It was a story of 11 penalties as Blackburn Rovers finally dumped Newcastle United out of the Worthington Cup in a dramatic shoot-out at St James' Park tonight.
Both sides spurned the opportunity to win it from the spot in normal time, England captain Alan Shearer missing on 86 minutes and then Jeff Kenna having his injury-time effort superbly saved by Shay Given.
But when it came to the crunch after 120 minutes of stalemate 18-year-old substitute David Dunn took Roy Hodgson's side through after his fellow teenager Aaron Hughes (pictured right) blasted United's fourth kick wide.
The climax to the tie was rather more exciting than what had gone before after Rovers fought their way back from Shearer's eighth-minute opener to equalise through captain Tim Sherwood.
From then on Newcastle struggled to break down a well-organised Blackburn side who could have won the match outright through Dario Marcolin when the Italian loan signing hit the post with 67 minutes gone.
United could barely have got off to a better start when they took the game by the scruff of the neck with just eight minutes gone.
Nicos Dabizas spotted Dietmar Hamann heading into the Rovers penalty area and picked him out with a fine ball over the top.
The German checked back on to his right foot and lifted the ball into the near post where Shearer thumped his header past the stranded John Filan.
United were in complete control and looked set to wrap the game up long before the final whistle as David Batty established a stranglehold in central midfield.
But Rovers slowly regrouped and finally started to cause a few problems of their own.
However, United goalkeeper Given was hardly troubled at all until his defence failed to clear a 30th-minute corner.
Sherwood picked up the loose ball 20 yards out on the right-hand edge of the penalty area and drilled a shot across Given and inside his right post.
It was Blackburn's first real attempt at goal, but the quality certainly made up for the lack of quantity.
The visitors tightened things up once again after their goal, and chances were few and far between as Rovers consolidated and United struggled to break through.
Such was the blanket cover provided by Hodgson's defence that it was Dabizas who went closest with a long-range effort two minutes before the break.
If the home crowd had hoped for an improvement after the break, they were to be sadly mistaken.
United simply could not find a cutting edge, and Shearer and Paul Dalglish were starved of any meaningful service.
Indeed, Blackburn did exactly what the Magpies had done to Manchester United three days earlier, defending as a unit and attacking swiftly and effectively on the break, with Damien Johnson in particular getting forward to support lone striker Kevin Davies.
George Georgiadis and Batty both tested Filan with long-range efforts, but it was the visitors who almost snatched the lead.
Johnson got free on the right, and when Sherwood headed down his cross Marcolin smashed his shot against the foot of Given's left post.
Batty picked out Shearer with a fine pass over the top with 20 minutes remaining. But when he might have headed straight from goal he chested the ball down and sliced his shot well off target.
Substitute Gary Speed went only just wide from Dalglish's cross two minutes later - and Dalglish wriggled his way past Johnson and Stephane Henchoz but could not get in a shot before Filan came to the rescue.
In their eagerness to settle the tie in normal time, United pushed men forward and as a result started to lose their shape.
But their opportunity came with just four minutes remaining.
Dalglish failed to connect with Hamann's cross, but when Shearer returned the ball Georgiadis went down under Croft's challenge.
Referee Neale Barry pointed to the spot, but Shearer blasted his shot high over the bar to hand his former club a reprieve.
Davies almost took full advantage with a minute left when he blazed a shot from a narrow angle towards goal and Given got the merest of touches to keep it out.
Then the United goalkeeper produced his injury-time heroics to deny Kenna and keep his side in the game.
Shearer went close to re-establishing his side's lead 13 minutes into extra-time when his shot was deflected on to the Blackburn crossbar with Filan desperately back-pedalling.
The England captain was in on goal again with 110 minutes gone, but Henchoz got in just as he prepared to pull the trigger.
Davies could have won it on the whistle when he ran on to substitute Callum Davidson's cross but scuffed his shot wide.
In the shoot-out Johnson, Christian Dailly and Kenna all scored for Rovers, and Shearer and Stuart Pearce replied.
But Dunn was handed the opportunity to make it through Hughes' miss and he made no mistake.
Source: FOOTYMAD
