Jamie Jackson was at Ewood Park, so here’s his match report
Jon Dahl Tomasson enjoyed himself and spoke to the BBC: “When you’re playing in the FA Cup, first of all, it’s important to win the game. A game like this tonight, it can be a dangerous game.
“We could have been 2-0 up after five minutes, and then we conceded a goal. The players stayed calm. We scored brilliant goals after that. I must admit, Wrexham bringing more than 7,000 fans on a Monday night, that’s incredible.”
A fifth round meeting between Blackburn and Newcastle, you say?
For convoluted reasons, I had to put on a fake Lancastrian accent this evening to make sure my mate got to stay in the stadium.
Full-time: Blackburn 4-1 Wrexham
After that early Cannon goal, it looked like Wrexham could sink another Championship team. But that didn’t count for Sammie Szmodics who scored two fine goals.
90 min: The ball is laid off to Szmodics who smashes it with everything he has but this time he can’t beat the goalie.
89 min: Free-kick to Blackburn and Szmodics wants the ball. And a hat-trick.
87 min: Mendy steps up from midfield, looks for Lee, and utterly overhits his pass. Yes, it’s been that sort of night.
85 min: Okonkwo smashes the ball out of play. He’s on loan from Arsenal, and that segue and his keeping for the Gallagher goal would suggest he’s work to do to stay part of Mikel Arteta’s plans.
82 min: Joe Pearson is back for more: “Me again, with some football content this time. Even if Wrexham get promoted to League One (possibly), the gulf between them and the Championship is, on the basis of this match, immense. Reynolds is going to need to use some of those Mint Mobile Millions to improve the squad to have any chance.”
80 min: If there’s been more of a procession in a half of football this season, I’m yet to see it. Rovers have found it far easier against Wrexham than Cov did last year, and that Cov team finished above Rovers last year. Funny old game.
78 min: There are boos for this substitution. From the away fans, that is.
Double Wrexham substitution
— Wrexham AFC (@Wrexham_AFC) January 29, 2024
🔺 Ollie Palmer
🔻 Paul Mullin
🔺 Jake Bickerstaff
🔻 Sam Dalby
78’ | Blackburn Rovers 4-1 Wrexham AFC
🔴⚪️ #WxmAFC
76 min: Szmodics wants a hat-trick, but his swinging shot scuffs off the ground and is easily saved. He then has another go round the corner. Tomasson is willing him on from the sidelines.
73 min: Jon Dahl Tomasson, for whom it has been a tough season, is sat and looking relaxed in his cushioned seat. A place in the fifth round awaits and the visit of Newcastle.
70 min: Rovers fans continue to cheer the ball being played around by their utterly dominant team.
69 min: Triple Wrexham sub, too. Their social media team takes up the strain.
Triple Wrexham substitution
— Wrexham AFC (@Wrexham_AFC) January 29, 2024
🔺 Jacob Mendy
🔻 Ryan Barnett
🔺 James Jones
🔻 Andy Cannon
🔺 Jordan Tunnicliffe
🔻 Eoghan O’Connell
69’ | Blackburn Rovers 4-1 Wrexham AFC
🔴⚪️ #WxmAFC
68 min: Eliott Lee decides he’s David Beckham, and tries to score from his own half. Pears – briefly – looked all at sea panic abates as the ball flies over.
67 min: Paul Mullin has had a bad night and he’s raging when he fails to pick up a free-kick.
65 min: Three Rovers changes, off go the excellent Gallagher and Dolan. Plus Garrett. Chrisene, Telalovic and Ayari. Youngsters on, job done.
61 min: “4-1 in your cup final,” mock the Rovers fans. Thirty years ago, they were the glamour outfit with a sugar daddy,
60 min: Did Ryan and Rob know to stay away? Seems to be no way back for their brave boys. Blackburn have been hugely superior, especially in their forward line.
Goal! Blackburn 4-1 Wrexham (Tronstad, 59)
Oh no, Wrexham. Pulled apart by the movement of Szmodics and Gallagher, the ball ends up at the feet of the Norwegian and he wallops home. There was a slip to help that along.
Updated
58 min: Gallagher is a clever player but this time his feint and dummy is read by Wrexham’s defenders. Meanwhile, the Blackburn fans are enjoying their team being able to pass the ball around at will.
56 min: The Darwen End, full of 8,000 Wrexham fans, at last gets a closeup of their heroes. Tozer launches the ball into the area but the ball is cleared.
55 min: Joe Pearson gets in touch: “Been out running errands and just now catching up. Not to nitpick (actually, yes, to nitpick), but shouldn’t a mention of Weather Report be in tribute to Wayne Shorter, since he just passed last year, rather than Pastorius, who has been gone for over thirty years now? Yes, I am a music nerd/pedant.”
53 min: Hello, some ructions. Evans and Dolan clash. Was there an elbow in there? There was but there no intent. No VAR so we roll on. How quaint!
50 min: Wrexham look a little bedraggled, their high press no use at the moment. Rovers are passing it around rather nicely.
48 min: Some disquiet from that Wrexham bench? Or was it the fans? Should make for good content in the series. Less satisfying in the here and now, perhaps.
46 min: Steve Parkin is on the bench instead of Phil Parkinson, he’s not known for holding back, either. Rovers go back on the attack with Sigurdsson flashing wide from distance.
Perhaps should have gone in.
Absolutely. https://t.co/C8saQ4jEQQ pic.twitter.com/dCCbcmh5B8
— Rob McElhenney (@RMcElhenney) January 28, 2024
Half-time: Blackburn 3-1 Wrexham
Championship class is telling, Sammie Szmodics looks a cut above, with his partner Sam Gallagher also looking the part. Wrexham feeding for scraps, and Okonkwo’s goalkeeping let his teammates down.
45+2 min: Paul Mullin has the last chance of the half with a free-kick. He clatters it miles over.
Goal! Blackburn 3-1 Wrexham (Szmodics, 45+1)
Wrexham push up and are caught on the hop. Szmodics bursts into the space and slots his second, his fifth in the FA Cup. He celebrates by telling the away fans to be quiet.
44 min: Wrexham have travelled in huge numbers and could have sold more. It’s a cold night, and it’s on BBC Wales but have any fans replicated Manchester City fans’ invasion of the hill behind the goal? Estimates of 40,000 were made at the time.
41 min: Blackburn really fancy this one now. The Wrexham fans are a little less noisy though game enough.Sadly, the TV view doesn’t show the Ewood stand where everyone walks in front of those in the seats.
39 min: Wrexham look shellshocked, and are probably looking to half-time and some Phil Parkinson words – choice, no doubt – to redirect them.
37 min: There’s something of a lull after all that chaos. Rovers are maintaining their passing rhythm.
35 min: You can’t sat Arthur Okonkwo didn’t warn us he was going to do something daft. That was like someone playing rush goalie/fly goalie on a park.
Goal! Blackburn 2-1 Wrexham (Gallagher, 34)
My word, Rovers score again. Gallagher shows off his great touch for a big man but is by the touchline and – for some reason – Okonkwo charges out and misses the challenge, Gallagher has chance to score into an open net.
Updated
Goal! Blackburn 1-1 Wrexham (Szmodics, 32)
Rovers’ patience pays off. Neat interchange of passing as Gallagher sets up Szmodics, who has come from deep and slots in his 20th of the season. Two fine goals scored tonight.
30 min: Blackburn try to pass slowly. Wrexham have curled up into a protective ball to soak up pressure.
28 min: Garrett on Dalby sets up a long-range free-kick that is taken short for Lee who thuds it into the torso of Sigurdsson. That probably hurt on a wet, cold night. The promised rain is yet to fully descend.
26 min: Still some defending to do for Wrexham as Tozer bails out O’Connell after his partner had lost control of the situation.
24 min: Jack in Brasilia gets in touch: “When the side pitch ads for Venkys and other blue and white logos appear, I find the Blackburn players blending into the ad. Do you think that’s every put under kit colour consideration? Or is the chance for comedy passes to the pitch too funny to legislate against?”
Comedy, you say?
22 min: What a double save from Pears! First from Cannon, and then from McClean for the followup that was even better. Dad Steve will be proud.
20 min: That followed the pattern of what Wrexham did to Coventry last season, and many others besides, no doubt. Their fans have taken to jeering missed Blackburn efforts, Sam Gallagher’s the latest to receive the treatment.
Goal! Blackburn 0-1 Wrexham (Cannon, 19)
Wow! Wrexham trigger the counter, and Dalby plays in Cannon to crash home. He looked to have gone too wide but Pears had no chance. And what noise from the Wrexham fans!
Updated
18 min: Paul Mullin has a free-kick chance, and he winds up to hit one of his specials…the resultant kick is not one of his specials. Still, Wrexham coming into this.
16 min: Ben Tozer is set to launch one of his throw-ins. It actually lands quite short of the area but a flick ends in the arms of Pears.
13 min: Szmodics has the ball in the net but is clearly offside as he smashes the ball in. The ironic cheers ring out from the Wrexham fans.
12 min: Fine tackle from James McClean – yes, that one - on Dolan sets up Wrexham on the counter but Mullin is robbed and Rovers go down the other end.
10 min: Ben Tozer, playing his 600th match for Wrexham, has to come across to block Sam Gallagher.
8 min: Blackburn corner, taken by Sigurdsson but cleared. And when the ball comes back into the box Okonkwo comes out and slides rather dangerously.
6 min: Rovers have won only one of their last six and seem to want to end that run with a vengeance. Mullin and Lee, the Wrexham forwards, are primed to hit them on the counter.
4 min: Blackburn are dominant, and Wrexham keeper Okonkwo, on loan from Arsenal, almost gets caught in no-man’s land when charging out at goal towards the buzzy Dolan.
3 min: Blackburn carve out an opener. Dolan’s pass inside finds the in-form Szmodics but the form deserts Rovers’ top marksman in missing that chance. Big noise from the Wrexham massive.
2 min: A slowish start. These two teams have not met since 1982, presumably in the old Second Division.
1 min: Away we go at Ewood, and the prize in store is meeting Newcastle in the fifth round.
Breaking news
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are NOT at Ewood Park.
Repeat: NOT at Ewood Park.
They’ll be floating around social media later, no doubt.
Where will you be watching Blackburn Rovers vs Wrexham from? 🌎
— Wrexham AFC (@Wrexham_AFC) January 29, 2024
🔴⚪️ #WxmAFC pic.twitter.com/1na5XYaL2J
Last season at Cov, the Wrexham fans made a huge noise in the away end and so they are doing the same at Ewood Park tonight. Ewood’s an odd stadium in that my main memory is of people constantly walking in front of the stand opposite the dugout. Not been for many years but I don’t think much changed.
Wrexham, the miniseries version, beat a Championship club last season in the FA Cup, and yes, I was there to see it.
Blackburn drew 1-1 with Huddersfield last time out, and Huddersfield have just sacked Darren Moore. Tomasson has made five changes. Joe Rankin-Costello, Tyrhys Dolan, Scott Wharton, Andrew Moran and Arnor Sigurdsson all start. Adam Wharton is on the bench. Crystal Palace want him.
Aynsley Pears in the Rovers goal is son of Middlesbrough stalwart Steve Pears, once of Manchester United, too. Rovers are 18th in the Championship table. Sammie Szmodics has scored 19 goals this season, a player called up by Ireland but yet to play for them.
Wrexham were beaten 1-0 at Welsh rivals Newport County last time out. The same Newport who ran Manchester United close on Sunday. Phil Parkinson, banished to the stands, makes two changes, Will Boyle is suspended, with Eoghan O’Connell coming in. Andy Cannon replaces James Jones.
Weather report, in tribute to Jaco Pastorius.
From the Lancashire Evening Telegraph:
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for rain which covers all parts of East Lancashire. Blackburn and other parts of the county have been told to prepare for 17 hours of heavy rain.
The yellow warning comes into force from midday today (January 29) and is in place until 5am on Tuesday. The Met Office say the heavy rain may lead to some flooding and also impact travel.
The teams
🔢 Team news!
— Blackburn Rovers (@Rovers) January 29, 2024
5⃣ changes.
🔙 Joe Rankin-Costello & Tyrhys Dolan return.
✅ Scott Wharton, Andrew Moran & Arnor Sigurdsson all start.
🤕 Harry Pickering, Hayden Carter (both hamstring), Callum Brittain (ankle) & Harry Leonard (illness) miss out.#ROVvWXM | #Rovers 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/l0D2OxmDIM
TEAM NEWS | Blackburn Rovers vs Wrexham AFC
— Wrexham AFC (@Wrexham_AFC) January 29, 2024
🔘 Your Red Dragons for tonight's @EmiratesFACup Fourth Round clash 👇
🔴⚪️ #WxmAFC pic.twitter.com/NeMb30Csrr
Important message from the people’s competition.
1 in 3 people born today will develop dementia.
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 27, 2024
A diagnosis unlocks treatment, care, and support. But thousands are living undiagnosed.
If you see signs of dementia in a loved one, use the @alzheimerssoc symptoms checklist: https://t.co/QU6RNJpHoE.
#SupportTheSupporters
Preamble
The final match of what’s been a highly entertaining fourth round of the competition – at least once we got to Saturday and Sunday – and it’s Championship outfit Blackburn taking on Wrexham of League Two. We know what the TV schedulers are looking out for here, and no, it’s probably not the star quality of Jon Dahl Tomasson’s men. Yes, it’s a bit of reflected glory from the streaming miniseries that continues to be so popular. It was this time last season that Phil Parkinson’s men faced Sheffield United in a rather bad-tempered but very exciting tie that went to a replay, the Blades winning out. Will Rob and Ryan be there? Oooh, let’s see. There’s also a football match to be played.
Kick-off is 7.30 UK time. Join me.
