CHILEAN midfielder Carlos Villanueva saved Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce further misery in the north-east as Blyth Spartans' latest FA Cup fairytale very nearly lived on.
Villanueva curled home a superb 59th-minute free-kick to finally break Spartans' stubborn resistance on a night when Allardyce's squad players were given a real test in Northumberland. Indeed, had substitute Andrew Wright's 85th-minute shot been di
rected six inches more to his right, he and his team-mates would have been heading for Ewood Park and a replay they so richly deserved.
The crowd was on tenterhooks until the final whistle as the majority dared to believe a repeat of their club's famous march to the fifth round of the competition in 1978 was a possibility. But, in the end, it was the Barclays Premier League side which booked a fourth-round trip to Sunderland.
Allardyce admitted he was relieved when Wright fired wide. The former Newcastle and Bolton manager said: "I thought it was a goal. It was a little harder to miss than score.
"He did have an open goal to put it in and put it wide, and that's their chance gone."
Blyth manager Harry Dunn was immensely proud and admitted he had visions of a replay when the ball arrived at Wright's feet. He said: "I was standing right behind it and I thought, 'Oh, that's in', and it just whistled past the post.
"But that's how close you can get. It's nice to see a Premier League club take the ball into the corner and waste time.
"We haven't played like that in the league for quite a time, and that's been the problem. The FA Cup has been first and foremost on our minds for weeks and weeks and weeks."
With so many Newcastle fans among the Blyth squad and supporters, Allardyce was never likely to be afforded a warm welcome, and that extended to his players on the pitch as his team, featuring 11 changes, dominated but struggled to kill off the non-league side's brave resistance.
However, it was Rovers keeper Mark Bunn who had cause to look on with the greatest concern after 26 minutes. Bunn came from his line to confront a posse of players converging on a loose ball and was beaten to it by Aaron Mokoena. The defender's mis-hit clearance arrived at the feet of Jed Dalton, the man whose last-gasp strike against Bournemouth in the last round had booked his side their big night. But with Bunn scrambling desperately to get back, he missed the target from distance.
Blackburn had enjoyed the better of what had gone before with midfielder Keith Treacy forcing a good save from Mark Bell, and Rovers had the ball in the net 12 minutes before the break when Matt Derbyshire finished acrobatically, via a deflection, after latching on to a looping ball, but an offside flag quickly halted his celebrations.
But the visitors almost took the lead legally six minutes later when Vince Grella, making just his fifth appearance for the club he joined from Torino during the summer, sent in a firm volley which thumped into defender Richard Pell's chest on the line and was hacked away.
In the second half, Spartans were reminded of the challenge they faced within six minutes of the restart when Villanueva worked his way into a promising position 25 yards out and curled a left-foot shot just wide of the post with Bell anxiously trying to get across to his post. But the Chilean made no mistake when handed a second opportunity.
Villanueva had been barged to the ground by Chris McCabe, and took full revenge when he curled the resulting free-kick high into Bell's top-left corner to ease his side in front. It proved to be his last touch as Allardyce instantly introduced Jason Roberts and Keith Andrews, and the latter might have made his mark immediately had he not miskicked in front of goal.
Blackburn would have been home and dry had Treacy's 61st-minute shot crept over, rather than on to, the bar after flicking off full-back Kenny Boyle with the visitors finally flexing their muscles. But as time ran down, Spartans threw everything they had left at the visitors, and came agonisingly close to snatching a replay.
Wright fired inches wide with Bunn beaten with five minutes remaining and an unmarked Alex Gildea headed over two minutes later as the Premier League side rode their luck.
Blyth Spartans: M Bell, Boyle, Pell, Leeson, White (Todd 63), Reay, McCabe, Williams, Gildea, Dale, Dalton (Wright 70). Subs not used: Farman, Brown, Hume, Poole, Watson.
Blackburn: Bunn, Simpson, Mokoena, Khizanishvili, Olsson, Vogel, Grella (Andrews 60), Treacy, Judge, Villanueva (Roberts 59), Derbyshire (Hodge 83). Subs not used: Brown, Gunning, Doran, Haworth. Booked: Mokoena.
Attendance: 3,445.
Referee: A Marriner (West Midlands).
