Somewhere amid the 10 goals, the sending-off and the pitch invasion, Aston Villa reached their first major final since 2000. If you are going to Wembley, you might as well do it with lashings of excitement, though Sam Allardyce’s heart surgeon, who probably finished this match a shivering wreck behind his sofa, would no doubt disagree. This had more twists and turns than a Dan Brown thriller, and in truth the 6-4 score line does not do Allardyce or Blackburn Rovers justice. For 30 minutes they tore Villa to pieces, the home side doing no more than hanging on, their one-goal advantage gone within 10 minutes.
Their grip on the final worn to nothing more than a fingertip hold, thanks to two first-half goals from Nikola Kalinic.
But strikes from Stephen Warnock, James Milner, a Steven N’Zonzi own goal, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Ashley Young, and even one from Emile Heskey, ensured it would be Villa who contest the final on Sunday Feb 28.
“Was it 6-4?” a breathless O’Neill asked. “I’m delighted.”
Allardyce, understandably, was not. “The only reason we’re not going to Wembley is the referee,” he said in a stinging attack on Martin Atkinson.
It is unfortunate that there should be a sour aftertaste for Blackburn. Milner’s goal at Ewood Park last week forced them to play the aggressors, and they went at Villa with primordial passion, overrunning their opponents in midfield, spending the first 10 minutes occupying prime real estate in front of Brad Guzan’s goal.
David Dunn’s corner in the 10th minute was headed off the back of Warnock’s neck by Kalinic, and into the Villa goal in front of an aghast Holte End. Rapturous support drained away, replaced by gloomy silence as Villa struggled to extricate themselves from their own half. Blackburn had the fires burning fiercely in their bellies, a situation which demanded that Villa snuff out the flames by depriving their opponents of the oxygen of possession. Instead they flapped, which everyone knows only makes fire burn brighter.
Thus it was that Morten Gamst Pedersen found the ball on the right and Martin Olsson, inexplicably, was allowed to pop up in between Richard Dunne and James Collins and head the cross goalwards from six yards. Guzan produced a reflex stop, but Kalinic was lurking.
Desperate times for Villa, two goals required and barely a sign of one to come. With Heskey’s aerial impact neutralised by the gangly N’Zonzi, and Agbonlahor with only the 6 ft 4 in Blackburn centre-back Christopher Samba for company, goals would need to come from elsewhere.
Warnock answered the distress call. Young whipped a dangerous cross into the area, the ball eluded Ryan Nelsen, Samba and Pascal Chimbonda, leaving Warnock free to finish at the far post. A discreet shove from Agbonlahor might account for Nelsen’s failure to intercept the ball, leaving Allardyce crying foul.
“Let me choose my words as carefully,” he said. “It is not contentious decision for the penalty or the sending off. We had done a fantastic job in unhinging Villa. This was the decision which stopped us going to Wembley.”
Seeing the light, Heskey released Agbonlahor with a ball over the top, but Samba came in from behind. Atkinson went to his pocket for the red, and Milner converted from the spot, Villa Park suddenly rediscovering its voice.
The noise redoubled when Dunne’s effort went in off N’Zonzi for Villa’s third, and it had become a crescendo by the time Milner’s shot deflected off Agbonlahor into the bottom left corner – another goal Allardyce took issue with, as it seemed to come off Agbonlahor’s arm. “That’s two goals they shouldn’t have had,” the Blackburn manager said.
The home fans were fairly falling out of their seats when Heskey rounded
Paul Robinson. Even Olsson’s scissor volley a minute later, followed by Brett Emerton’s goal five minutes from time didn’t dampen the spirit. When Young rounded things off in time added on, and Atkinson blew the final whistle, they flooded the pitch.
This was Villa’s biggest game in a decade. There is an even more important one waiting next month. Here’s hoping it is just as exhilarating.
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