Brave Owls set up interesting Rovers Return

Any dreams of making it to the Worthington League Cup final might've been dead and buried at half-time in Wednesday's Semi-Final first leg encounter with Blackburn Rovers at Hillsborough last night. Instead, a brave second half performance by the Owls has given them a sniff of a chance for the second leg in two weeks' time.

The Owls had started brightly and Graeme Souness' men might've been a little shell shocked that the side second off bottom in the First Division was given them such a rough ride. In the end though their Premier League experience pulled through when goals by Craig Hignett (27) and Andy Cole (39) had given Rovers a precious two goal lead. Being two goals down at half-time left a tough situation for Terry Yorath. If he committed more men forward to try and grab a goal or two there would always be the chance Rovers might grab a third or fourth goal which would really kill off the tie.

But an Efan Ekoku goal, his fourth in this competition this season, just six minutes into the second half gave the home side the boost they needed. The 30,000 Hillsborough crowd came alive and from then on it was Wednesday who dominated the proceedings.

Wednesday's wasted numerous chances in the second half which in the end cost them dearly. With Gerald Sibon out suspended it was Pablo Bonvin who was handed a rare start, but the South American forward was guilty of not putting his chances away. Ekoku too came close to grabbing the all elusive equalising goal.

In the end though the Owls had to settle with a 1-2 scoreline. Terry Yorath later admitted he felt his side had deserved a draw, but at least were still in with a chance.

This report from Soccernet:

Cole helps close in on Cup final by Peter Ferguson

Andy Cole fired the first goal of his Blackburn Rovers career at Hillsborough last night to steer Graeme Souness's confident Premiership side towards their first major final since 1960. FA Cup saviour Craig Hignett struck the first blow to stun outsiders Sheffield Wednesday in their Worthington Cup semi-final home leg and £7.5million England forward Cole put Blackburn in the driving seat before half-time.

Efan Ekoku at least pulled one back after 52 minutes in a spirited Wednesday revival to give the relegation-haunted home side a slim chance for the Ewood Park return in a fortnight but it would take a brave man to bet against Rovers reaching the Millennium Stadium on February 24.

All eyes were inevitably on Cole, and the former Manchester United striker's constant movement from the off marked him down as the danger man if Wednesday were to topple the third top-flight side of their remarkable run to the last four. Cole had scored in his last appearance against Wednesday - a 4-0 victory at Old Trafford as the Yorkshiremen struggled in vain to preserve their Premiership status two seasons ago - and he was obviously anxious to repeat that feat as soon as possible.

Highly-rated 21-year- old Leigh Bromby was handed the captain's armband by manager Terry Yorath. But it was often defensive partner Ashley Westwood facing the attacking peril of Cole, who got his first shot on Kevin Pressman's goal after only 10 minutes.

David Dunn, who earlier yesterday insisted that he is staying at Blackburn despite a reported £8m bid from Chelsea, was also keen to get in on the action. He capitalised on a fine pass from Turkey skipper Tugay to hit a good effort that was helped past Pressman's post by a deflection from Phil O'Donnell.

Wednesday initially gave as good as they got, with Argentinian youngster Pablo Bonvin prominent with an early cross that gave Paul McLaren a chance with a header which Brad Friedel was grateful to tip over his crossbar. The America goalkeeper was also happy enough to shepherd a Bonvin shot past his right-hand post but he was reliant on Craig Short when Ekoku miskicked an Alan Quinn centre.

It all added up to an opening half-hour which allowed Wednesday, second bottom of the First Division and fearful for their future, to believe they could live with Blackburn as they had Sunderland and Aston Villa. They could not for long, though, and it took a former south York-shire hero in Hignett to bring Wednesday's fans back down to earth with a thump as the former Barnsley midfielder struck for Rovers after 30 minutes.

The architect was Damien Duff, scampering down the left to deliver a cross that somehow found its way across Wednesday's penalty area to the far post, where Hignett - an FA Cup scorer four days earlier at his old haunt Oakwell - gleefully belted his shot into the roof of Pressman's net.

It was a body blow for Wednesday, as the Premiership side had barely managed a decent shot on target before that moment, but Hignett's opener spelled a cold dose of reality for the Hillsborough crowd. Blackburn might have improved on their advantage - Alan Mahon miskicked in front of goal just five minutes later - but when the former Tranmere midfielder was replaced by that old cup warhorse Mark Hughes in the 38th minute, the writing was on the wall.

Former United and Chelsea star Hughes, three times a winner in this competition, had been on the pitch only a couple of minutes when he freed Duff, who cut the ball back for the incoming Cole to stretch and score with the outside of his left boot.

Wednesday appealed half-heart-edly for a penalty when Bonvin went down under a challenge from Friedel but they got a break seven minutes into the second half when Ekoku stabbed in his seventh goal of the season from O'Donnell's centre

Half-time: Owls 0-2 Blackburn