Violence mars joy of the Rovers

Blackburn Rovers last night celebrated reaching their first major final in 42 years, but the elation of Ewood Park was tinged by another outbreak of crowd trouble.

Rovers' volatile skipper Garry Flitcroft could be banned from next month's Worthington Cup Final at the Millennium Stadium after being sent off for a crude two-footed challenge.

Manager Graeme Souness said: 'It's the only downer from tonight and I feel partly to blame because I'm the one telling them to challenge.' Worse still, a section of Wednesday's 5,000-strong following clashed briefly with riot police behind one goal.

It was livewire Matt Jansen, combining well with Andy Cole, who stamped Rovers' ticket to Cardiff with the 34th-minute opener - a quick-witted stab at a rebound after Martin Taylor's shot hit a post.

Three minutes later Damien Duff doubled the lead with the coolest of finishes.

Wednesday scented an upset after Flitcroft's red card and Efan Ekoku's 58th-minute penalty. But in the 82nd minute, Cole slammed home Rovers' third and even though Trond Soltvedt quickly hauled it back to 3-2, Craig Hignett rounded off the scoring with a low drive.