JONES OUT TO GROUND OWLS
SHEFFIELD WED 0 LUTON 0
to get to the next level, we believe we have players who can play at the next level and if we were to beat Wednesday, that would rubber-stamp what we believe we are capable of.
“And it would give us a massive confidence boost too.”
Town keeper James Shea (above) was the hero on Saturday, making excellent saves to deny home strikers Marco Matias, twice, and Steven Fletcher to earn his side a replay.
Owls defender Michael Hector insists his side must take care of business in the replay.
“We wanted the win, but it wasn’t to be,” he said.
“We are still in the hat, that’s the positive. Now we have to take care of the job away from home.” BRADLEY DACK sat in the dressing room after the final whistle feeling very different to the last time he’d played a Cuptie against Premier League opponents.
Back in September 2016, he was on the end of a 5-0 thumping against Tottenham during his Gillingham days.
That League Cup game had been a sobering experience for Dack, who fancied his chances of playing top-flight football one day.
If it felt out of reach that night, it’s no longer such a distant prospect for the 25-year-old who has been at the heart of all things good for improving Blackburn.
And after his latest brush with the big boys, he believes the dream has moved significantly closer. “It’s nice to test yourself against Premier League opposition and this was a lot more fun than the last one,” said Dack.
“My previous club wasn’t of the same standard as Blackburn now but we struggled that day.
“I remember thinking afterwards, ‘I’m a long way off from this kind of level.’ That wasn’t a great feeling.
“But against Newcastle, I proved to myself I can play at this level, and this team can. That says a lot.”
While it also says much about the Magpies’ own inadequacies and just where the Cup lies in Rafa Benitez’s list of priorities, it confirmed Rovers are on an upward curve.
Tony Mowbray’s fluid side took a deserved lead when Dack headed in his 12th goal of the season and only a late penalty from Matt Ritchie earned the hosts a replay.
Benitez described the outcome as the “worst-case scenario” but should have known Toon hopes of a win would be diminished by his team selection.
With his struggling side facing relegation rivals Cardiff four days later, there’s little chance of him calling on the cavalry at Ewood Park either.
He admitted afterwards Newcastle only looked like scoring once Jonjo Shelvey, Christian Atsu and Ayoze Perez, who won the 85th-minute spot-kick, were thrown on.
But they won’t start the replay even though Ritchie, captain on the day he broke his season’s duck, admits the regular first-teamers would love the chance to finish the job off.
Instead, Benitez looks set to rely on the likes of Kenedy and Jacob Murphy, whose confidence looks at an all-time low.
“We were in the Championship not so long ago so we’re used to Saturdays, Tuesday, Saturdays,” said Ritchie. “Your body adapts to it. Personally, I’d rather play.
“Any footballer would rather do that than train.”