Blackburn 2 Coventry 2: Coleman’s battlers foiled after stomach bug strikes

16 February 2009 00:56
Players throwing up and a Cupid impersonator prancing around the pitch in his underpants - who says the romance of the Cup is dead?[LNB]Maybe Roque Santa Cruz, who chose Valentine's Day to insist that his relationship with Blackburn[LNB]is coming to an end before finally producing a goal to remind us why Manchester City spent the January transfer window pursuing him like a love-struck teenager.[LNB]Or Chris Samba, who spoiled Coventry's party by denying them a Cup upset at Ewood Park for the second season in a row with an equaliser in the third of five minutes of added time.[LNB] Thumbs up from him: Coventry boss Chris Coleman looks on as his side come within a whisker of knocking Premier League Blackburn out the FA Cup[LNB]As hard as it was to stomach for Chris Coleman and his players, half-a-dozen of whom had been laid low with food poisoning, they will fancy their chances of reaching the quarter-finals in next week's replay at the Ricoh Arena when Blackburn will arrive with one eye on a trip to Hull City [LNB]and their battle to stay in the Barclays Premier League.[LNB]'You can't say it would have been better to lose, but in the situation we're in we have to concentrate on the Premier League games,' admitted Samba. Blackburn 2 Coventry 2: How the game unfolded[LNB]Derby 1 Man Utd 4[LNB]Everton 3 Aston Villa 1[LNB]West Ham 1 Middlesbrough 1[LNB]Swansea 1 Fulham 1[LNB]Sheff Utd 1 Hull 1[LNB]FA Cup quarter final draw: Big three separated as United, Chelsea and Arsenal await replay fate[LNB]Santa Cruz vows to quit Blackburn: I want a move to a big club, says striker [LNB]BLACKBURN ROVERS FC NEWS FROM ACROSS THE WEB[LNB][LNB]The big Congo defender was not alone in acknowledging that Blackburn benefited from the time added on by referee Steve Tanner for the pitch invader who brought the game to a halt midway through the second half to fire roses from his bow.[LNB]Coventry scorer Michael Doyle said: 'We could have done without that. If he hadn't come on, we'd have seen out the three minutes for all the subs, but we couldn't quite see out the extra two.'[LNB] Samba dancing: Chris Samba spares Blackburn's blushes with an equalising goal deep into injury time[LNB]Coventry's effort was all the more commendable considering the sickness in their camp. Some players, such as Elliott Ward and Freddy Eastwood, made it. Others, including keeper Kieran Westwood, did not. [LNB]Coleman said: 'Westy was sick a couple of times and went out and did the warm-up, but we had to bring him back. Freddy was sick on the bus on the way to the game and again four times in the dressing room. Half-a-dozen were affected by it, so it wasn't an ideal preparation.'[LNB]Santa Cruz then produced the sweetest of strikes from a tight angle to score inside two minutes.[LNB] HAVE YOUR SAY: HOW ARE YOUR FA CUP UNSUNG HEROES - Post your comments in the box below...The unsettled Paraguay striker's first goal since early December was particularly timely after he made it clear before the game that he will not contemplate staying at Ewood Park beyond this season.[LNB]Despite City's pursuit of him in January, Santa Cruz has not done nearly enough this season to justify an asking price of £25million, which will drop to a slightly more realistic £20m in the summer. [LNB]'Maybe he wants a move next season but at the minute he's with us,' said Samba.[LNB] Giving chase: Coventry's Guillaume Beuzelin battles Stephen Warnock for the ball[LNB] Cupid, draw back your bow: A Cupid impersonator runs onto the Ewood Park pitch [LNB]Coventry's equaliser was even more spectacular, Aron Gunnarsson bringing the ball down with his right foot 25 yards from goal before sending a dipping volley beyond Paul Robinson for his first goal in English football.[LNB]It capped an impressive performance by the Icelandic teenager, who overcame a glaring first-half miss when he somehow headed wide from close range. 'I said to myself at half-time I had to make up for that miss and score one for the team,' said Gunnarsson.[LNB]'In the second half we were much better than Blackburn so going back to the Ricoh we'll be looking to finish the job off.' [LNB]Samba's attempted block on Doyle's shot only helped deflect the ball over Robinson to give Coventry a deserved lead in the 76th minute, before the Blackburn defender turned to score in a crowded penalty box when goalkeeper Andy Marshall failed to hold on to the ball in the dying seconds.[LNB] Escorted off: An overexcited Blackburn fan is carried away at the end of the match[LNB]A reprieve for Sam Allardyce, even if the Blackburn boss was still unhappy with Tanner's decision to rule out Gael Givet's header in the second half for shirt-pulling.[LNB] 'I've looked at it from three angles and there is nothing wrong with the goal,' said Allardyce. 'But we're still in the hat.'[LNB]MATCH FACTS[LNB]BLACKBURN: Robinson 6; Simpson 6, Samba 7, Khizanishvili 6, Givet 7; Villanueva 6, Tugay 5 (Andrews 65min, 6), Warnock 6, Dunn 6 (Treacy 71, 6); Santa Cruz 6, Roberts 5 (McCarthy 78). Booked: Samba, Khizanishvili.[LNB]COVENTRY: Marshall 5; Osbourne 6, McPake 6 (Dann 46), Ward 6, Fox 7; Henderson 6, Beuzelin 6 (Best 53, 7), Gunnarsson 8, Doyle 6, Eastwood 6; Morrison 7. Booked: Beuzelin, Eastwood. [LNB]Referee: Steve Tanner.[LNB]HAVE YOUR SAY: HOW ARE YOUR FA CUP UNSUNG HEROES - Post your comments in the box below... Blackburn 2 Coventry 2: How the game unfolded[LNB]Derby 1 Man Utd 4[LNB]Everton 3 Aston Villa 1[LNB]West Ham 1 Middlesbrough 1[LNB]Swansea 1 Fulham 1[LNB]Sheff Utd 1 Hull 1[LNB]FA Cup quarter final draw: Big three separated as United, Chelsea and Arsenal await replay fate[LNB]Santa Cruz vows to quit Blackburn: I want a move to a big club, says striker [LNB]BLACKBURN ROVERS FC NEWS FROM ACROSS THE WEB[LNB] [LNB] [LNB]  

Source: Daily_Mail