3-1

*Robert Pires rolls back the years to help Aston Villa beat Blackburn*

An all-Premier League fourth-round tie is not the textbook definition of FA Cup magic, but this was an absorbing encounter that thankfully was not spoiled by Nathan Baker’s dismissal after an hour. Aston Villa made it five straight cup wins against Blackburn Rovers with a performance that had the home crowd asking Gérard Houllier for a wave. “It’s better than ‘you’re getting sacked in the morning’,” he smiled.

The home side may have finished a second FA Cup tie in a row with a 3-1 win and only 10 men, but neither manager quibbled with the red card Baker received for a tackle on Junior Hoilett. “I thought it was a red, but we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt that it was just mistimed,” said the Blackburn manager, Steve Kean. “It looked harsh, but the referee had a different angle,” Houllier said. “He will learn that you don’t need to do that in the middle of the park.”

Baker is only 19, one of Villa’s five starters under 22, but Houllier struck the right blend of youth and experience by returning Robert Pires, 37, to the centre. The 21-year-old Barry Bannan, stationed just behind him, produced some exceptional probing passes, and it was his corner that Ciaran Clark headed home to give Villa the lead.

Blackburn levelled seven minutes later when a move started by the lively Hoilett finished with Nikola Kalinic (on for Roque Santa Cruz, who tweaked a groin muscle early on) tapping Míchel Salgado’s cut-back over the line.

Kalinic saw his shot blocked by Pires before Brad Friedel palmed away Christopher Samba’s header, but either side of that in a seven-minute spell before half-time, Villa restored and extended their lead. First, Pires caught the ball on the half-volley to score his first goal in England since 2006, then Nathan Delfouneso’s header beat Paul Robinson.

Kean was left to rue moments such as the 44th minute, when Martin Olsson’s volley rattled the crossbar. And, despite losing Baker, Villa coped fairly comfortably with the intermittent threat of a Blackburn side that often sought one pass too many. “We need to be more ruthless,” said Kean.