HAD Blackburn United lost this game Kalim Hafeji could never have shown his face again.

For never has one player had so many chances and missed every single one of them - included three times when he actually went around the keeper!

Now there is no doubting the silky skills of United's flying winger who cut through New Road's defence like a hot knife through butter.

But when it came to the finishing touch, Hafeji was positively blunt.

On one occasion after New Road's keeper Farhan Musa saved his initial effort, Hafeji managed to hit a covering defender on the backside with the goal gaping.

Hafeji held his head in disbelief. Mind you it was Michael Tucker's backside that was blocking out the goal!

But it all added to the excitement of a game which featured Blackburn Combination's only two predominantly Asian teams.

Tell anyone, including the scores of fans who had turned up, that there was a more important game and they would have looked at you as if you were mad.

For this was the game of the season.

The match soon fell into a familiar pattern with United pounding the New Road goal where Tucker was a rock in the centre of defence.

The New Road skipper repelled everything that came his way - much to the relief of his animated manager Imtiaz Adam watching on the sidelines.

However in a rare New Road attack, Pete Jackson fed his strike partner Adam Slinger who smashed in a shot from the edge of the area that crashed off the underside of the cross bar and in - a-la Robbie Fowler against Arsenal.

However his goal celebrations were short lived as Slinger's stinger was ruled out because the referee had spotted an earlier infringement on one of his team-mates. He won't score a better goal all season and he didn't get another sniff all game.

United's pressure was endless and midway through the half we got a glimpse of what Hafeji could do when he belted down the left wing then cut across the field so much that he ended up crossing from near the right corner flag.

It soon became one-way traffic and Hafeji was involved in almost everything. On one occasion his pace took him away from the New Road defence but he shot straight at the keeper.

He then went around the keeper twice in as many minutes but failed to get enough contact on the ball to score the goal his inventiveness deserved.

The fact that the game remained goalless was as much to do with New Road's heroic defending as much as Hafeji's howlers. For Tucker, Gavin Hargreaves, Terry Hall and Abdul Foolat stuck to their task by fair means or by foul.

United made three substitutions before half time, probably for those players turning up late from work, while the excitement increased in the New Road camp.

However it was the introduction of Mohammed Mulla that was to eventually turn the game - but not until New Road clung on to take the game into extra time. Having survived a second half pummelling, with Musa denying Mulla, Younis Patel and Naveed Aslam, the game moved into extra time.

United nearly took the lead within a minuted when Imran Patel crossed for Naveed Aslam whose point blank volley was saved by Mulla.

New Road had brought on Imran Patel, whose pace caused United problems at the back but he rarely got the ball. But the deadlock was finally broken when Javed Feroze swung in a free kick and Mulla rose to head home.

United's best chance of doubling their lead fell to Hafeji. But after waltzing through the defence - you guessed it - he fluffed his shot!

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.