a real coup for us to bring Franny to the club. It's an exciting signing for us . He had Premiership pedigree and has played at the very highest level with England." (2nd March 2007)
bbc.co.uk (more)

ROVERS SLASH PRICES
Savings average 25% next season ...
As expected, Blackburn Rovers have announced a massive reduction in season and match day tickets for next season. Although the price cuts were much anticipated, the size of the savings were not, and fans will be delighted with the news released this morning. In fact some season tickets come down by almost 1/3 and the club official website gives these examples:-
"... Behind the goal in the Blackburn End - just £299, a 30% reduction on this season's average price of £425. Juniors remain at £99 in the lower tier (£80 in the upper tier family area). It means a family of two adults and two children get 19 Premiership matches at around £10 per head per game in the most popular part of the ground. ALSO The most expensive season ticket will cost £399 down from £595, a massive reduction of £196."
Chairman John Williams said: "We hope these prices will not only retain existing supporters but also attract those who have not been for some time through the turnstiles next season to offer the team even greater vocal backing. In setting this price structure we have recognised the concerns of supporters who feel that the cost of watching live football has become too expensive." (2nd March 2007)
rovers.co.uk(full story) ALSO bbc.co.uk (more)

Blackburn Rovers 1 - Arsenal 0 (1-0 on agg)
Benni scores a beauty - off the bench.
Rovers keep their 4th clean sheet and knocked Arsenal out of their second cup competition in four days! It wasn't pretty, but Blackburn's tactics worked again as Chris Samba picked up Man of the match in a truly excellent defensive display. Ryan Nelsen returned to the back four, but Stephen Warnock had to leave the game at half time feeling unwell. Tugay was replaced by David Dunn, and Chris Nonda made way for Benni McCarthy - both were involved in the winning goal that came with just 4 minutes left of normal time. Then it was all hands to the pumps to snuff out any late chances that Arsenal might create - not many. So the reward is a home tie next Sunday against Manchester City.
Mark Hughes told RADIO ROVERS: "It was a magnificent strike by Benni. It was a goal of such quality that the game deserved to finish at that point. It was a great goal and I thought overall over the two ties we deserved to go through, in the first game we possibly rode our luck at the end of the game but up to that point we had been really strong and resolute. Tonight we asked questions of Arsenal, restricted them once again to very few opportunities and produced a little bit of magic and over the course of the two games we fully deserved to go through."
Blackburn v Manchester City at 16:00 hrs Sunday 11th March 2007, tickets go on sale from tomorrow with bargain prices again of £15 for Season Ticket holders (£5 for concessions). Non season ticket holders will pay £20 and £10 for concessions. (28th February 2007)
bbc.co.uk (match report) ALSO rovers.co.uk (reaction)
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