Dickov shuts them up

The veteran striker showed nerves of steel to convert the late penalty that sent his old club spinning out of the competition, and Rovers marching into their first FA Cup semi-final in 45 years.

It was a special moment for Dickov, who had spent much of the previous 82 minutes fielding flak from the 7,500 Foxes fans in the Darwen End of Ewood.

Football supporters can be a fickle bunch at the best of times but even Dickov was taken aback by the abuse he received off the visiting fans he had served so manfully for two and a half years.

The 32-year-old is the kind of whole-hearted player who gives nothing less than 100 per cent but all that seemed to be forgotten yesterday as he was subjected to cruel taunts by a moronic section of the Leicester faithful.

It's one thing accusing the Scot of being a traitor after he decided to quit the Foxeslast summer, but to deliberately bait him with chants about his ill-fated trip to La Manga was particularly galling given his young family were sat in the main stand.

However, as the saying goes, he who laughs last, laughs the longest and there was a poetic justice about the way Dickov smashed the match-winning goal past his old pal Ian Walker.

As Leicester hearts sank, Dickov's nearly burst out of his chest as he celebrated wildy in front of a delirious Blackburn End.

Rovers fans have waited what seems like an eternity to see their club in the semi-finals of the FA Cup - in fact, the majority at Ewood yesterday probably can't trace their allegiance back as far as 1960.

Thanks to Dickov, however, that wait is now over and suddenly fans are beginning to dream the impossible dream.

"It was a fantastic feeling to score the winner and I think everyone saw from my celebrations what it meant," said Dickov.

"The main thing was getting through but for me to score against my old club makes it all the sweeter.

"Their fans gave me some stick, which I was a bit surprised at because I had two great years there and I thought I did alright for them as well, so it was a little bit disappointing.

"But the best way to shut them up is to put the ball in the back of the net and that's what I did."

If anyone deserved to be the hero for Rovers then it was Dickov.

Over the last three months, the Scot has repeatedly put his body on the line by playing with a torn groin muscle, sustained in the Boxing Day clash with Newcastle.

That has prevented him from training every day and to make matters worse, he then severed a vein in his leg at Everton last weekend, which made him a doubt for this game right up to kick off.

Dickov being Dickov, however, he would play with a broken leg so it was no surprise he declared himself fit - and how grateful Mark Hughes must be that he did.

A replay appeared to be looming when Rovers were suddenly awarded a penalty with just eight minutes remaining.

Morten Gamst Pedersen brilliantly pulled down a diagonal ball from Lucas Neill on the left side of the box and made for the by-line with Darren Kenton in pursuit.

As the Norwegian feigned to cross, Kenton committed himself, not anticipating Pedersen's deft drag-back, and the Rovers player stumbled over his prostrate body.

After a moment's deliberation, referee Neale Barry pointed to the spot and Dickov duly took responsibility, smashing an unstoppable shot straight down the middle to leave Walker with no chance.

Waves of relief, rather than ecstasy, lapped around Ewood.

This was by no means a vintage Rovers performance, but they did enough to make history.

Earlier in the day, Hughes' decision to stick with the same 11 that had started last week's game against Everton was the major talking point before kick-off.

That meant Jon Stead - the hero at Goodison - had to be content with a place on the bench, but Hughes is not the type to be swayed by popular opinion and he was more concerned about making sure Leicester didn't have an extra man in midfield as he matched their 4-5-1 formation.

The result was a rather scrappy, disjointed affair, where space in midfield was at a premium.

With Dickov operating as a lone striker, the distribution needed to be spot on, but too often in the first half it lacked accuracy and the midfield were slow to support.

Leicester, meanwhile, came with a gameplan that was designed to frustrate the home side.

Craig Levein's side got men behind the ball in numbers and with giants like Dion Dublin and Mark De Vries in their line-up, they pinned their hopes on nicking a goal from a set-piece.

But for all Leicester's huff and puff, Brad Friedel was only called on to make one save of note as Rovers defended magnificently, led by the superb Ryan Nelsen, who was majestic in the air against the towering De Vries.

Rovers started brightly enough and they were inches away from breaking the deadlock after just four minutes when Pedersen curled a brilliant free kick over the wall but his effort struck the post and bounced to safety.

Four minutes later, Garry Flitcroft threaded a clever ball through to Dickov, but with Nikos Dabizas breathing heavily down his neck, Rovers' leading scorer opted to hit it early and his scuffed effort was comfortably dealt with by Walker.

Gareth Williams and Joey Gudjonsson came close and at the start of the second half Dublin sent a header goalwards but Friedel made a routine save.

Hughes took decisive action in the 57th minute, sending on Stead and switching to a more orthodox 4-4-2, and the game suddenly opened up as a result.

David Thompson volleyed over, Pedersen had a 'goal' disallowed after the ref blew up for a foul on Brett Emerton, and Lucas Neill missed a sitter.

Then, in shades of the play off final of 1992, Rovers finally got the break they needed with eight minutes remaining when Pedersen was clearly fouled in the area and Dickov did the rest.

For those who like omens, Rovers' cup run began in Cardiff, just a mile away from the Millennium Stadium, and the last time they reached the final, they beat Burnley on the way.

Maybe, just maybe, their name could be on the cup this year.