Simon Eastwood of Blackburn Rovers eyed the net in the 94th minute to tie the Liverpool-Blackburn Rovers matchup at 1-1. Liverpool goalie Simon Mignolet saved the shot, preserving his clean sheet, and helped Liverpool move on to the FA Cup Semifinals with a 1-0 victory. (Getty)
Final Score
Blackburn Rovers 0-0–0
Liverpool 0-1–1
Liverpool edged Blackburn Rovers 1-0 to move on to Wembley Stadium to play Aston Villa in the FA Cup semifinals.
Liverpool dominated the possession of this game and had a couple great opportunities on net in the first half, but the game stayed tied into halftime. Liverpool goalie Simon Mignolet made two massive saves in the 47th minute to deny Blackburn the first goal of the game and Liverpool dominated the pace in the second half as well. Philippe Coutinho received a pass in front of the net in the 70th minute and slotted the ball in the lower far corner to give Liverpool the deciding goal.
Blackburn had their opportunities at the end of the game, but Liverpool goalie Simon Mignolet was on task to preserve the lead for Liverpool. Blackburn had their goalie Simon Eastwood on the attack for a long throw in the 94th minute, but Mignolet made a save on a ball on net to prevent Blackburn from tying the game in the waining minutes. Simon Mignolet finished with his 16th clean sheet in all competitions for Liverpool in 2014-2015, with 12 clean sheets coming since the beginning of 2015.
Here are the highlights:
Chance for Blackburn Rovers in the 94th Minute
Blackburn Rovers goalie Simon Eastwood has a shot on goal, but it is saved by Simon Mignolet.
90+3 – CHANCE for Rovers goalkeeper Eastwood, who was up for a long throw. Fires a great shot on target, but straight at @SMignolet #FACup
Philippe Coutinho Scores in The 70th Minute
Coutinho scores his sixth goal of the season in all competitions to give Liverpool a 1-0 lead. Coutinho slotted the ball onto the far post to beat Blackburn Rovers goalie Simon Eastwood.
Two Chances for Blackburn Rovers in The 47th Minute
Simon Mignolet made two saves to keep the game even at 0-0.
Two shots to the right for Blackburn Rovers saved by Liverpool goalie Simon Mignolet.
46m – SAVE and then POST for @OneRovers – two saves from @SMignolet to deny Conway and then Marshall. 0-0 still (just). #FACup
Stats
Goal: Liverpool: Philippe Coutinho (70′)
Shots (on goal): Liverpool, 17 (6); Blackburn Rovers, 10 (4)
Fouls: Blackburn Rovers, 10; Liverpool, 10
Possession: Liverpool 68%; Blackburn Rovers 32%
Lineups
Liverpool (3-4-3): Mignolet; Johnson, Lovren, Sakho (Toure 27′); Henderson, Lucas, Allen, Moreno; Sterling, Coutinho, Sturridge (Lambert 85′).
Liverpool Reserves: Jones, Toure, Lambert, Manquillo, Borini, Brannagan, Markovic
Blackburn Rovers: Eastwood, Henley, Baptiste, Kilgallon, Olsson, Conway (Gestede 64′), Evans, Williamson, Cairney, Marshall, Rhodes
Blackburn Rovers Reserves: Steele, Spurr, Songo’o, Nyambe, Lenihan, Mahoney, Gestede
Preview
Daniel Sturridge and Liverpool were held in a 0-0 draw against Blackburn on March 8th, 2015 at Anfield in Liverpool, England. The two teams face off in a replay of their sixth round FA Cup matchup on April 8th, 2015. (Getty)
Liverpool has had an up and down season in 2014-2015. They were knocked out of the Champions League in the Group stage, slumped in the English Premier League at the end of 2014 and have struggled in the FA Cup; they also made the semifinals of the Capital One Cup, went without a loss in the English Premier League for better than three months, and, even with struggle, are still alive in the FA Cup. Liverpool will be without some firepower in the replay of their FA Cup sixth round replay, as defender Emre Can, defender Martin Skrtel, and midfielder Steven Gerrard will all miss the game because of suspension. Liverpool also has the pressure of winger Raheem Sterling’s contract talk hanging over their head. Liverpool last won the FA Cup in 2006 over West Ham in shootout after a 3-3 draw over 120 minutes.
Blackburn Rovers have a rich history in the top flight of English football, but slumped to the English Championship League in the 2012-2013 season and have all but guaranteed that they will spend a fourth consecutive season in the English second division in 2015-2016. The FA Cup has provided glory for Blackburn this season and a victory over Liverpool would send Blackburn to Wembley Stadium for the semifinals of the FA Cup for the first time since their 2007 semifinal loss to Chelsea. The team is fueled by Joshua King and Chris Taylor, who each have scored three goals in the FA Cup. Blackburn Rovers last won the FA Cup in 1928 over Huddersfield Town and the 3-1 victory was Blackburn’s sixth FA Cup title.
