Blackburn Rovers beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 to claim the Worthington Cup for the first time in the club's history under a closed roof at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium this afternoon. Matt Jansen put Rovers in front after 25 minutes, but Christian Ziege grabbed Spurs' equaliser eight minutes later. £7.5 million signing Andy Cole was the hero for Rovers scoring the winner in the 69th minute to earn Rovers a place in Europe with their first Cup win since the 1920s. Blackburn were indebted to a Man of the Match performance from goalkeeper Brad Friedel, who saved Greame Souness' side a number of times, including a fine point-blank save from Les Ferdinand in the dying minutes.
Blackburn also survived a late penalty appeal when Teddy Sheringham went sprawling in the area after a challenge from Johansson. Following a nervous start, the game sparked into life in the 19th minute when Keith Gillespie's hopeful shot was deflected off Ben Thatcher and into the path of Jansen, who spun instantly onto the loose ball and sent his shot underneath Neil Sullivan's body.
With Gustavo Poyet pulling the strings from midfield, Spurs soon drew level when the Uruguayan played Ferdinand through to cut back for the unmarked Christian Ziege to sidefoot home at the far post. Poyet was the next to bear down on goal only for his fierce shot to cannon off the angle of post and bar, while Friedel denied him soon afterwards with a flying save.
Blackburn were very much in it, however, with Gillespie and Duff raiding down the flanks, while David Dunn's workrate was exemplary in central midfield, with Jansen a constant menace up front. Cole, meanwhile, blazed one chance over the bar but was not about to be denied forever and, with 22 minutes left, Blackburn were ahead again. Ledley King was badly at fault amid wholescale uncertainty in the Spurs defence as he failed to head the ball clear and there was Cole lurking with intent to scoop the ball past Sullivan into the far corner.
While substitutes Jordi and Craig Hignett both went close during the closing stages, Blackburn certainly rode their luck towards the end. Most notably, when Johansson seemingly brought down Sheringham with just three minutes left only for referee Graham Poll to wave away Spurs' strong penalty appeals. Then, Friedel again denied Ferdinand, clutching onto his close-range header with relief and Rovers hung on for a memorable victory to claim the season's first silverware.
Filed by Shane Murray
