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| January 14, 2006 | Saturday | Zilhaj 13, 1426 |
Pedersen keeps Blackburn in hunt for Cup final
LONDON, Jan 13: Norwegian Morten Gamst Pedersen hit a blistering equaliser to secure Blackburn Rovers a 1-1 draw with Manchester United in a fiery League Cup semifinal, first-leg clash on Wednesday.
Pedersen, who scored twice at Old Trafford earlier in the season when Rovers won 2-1 in a surprise league victory, quickly cancelled out Louis Saha’s 30th-minute opener at Ewood Park to leave the tie well-poised.
United manager Alex Ferguson, chastened by the inept display from his second-string side in the humiliating 0-0 FA Cup draw by minor league Burton Albion on Saturday, selected a near full-strength side.
Rovers, the 2002 winners, nearly caught the visitors cold and only a fine block with his legs by Dutch keeper Edwin van der Sar prevented Savage from firing the hosts ahead after just 24 seconds.
A shaky United then almost let in Craig Bellamy but United weathered the early storm and went ahead when Ryan Giggs bisected two Rovers defenders with a short pass to find an unmarked Saha in space with time to pick his spot past Brad Friedel.
United’s lead lasted just five minutes, Pedersen latching on to Shefki Kuqi’s header down to blast home a fierce shot.
The match threatened to boil over soon after with an ugly melee ensuing after Alan Smith’s tackle from behind on Robbie Savage. Both were booked along with Wayne Rooney, who had to be pulled off the Rovers midfielder after a tussle on the ground.
Hughes said the return leg at Old Trafford on Jan 25 held no fears for his side after their victory in September.
Meanwhile, a debut goal from Austrian defender Paul Scharner gave Wigan Athletic a 1-0 victory over twice former winners Arsenal in a first semifinal first leg interrupted by a power failure on Tuesday.
Scharner, who came on as a 33rd-minute substitute for the injured Lee McCulloch, rose at the far post to powerfully head in a deep cross from Gary Teale with 12 minutes remaining.
Promoted Wigan, riding high in sixth place in their first season in the Premier League, made seven changes for their maiden appearance in the semi-finals of a major cup competition.
A floodlight failure plunged the stadium into darkness and interrupted the match for 15 minutes early in the second half.
Goalmouth incidents were few and far between when the players returned to the field.
Arsenal, who won the trophy in 1987 and 1993, struggled to get in the game and had a narrow escape midway through the second half when Ljungberg nodded a header from Andreas Johansson off the line.
Former Arsenal fan Scharner then struck the only goal to help Wigan take a narrow lead into the second leg at Highbury on Jan 24.
Semifinal results:
Played on Tuesday:
Wigan Athletic 1 Arsenal 0
Played on Wednesday
Blackburn Rovers 1 Manchester United 1
—Reuters
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