If this was Rudy Gestede's parting act as a Blackburn Rovers player, it was a fitting way to bid farewell. The giant forward's aerial menace and uncompromisingly direct approach form part of his appeal to Premier League clubs and he illustrated as much by scoring the decisive goal to eliminate another from the FA Cup. Swansea City, 21 places above Blackburn in the league ladder, saw their problems increase at Ewood Park.
Last Saturday brought their heaviest defeat for 20 years, a 5-0 thrashing by Chelsea. This brought a different kind of defensive disaster when the centre-back Kyle Bartley was dismissed, leaving them to play 83 minutes with 10 men. After a quick-fire exchange of first-half goals, with Gylfi Sigurdsson and Chris Taylor trading fine strikes, the game seemed to be meandering to a conclusion.
Yet if Swansea were willing to settle for a replay in Wales, Rovers were not. Gestede had begun on the bench. Even that represented an upgrade after he was omitted altogether seven days earlier when, as Crystal Palace bid for him, he was deemed in the wrong frame of mind to play. His return came to appreciative choruses of his name from the few at Ewood Park and Gestede illustrated why.
Swansea struggled to cope with his bruising approach and, when Craig Conway crossed from the left, he first won the header and then met his own knock-down, lifting a shot past Lukasz Fabianski. Swansea, who took the League Cup out of England in 2013, will not do the same to its more prestigious sibling.
Rovers’ win was completed by Conway, with a shot Fabianski fumbled. Having helped Arsenal win this trophy last season, he, too, will be deprived of further silverware. Swansea’s afternoon got still worse when Sigurdsson was sent off for a wild hack at Taylor.
They had been reduced to 10 men after seven minutes. Matt Kilgallon aimed a hopeful punt over the Swansea defence. Bartley dawdled inexplicably and, as Josh King darted past him, defender and striker came into contact in a tangle of arms and the latter went to ground. Craig Pawson deemed it a professional foul and dismissed Bartley. Federico Fernández, whom Garry Monk had intended to rest, was summoned and midfielder Tom Carroll sacrificed due to the need for a specialist centre-back.
Sigurdsson was another affected by the reshuffle. After flourishing as a No10 this season, he had struggled as a central midfielder in the 5-0 thrashing of Chelsea, when he gifted José Mourinho’s side their first-minute goal with a misplaced pass. When Carroll departed, he was withdrawn into a deeper role again. This time he used it to make a more constructive contribution, putting Swansea ahead with an unstoppable shot from 30 yards.
Rovers' response was swift. Marcus Olsson crossed from the left, Tom Cairney headed the ball down and, after taking a touch, Chris Taylor hooked his shot beyond Fabianski. The scorer was soon substituted after landing awkwardly. It was a change that was notable for who did come on – a supersized David Dunn – and who didn't: Rovers' professional goal-getters.
But their bid to avoid a rematch was successful. First Gestede was summoned, then Jordan Rhodes. The latter had not had time to touch the ball before his sidekick turned the tie Rovers' way.
