[Archived] Blackburn Rovers 0 Bayer Leverkusen 0

[Fife Rover]

The Germans were rock solid in defence and in the centre of midfield, where we were outmuscled and ineffective ; I never felt we got any real attacking momentum going and quite frankly would not have scored if the match were played all night.

Disappointing end to a nice run in Europe ; pity, because I thought we were capable of emulating Middlesbrough.

We are capable of emulating Middlesborough and indeed exceeding them; over the two matches though, for whatever reason, we just didn't do it. Very disappointing......time to move on.

[colin]

As already mentioned they did to us what we did to Arsenal, so no complaints on that score.

Timewasting? Bayer were amateurs compared to the likes of Chelsea & Notlob. Don't forget that the Bayer player that a lot of people were giving gip to was actually carried off on a stretcher down the tunnel.

The ref was a bit rubbish, but he didn't get any critical decisions wrong, just a few throw-ins and the odd foul. Strangely enough he & the linesmen didn't appear to be wearing communication kit to keep in touch with each other.

It was a knock out Cup match, live with it, they beat us, we're out.

I'd take a loss in tonight's game over a loss to Portsmouth any day. Just don't let us down on Sunday

[RevidgeBlue]

The ref tonight was dire.

But ultimately that wasn't the reason we didn't go through.

We conceded 3 sloppy goals away, they defended much better over here than we did over there, and Nonda and McCarthy (very poor again) missed 4 decent chances betwen them.

Unlike Colin I'd take a win in either of the cup games as opposed to Sunday.

[USABlue]

Bit sorry we are out, but proud of the run. Very happy to hear tonights attendance, just hope it wasn't 7000 cynics who walk away saying see, same old crap. Anyway onward and upward, hope we don't suffer a hangover for the Pompey game and most of all I hope we do the Arse. I said elsewhere I'd take our name as the first FA Cup winners at the New Wembley over the EUFA cup. Well done lads.

[FourLaneBlue]

I can't believe I'm saying this but what we missed tonight was Mokoena.

I'll leave you to figure out just why..hint- Tugay+Dunn= -1. True?

[Presty On Tour]

like i said gutted is an understatement, i thought we we destined for the later stages or even win the whole thing but tonight drowned those dreams.

freidel was a spectator all match and even though we dominated the game, the only time i seen mr butt called into action was the dunn header.

butt looked all over the shop, butter fingers as he was dropping the simplest of tasks but we put no pressure no him, i would of been pulling the trigger from all angles and distances, especially in the wet conditions.

yeah mCcarthy missed a sitter and nonda went close but with the crowd expectation, the players didn't preform tonight not through no effort or trying, but the germans screwed us like a cheap tart.

tugay was taken out of the game by their man to man marking, they packed the midfield so we had to play long balls as it was difficult to play through them and the ref was easily fooled by the diving antics and time wasting.

the bottom line is we have had a taste of europe, been successful and restored the pride, i for one wants more.

roll on the f.a.cup!!!

[Paul]

A couple of things we will probably all agree on, the referee, and to an extent the linesmen, were the worst ever seen at Ewood. The referee lost control of the game and had no idea how to regain it. A couple of early bookings were needed to draw a line and stick to it. There were many offences, of all types, that would have earned a booking in the PL. Secondly Bayer came for a draw, knew what to do and achieved their objective.

We lost the tie through sloppy defending in Germany and failing to take chances in both legs. I've been worried about McCarthy for sometime and last night proved the point again, and again. He seems to be disconnected from the play, often so far from his strike partner there is no chance of any inter-play. It looks as though we are palying with one striker, not two. I'm not looking for a scapegoat, just my current feelings on Benni. Overall the team played OK but we didn't see a single outstanding performance, you couldn't walk away saying so-and-so played well. It was very average with no player providing the spark needed on the night.

In midfield and defence Bayer played well for long periods. They truely defended from the front with their strikers harassing our defence throughout the game, chasing every ball and giving no time to play out of defence. Any Rovers player in attacking poessession immediately found himself opposed by two Bayer players, they closed us down time after time forcing errors and misplaced passes. On top of this there were several periods in the game when Bayer kept the ball with plenty of simple, going nowhere passes. We did nothing to challenge this with our defence and midfield sitting very deep and allowing them to play with the ball in their own half or even 10-15 yards into ours. Clearly we didn't want to concede but letting Bayer play keep ball was daft and only boosted their confidence.

Another very noticeable problem, and this has been happening for a while, is the lack of support for our strikers from midfield. The physical gap is often 20, 25, 30 yards or so leaving two against four on many occassions. We don't have midfielders arriving near the opposition box to create extra pressure on the opposition. Last night this was a real problem until the last ten minutes, when we did push forward Bayer began to panic.

Rovers did OK but not enough. We could and should have won this tie as we were clearly the better team overall, but we didn't do enough. Hughes will know this and I hope he's making the point to the team. We need players to stand up and be counted, last night they didn't. For the rest of the season the emphasis needs to be on getting the midfield and strikers to work more as a unit, especially getting the midfield to arrive int he last 25 yards or closer and create a bit of panic.

Arsenal next and I'll take a beating on Sunday if we can get past the gunners. This team was good enough to get to Glasgow and should be able to get us to Wembley. Whether or not any of us will be able to afford the tickets remains to be seen?

[waggy]

WE YODELED IN SALZBURG

WE DRANK VODKA IN KRAKOW

WE SMOKED SPLIFFS IN THE DAM

WE HAD A CARNIVAL IN KOLN

THANKS TO SPARKY AND THE LADS FOR A GREAT EUROPEAN RUN,NOW LETS PLAY LIKE BARCA ON WEDNESDAY

[Paul Mellelieu]

For me the bottom line was that we had enough clear cut chances to win this game easily.

I thought Pedersen had a game second half and Dunn imporved as the game went on. I'm surprised that noone has mentioned how well the crowd got behind the team in the second half. it's the loudest I've heard the Rovers fans for some time and at 25k the largest number of home fans in the ground for many, many years.

[Gav]

WE YODELED IN SALZBURG

WE DRANK VODKA IN KRAKOW

WE SMOKED SPLIFFS IN THE DAM

WE HAD A CARNIVAL IN KOLN

THANKS TO SPARKY AND THE LADS FOR A GREAT EUROPEAN RUN,NOW LETS PLAY LIKE BARCA ON WEDNESDAY

Now that's just put a smile on my face

[stuwilky]

He wasn't, it's just that some people have got it in for him

So much so I did a little dance when we signed him, yeah I hate the lad.

[Moppy]

WE YODELED IN SALZBURG

WE DRANK VODKA IN KRAKOW

WE SMOKED SPLIFFS IN THE DAM

WE HAD A CARNIVAL IN KOLN

THANKS TO SPARKY AND THE LADS FOR A GREAT EUROPEAN RUN,NOW LETS PLAY LIKE BARCA ON WEDNESDAY

Think I must have been sat behind you in Rotterdam. Remember that song although the last couple of lines are new.

[lockers]

For me the bottom line was that we had enough clear cut chances to win this game easily.

I thought Pedersen had a game second half and Dunn imporved as the game went on. I'm surprised that noone has mentioned how well the crowd got behind the team in the second half. it's the loudest I've heard the Rovers fans for some time and at 25k the largest number of home fans in the ground for many, many years.

How many were there against Burnley in the FA cup two years ago?

Still, our second largest ever european home attendance!

[wellesbourne]

Think I must have been sat behind you in Rotterdam. Remember that song although the last couple of lines are new.

###### on Lager out in Salzburg,

Smashed on Vodka in Krakow,

We smoked dope in Feyenoord

But the Rovers never scored,

And we're off with Sparky's Army once again....

Gutted but memories of Europe will live with me forever.

Am getting a little box of souvenirs together for my 4 month old lad to give him when he starts going to the games and badges / scarves from Leverkusen will be there......just need a programme if anyone has one to sell !

[stuwilky]

How many were there against Burnley in the FA cup two years ago?

28961

With approx 7000 from Dingleland.

[Atomicrover]

.................I'm just miffed Spuds got thru on a bye

[FourLaneBlue]

I really do think Leverkusen deserved it as they came and did their job well. The difference between the two teams was that they closed down each of our players when they had the ball and did so immediately. This was in marked difference to Benni for example who, on more than a few occasions, didn't immediately pressure their defenders but instead waited a while and THEN went to close them down...after any opportunity had been lost to actually get a block should the defender have been less than perfect in getting the ball out.

This is also a game when Mokoena could have made a difference as for all his faults, and he obviously has a stack of them, he does allow for a situation in which his every move is based on allowing the other central midfielder more time and space to be creative.

Yet last night without him (or Savage) our midfield and defence seemed harried, harassed and in a rush. The Germans closed down continuously and stopped us playing. It wasn't much different to our game plan on Saturday against Arsenal.

Despite that we had chances and if you don't take those then you don't deserve 'owt'.

Very depressing and worse than going out of a domestic cup as that comes round every year. Let's get applying for that Intertoto Cup; after all, look at Newcastle!

[robborover]

i was thinking the same about savage. he would have added some pressure to leverkusen. same goes for reid too. tugay and dunn aren't the most hurried of players on the world. and it showed as our midfield didn't give enough through the middle.

is it me or has someone replaced benni with dwight yorke? he's really gone off the boil lately.

[CAPT KAYOS]

I feel let down by Blackburn Rovers Football Team this evening, in fact its worse that that, Im bloody angry.

And this I am in total agreement with Stu , and says it all really.

I've said it previously and I'll say it again as it has happened so many times at home - why the hell do we play so negative!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - We are at home and should be taking the game by the scruff and forcing the issue -not the last 10-15 mins FFS.

Last night was typical of previous games in Europe before which I also pre warned about us messing up chances - and it was the team in red at Ewood Voodo all over again.

I was absolutely ripping last night and if somebody had said anything to me in the wrong context I would have been waking up this morning in a cell.

As for the Nonda and Benni (soft as feck poof glove wearer) they can gon and run and jump under the nearest Bumley charabanc for all I care -although Nonda did try when he came on he showed exactly why he is not good enough

How many saves did their keeper make -2???

As many have said there where far too many that didn't turn up last night -and only Pedersen/ Bentley/the defence and Brad (who had to do nothing) who can take any credit.

We where very very poor and yet again Rovers cock it up in front of a decent crowd - will it woo them back?? Doubt it and I feel that is now our season game set and match over with.

Rant over - I was very confident going into last night - Leverkusen are a poor team - after battling the traffic - managed to get on in time . Walked down from the MANXMAN just as the light was beginning to fade - Ewood Spotlights brightly shining through the damp atmosphere with Daren Tower just about a visible black image amongst the low cloud over the hill. Europe was here at Ewood Park - I was tingling and the butterflies started off - this is what its all about I muttered to myself...

45 MINS LATER ... reality set in - deja vu - typical bloody Rovers negative and they bollux it up.

So the Euro trip is over ...and I have a feeling it will be for a very long time now.

[Roar of the Rover]

The atmosphere was electrifying, we just needed something special but it was'nt to be.

We might still get a european place through the league, teams haven't got the bottle like us as we showed last season.

[joey_big_nose]

I was a reasonably pleased with the performance to be honest. We lacked a cutting edge despite having so many quality attacking players on the field which was disappointing but we were certainly the better team.

I honestly believe we would have won that game if we had either Savage or Reid available. The difference to our tempo and our ball winning would have been absolutely massive. Roll on next year when they come back from injury.

Dunn was disappointing, I have been one of his biggest fans in the past but he doesn't seem to do anything right at the moment. Not sure why Benni is getting so much stick. He should have worked harder but was still decent. Could have scored twice.

THe replay against Arsenal will be a big game now, maybe we can sneak it. Last 32 ofthe UEFA cup is not bad. We were good enough for the last 16 though.

[Eddie]

Sorry if this has been mentioned earlier but I haven't had time to read through all of the comments, but does anyone else feel like we fell at the first hurdle? I know that some will say that it was a great achievement for a club of our "size" to make it to the last 32 of the UEFA Cup, but I have to disagree. The achievement was in qualifying for the tournament through the league, once we had done that we have flattered to decieve. Although our record up until this round was impressive it really should have been. We played few quality sides and we were favourites for pretty much every game we played, including this round in my opinion. We let ourselves down in both legs in one way or another and managed to get knocked out by a side who aren't playing particularly well in the league at the moment and who were made to look very average by English opposition earlier in the competition. We had the opportunity to do something special and we failed and I'm not sure when we will next have this chance, it probably won't be next year. This may seem a harsh assessment of our season and I may not feel the same way in 24 hours time, but I think we are one game away from having a very average season. It seems unlikely that we will be able to qualify for Europe through the league and our failure last night means that if we don't beat Arsenal in the replay then the rest of the season will have something of the feeling of going through the motions.

[CAPT KAYOS]

Sorry if this has been mentioned earlier but I haven't had time to read through all of the comments, but does anyone else feel like we fell at the first hurdle? I know that some will say that it was a great achievement for a club of our "size" to make it to the last 32 of the UEFA Cup, but I have to disagree. The achievement was in qualifying for the tournament through the league, once we had done that we have flattered to decieve. Although our record up until this round was impressive it really should have been. We played few quality sides and we were favourites for pretty much every game we played, including this round in my opinion. We let ourselves down in both legs in one way or another and managed to get knocked out by a side who aren't playing particularly well in the league at the moment and who were made to look very average by English opposition earlier in the competition. We had the opportunity to do something special and we failed and I'm not sure when we will next have this chance, it probably won't be next year. This may seem a harsh assessment of our season and I may not feel the same way in 24 hours time, but I think we are one game away from having a very average season. It seems unlikely that we will be able to qualify for Europe through the league and our failure last night means that if we don't beat Arsenal in the replay then the rest of the season will have something of the feeling of going through the motions.

Don't think it is a harsh assessment Eddie and I tend not to agree with alot of what you say normally, but totally agree.

To me the best team we faced where Basle and we put thre past them, but felt if Brad hadn't had made that save early in the agme we would have got beat.

The thing is we know we should have got through and I am not saying this with blue tinted specs - should ahve won bothe games and that is what is so bloody annoying.

It feels similar to a few seasons ago in the FA Cup when Brentford or Charlton beat us at home - definitely one of them of top of my head but can't quite remember - but if we had got through it would have been an achievable opportunity to reach the final.

[Fife Rover]

I can't believe I'm saying this but what we missed tonight was Mokoena.

I'll leave you to figure out just why..hint- Tugay+Dunn= -1. True?

You're a braver man than me FLB. I was thinking it, and was on the verge of coming on and saying it, but then I thought: No, it will only cause mayhem and I am feeling down enough at the moment without taking part in WW3.

[thenodrog]

1. Bayer over two legs just about deserved their victory but the manner of their game yesterday herked back to the bad old days of European 2 legged football. But as they say it's goals that count and missed chances at this level will get you nowt! Odd that the two players on the park who have played in Champions League finals were the ones at fault!

2. The referee and officials were inept and played their part in helping Bayer's spoiling tactics. I can't believe such poor officials would be selected by UEFA so maybe there is a hint of 'brown paper bags' about their performance.

3. I feel we would have progressed but for the injuries and especially so in regards to Sav. Our performances under Sparky with him as against without him illustrate his value to the team. Ditto but to a lesser extent re: Reid. I'm not a Hughes critic but I really am quite simply baffled that he did not find a temp replacement whilst the window was still open. Even a Jon Douglas / Damien Taylor / Andresson type player from the lower leagues would have sufficed better than relying on an out of form Mokoena and a local lad who must right now be giving even his staunchest supporters serious concern that he will ever become a Prem player again.

All the same very disappointing esp after some superb away trips. I cannot rem feeling as flat after a match for a long time.