It’s one Ell of a strike to help see off Bowyer
ELLIOTT BENNETT’S spectacular strike capped off a miserable return to Blackburn for Gary Bowyer as 10-man Blackpool were sent crashing out of the cup at the Fourth-Round stage.
Blackburn, who sacked Bowyer as boss in November 2015, led in the ninth minute through a simple Sam Gallagher header.
Bennett’s stunning 30-yard strike – his first of the season – then doubled the lead midway through the first half.
Any lingering hopes of a comeback from the League Two side seemed to end when Kelvin Mellor received a second booking in the 65th minute for a rash challenge.
And, although the visitors hit the crossbar soon after, Rovers remained in control to deny any chance of an upset.
The hosts took only nine minutes to highlight the gulf between the sides when Jason Lowe swung in a cross from the right that goalkeeper Sam Slocombe came to meet.
But he was beaten to it by the unmarked Gallagher, who headed in his 10th goal this season.
Blackburn again showed their superiority in stunning fashion in the 22nd minute when Bennett played a neat one-two with Craig Conway before unleashing an unstoppable 30-yard effort that dipped and curled into the top corner.
Blackpool’s chances were all but gone in the 65th minute when Mellor, who was booked minutes earlier, launched into a wild challenge on Hope Akpan and received a deserved red card.
Gallagher almost added a third in the 70th minute when he latched on to Bennett’s cutback but his fierce effort was superbly tipped onto the post by Slocombe.
Rovers boss Owen Coyle said: “It was always going to be a dangerous tie. I’ve seen Blackpool a number of times and they’ve got some very good players.
“The Elliott Bennett goal was probably worth the admission money alone.”
Bowyer said: “I think the fine margins have gone against us a bit today. You come here and concede after eight minutes. Then you have to take your hat off – it’s a wonder strike.”
Dele Alli’s 89th-minute equaliser saved them from the embarrassment of going out of the cup to fourth-tier opposition for the first time in their history.
The Chairboys must have been dreaming of another big day when Garry Thompson put them within seven minutes of the last 16.
The midfielder has been able to dine out on his goal that helped Bradford City beat Arsenal in the League Cup quarter-final four seasons ago.
But he would have had the freedom of Wycombe if his towering 83rd-minute header had been the winner against the Gunners’ bitter North London rivals.
Alli’s lifesaver – cleverly side-footing past the superb Jamal Blackman – and a dramatic winner from two-goal Son with barely 60 seconds of six minutes of stoppage time to go, left the brave Wanderers in tears.
It was all the more remarkable as Spurs were down to 10 men for the final half-hour after Kieran Trippier had to go off with a hip injury
Wycombe boss Gareth Ainsworth had to be consoled by his coaching staff as his team bowed out in cruel, cruel fashion.
They had led 2-0 and 3-2 and the least they deserved on a heartbreaking afternoon was the consolation of a money-spinning replay at Adams Park.
Ainsworth and Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino embraced at the final whistle and the Wycombe boss said: “Mauricio told me, ‘That’s football, you were unlucky today, be proud of your boys’.
“They have done the whole town proud, done me proud and done themselves proud.
“A few years ago we were looking at going out of the Football League and today we were within seconds of causing one of the biggest cup shocks.”
Spare a thought for Paul Hayes who has now scored four cup goals against Chelsea, Manchester City and Spurs – and ended on the losing side on each occasion.
He scored for Scunthorpe at Stamford Bridge 12 years ago when the Iron briefly threatened to pull off a shock and he was on the mark again five years later in a 4-2 defeat against Manchester City.
On each occasion he had the sniff of glory but still ended up on the losing side.
This time he must have thought it was going to be different. Wanderers deserved to be in front but, in the end, Spurs just had too much Premier League class.
Son switched the ball on to his left foot to sneak his shot in at the near post via a slight deflection to make it 2-1 and that was the signal for Pochettino to call up the cavalry for the final half-hour.
Vincent Janssen, who had come on at half-time, kept up his goalscoring record and in totally familiar fashion.
The Dutch striker had only scored three times since joining Spurs from AZ Alkmaar for £17million.
Each of them had been from the spot and he made it four penalties so far after he had been blocked off by defender Aaron Pierre as he cut in from the right.
There was no doubt that ref Roger East had got it right – and even less doubt that Janssen would keep his 100 per cent record.
Ainsworth had promised he would not park the bus and he was true to his word.
In a rampaging start, his team could have scored in the first minute as Hayes ghosted into the box and showed his almost telepathic understanding with Adebayo Akinfenwa.
‘The Beast’ was perfectly placed to head Sido Jombati’s deep cross back across the area, where Hayes’ effort bounced off the top of the bar with Michel Vorm beaten.
Akinfenwa had his chance with a close-range header that was grabbed low down by Vorm before Hayes kept up his amazing cup record against the big boys.
Josh Onomah’s headed clearance from a corner went straight to Hayes (left), who lashed in an unstoppable left-foot volley. And when he made it two when Cameron Carter-Vickers brought down Sam Wood, Ainsworth and his bench celebrated as if they were already at Wembley.
They are not – but at least they left White Hart Lane with the memories of what might have been. Pochettino said: “To play for the last 30 minutes with one player less, I think it’s another positive to take and that is the beauty of the FA Cup, a different level of the teams. “Full credit to Wycombe how they played the first half, they were better than us.
“I’m not sorry for them – I think that’s football. Today was for us, maybe another day it’s for them but I wish them all the best in their league.”