IT’S ROVERS & OUT FOR WREXHAM

Blackburn Wrexham

GOAL MACHINE Sammie Szmodics continued his red-hot form for Blackburn to set up an FA Cup reunion with Newcastle for boss Jon Dahl Tomasson.

Szmodics scored twice to take his tally for the season to 21 and become the FA Cup’s joint-top scorer with Brighton’s Joao Pedro on five.

Tomasson will relish facing Newcastle at Ewood Park in the fifth round having managed just four goals for them during his one season on Tyneside in 1997-98.

Cash-strapped Rovers may be struggling in the Championship but they love the cups and they have now scored 26 in their six ties this season.

But they could lose players before Thursday’s transfer deadline and, ominously, Adam

Wharton was left on the bench after Crystal

Palace had an

£18.5million bid for the midfielder rejected. Sam Gallagher is wanted by Ipswich and the striker showed why as he bagged a goal and two assists.

For Wrexham, who brought 7,400 fans, this was the end of their Cup fairytale. Phil Parkinson’s League Two side will now focus on sealing back-toback promotions.

In this Wood derby – Ewood v Hollywood – Blackburn started brightly and Szmodics should have scored when he shot wide from just yards out.

Wrexham weathered the early storm and stunned Rovers by taking the lead on 18 minutes when Jake Garrett lost possession outside his own box and Sam Dalby fed Andrew Cannon to rifle home.

Blackburn regained their rhythm and took the lead with two goals in just two minutes.

First Gallagher pulled the ball back for Szmodics to score on 32 minutes and he then went from goal-maker to goal-taker as he skinned Ben Tozer on the left and planted his shot past Wrexham’s stranded goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo.

Rovers by now were rampant and added a third in the first minute of first-half stoppage time when Sondre Tronstad fed Szmodics and he finished coolly (above).

That goal finished off Wrexham and Blackburn added a fourth on 59 minutes when Gallagher failed to get away his shot and Tronstad fired home.

In the League Cup this season Rovers put four past Walsall, eight past Harrogate and then five past Cardiff before losing to Chelsea.

In the FA Cup they’ve hit five against Cambridge and another four last night. Newcastle beware.