Rovers keep cup dream alive

12 April 2012

Blackburn manager Mark Hughes is dreaming of FA Cup glory once again after his under-strength side left Everton humiliated with a comfortable 4-1 third-round win at Goodison Park.

Young striker Matt Derbyshire, a lifelong Blackburn fan, continued his progress with a clinical fifth-minute opener. Morten Gamst Pedersen curled in a superb 25-yard free-kick midway through the opening period and the game was effectively over when Paul Gallagher lashed in a superb third six minutes before the break.

Andy Johnson's 68th-minute penalty sparked faint hopes of an improbable comeback from the crestfallen Merseysiders, but Rovers hit back with a late fourth from substitute Benni McCarthy.

Hughes' men have now won six of their last seven games and the Blackburn boss has every right to feel quietly confident about a prolonged run in the competition to which he contributed so much during his playing days.

The former Wales striker lifted the FA Cup as a Manchester United player in 1985, 1990 and 1994 before claiming his fourth winners' medal with Chelsea in 1997. How fitting it would be if he were return to the rebuilt Wembley as a manager with his finely-assembled Blackburn side.

On this evidence, Rovers have the talent and the resilience to go all the way - they ruthlessly disposed of Everton without half their first-choice team.

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