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Cole grabs glory Blackburn beats Spurs 2-1 in League Cup finalPosted: Sunday February 24, 2002 12:43 PMUpdated: Sunday February 24, 2002 3:27 PM
CARDIFF (Reuters) -- England striker Andy Cole poached an opportunist winner as underdogs Blackburn Rovers won the League Cup for the first time on Sunday with a 2-1 triumph over Tottenham Hotspur at the Millennium Stadium. The 30-year-old former Manchester United player pounced after an error by Spurs' England hopeful Ledley King in the 69th-minute to seal Blackburn's first victory in a major cup final since their 1928 FA Cup success. Delighted Blackburn manager Graeme Souness told ITV: "We're the small club, they're the big club. It's great for us. "It was a very tight game, we felt at halftime there wasn't a great deal in it. I thought we shaded it in the second half, although they will point to possibly a penalty in the dying minutes. But I felt we shaded it. Blackburn had taken a surprise first-half lead through Matt Jansen before Spurs leveled through German Christian Ziege.
But Rovers needed some outstanding saves from American goalkeeper Brad Friedel, notably a superb 89th-minute effort to deny Les Ferdinand's header, to preserve their victory. With wind and rain lashing the Millennium Stadium before kickoff the decision to play the match under a closed roof was a simple one, but the 80,000 fans packed inside quickly set about trying to raise it in a rowdy first half full of chances. Blackburn took the lead against the run of play after 25 minutes when Jansen, still hoping to impress England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, found a Keith Gillespie shot at his feet and drove it through Neil Sullivan's legs. By then Ferdinand had wasted the clearest of openings when he was played clean through by Gustavo Poyet. But the former England striker dallied, United States goalkeeper Friedel got his hand to the ball and the opportunity went begging.
Open netDamien Duff almost made it 2-0 for Blackburn, who were belying their status as Premier League relegation candidates, before Spurs leveled just after the half hour. This time Ferdinand did superbly to beat Henning Berg and nutmeg Blackburn's Swede Nils-Eric Johansson, his cross picking out Ziege at the far post who gleefully sidefooted the ball into an open net. The game was end to end and before halftime Sullivan diverted a fierce Cole effort wide, while Friedel performed wonders to keep out a point-blank Ferdinand header from Ziege's swirling cross. After a quiet opening to the second half Poyet, who was having a highly effective game in midfield, almost put Spurs in front on the hour mark. The Uruguayan beat Berg but his curled effort bounce back off the corner of post and bar and Spurs captain Teddy Sheringham failed to convert the rebound. Soon after Poyet tested Friedel with a fierce drive following a flowing Spurs move but, as in the first half, Blackburn struck when it looked least likely. Berg drove a diagonal ball forward that King twice failed to clear, Jansen touched the ball on and Cole improvised superbly to hook the ball past Sullivan who couldn't quite keep it out. Souness, who bought Cole at the end of last year for around eight million pounds (US$11.45 million), was full of praise for his striker. "He was really unlucky with an effort that the goalkeeper stopped with his legs in the first half, and he got us the winner. He's a top man." "He's quality and he's proven. You ask the defenders who played against him today if he should go to the World Cup." Spurs manager Glenn Hoddle threw on Simon Davies and Steffen Iversen in a desperate bid to save the game and they almost did at the death. After 88 minutes referee Graham Poll waved away furious Spurs appeals for a penalty after Sheringham was felled in the area, then Friedel produced an astonishing save to deny Ferdinand again when the striker seemed certain to score from five meters out.
Souness the underdog savors winning feelingGraeme Souness savored a rare feeling after Blackburn Rovers' surprise League Cup triumph on Sunday -- that of the victorious underdog."I'm absolutely delighted. We came here as everyone's underdogs which is maybe a new experience for me," said the Blackburn manager, who as a Liverpool player in the 1970s and '80s won almost every trophy in the game. "It's a lovely feeling to win something," he added. "It's a unique feeling and I don't have the words to describe it. I thought my team played exceptionally well." Souness paid special tribute to his match-winner Andy Cole, comparing his predatory instincts to those of his old Anfield team mate Ian Rush. "He's a goal-getter, he's a predator. He's in many ways like Ian Rush, who I played with. He played on the fringes of the game but if he's got half a chance he cuts your throat -- that's what Andy's like." Rovers' other hero was American goalkeeper Brad Friedel, who made three superb saves to deny Spurs striker Les Ferdinand and won the man-of-the-match award. Friedel played for Souness previously at Turkish club Galatasaray and the manager also tried to sign him when he was Liverpool manager. "There is not another premier league goalkeeper I'd swap him for," Souness said.
"We won the cup at Galatasaray and he was the difference for us. He's arguably been the difference today." Friedel gave a modest assessment of his display afterwards. "Les is an outstanding player, he's never easy to play against and today we were fortunate to come out on top," the American said. "When [Spurs midfielder Gustavo] Poyet hit the post I thought it was going to be one of those days for us." Souness had a special word for 38-year-old striker Mark Hughes, who had a fine game in an unfamiliar midfield role and picked up his seventh FA or League Cup winners' medal. "Hughes is absolutely minging in training, he never puts two passes together," Souness said. "He was the exact opposite today, he never gave the ball away." Sheringham slams refereeTeddy Sheringham slammed referee Graham Poll after the controversial official failed to award Tottenham Hotspur a late penalty that could have saved their English League Cup final blushes on Sunday. The Spurs striker appeared to be fouled in the area by Blackburn Rovers defender Nils-Eric Johansson two minutes before the end of Tottenham's 2-1 defeat at the Millennium Stadium. But FIFA referee Poll, who will take charge of matches at this year's World Cup, waved away frantic appeals from the Spurs players. "It was a definite penalty," England international Sheringham told reporters. "I can't believe he's not given it... but you'll probably read in a book in six months' time that because I was 'on to him' all game he decided not to give it. "But that's the type of fella we're dealing with. It was one of those things...ask him why he didn't give it." Spurs manager Glenn Hoddle also bemoaned Poll's decision. "The massive key for us was a nailed-down penalty that we didn't get," he said. "I've seen it and most people are telling me the same -- it's a penalty. Graham Poll has decided very quickly, I would say, not to give it. "He's not looked at his linesman, who was in a perfect position... I haven't spoken to him [Poll] about it -- it just gives me blood pressure. "But you have got to take it all on the chin... we're bitterly disappointed." Blackburn manager Graeme Souness, however, defended Poll. "It wasn't a penalty, as the referee pointed out to me afterwards," he said. Sheringham admitted he was unhappy with his performance. "I was disappointed with the way I played, and definitely disappointed with the way the team played," the 35-year-old said. "But having said that, we had enough chances to win it." Tottenham goalkeeper Neil Sullivan insisted the heart-breaking experience of losing in a showpiece final would benefit the club's young players in the long-term. "The occasion will have given them a taste of what it's like, and hopefully make them want to come back and do even better," he said.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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