Kyrell Lisbie has his sights set on an FA Cup upset when eighth-tier Cray Valley face Charlton at The Valley – where his father Kevin scored a hat-trick in the Premier League to beat Liverpool 20 years ago.
Cray Valley Paper Mills Football Club, to give them their full title, are five steps below the Sky Bet League One Addicks in the pyramid – but less than four miles separate the two Greenwich teams, who have plenty of local connections.
Kevin Lisbie made more than 150 appearances for Charlton, with one of his most memorable coming when he bagged a Premier League hat-trick in the 3-2 win over Liverpool during September 2003.
Jamaica international Lisbie later had spells at Colchester, Ipswich and Leyton Orient, before he spent two seasons with Cray Valley, playing in the 2019 FA Vase final at Wembley.
Shortly after turning 16, Kyrell made his debut for the Millers’ first team when replacing his father as a substitute in a London Senior Cup tie during April 2021.
Following an unsuccessful six-week trial trial at West Ham, he and twin brother Kyreece were taken on by Watford at under-18 level. After being released by the Hornets, Kyrell joined Welling United on a short-term deal in January 2023, before then returning to Cray Valley in August.
The 19-year-old winger scored twice in the 5-2 fourth qualifying round win over Enfield Town, which sent the Isthmian League South East Division side into the draw for the first round proper.
With seven goals in the competition so far, Lisbie is in the race for this season’s Mitre Golden Ball Award, which recognises the top scorer in the FA Cup and gives players lower down the pyramid the opportunity to compete against Premier League stars.
Lisbie’s jubilant reaction to the first round draw went viral – with him and Kyreece, now in Brentford’s B squad, having almost one million combined followers on TikTok.
However, come kick-off for Sunday’s televised tie at The Valley, the teenage forward will be fully focussed on helping the Millers produce their own bit of FA Cup magic for the archives.
“The mentality is to go out there and try to face what is in front of us. We know the quality that Charlton have and we know that it is going to be a tough battle,” Lisbie told the PA news agency.
“It was an amazing draw, with how close the two teams are to each other and everything else. I feel like it is written in the stars that we go out there and perform.
“They are a good team, but the beauty of the FA Cup is you just never know what the result will be.
“The boys have fully deserved it. It is going to be a special day and occasion.
“There have been a few upsets and I just can’t wait for it.”
Lisbie is in no doubt about how “massively important” the continued support of their father, 45, has been for him and his twin brother on their own footballing journey, which has not always been smooth after they were released by Orient after Under-14s.
“My dad has always been there with the work we have put in, off the pitch too with hill runs or 5k runs – we have done them all with him,” he said.
“It is a credit to him because he has never put any pressure on us or really forced us to kind of follow in his footsteps.
“He has always just let us be and whenever we come to him, he is always willing to help us become better because he knows what it takes.”
Kyreece Lisbie also had a spell alongside Kyrell at Cray Valley.
After leaving Watford at the conclusion of the 2021/22 season, Kyreece joined Brentford B. In June, he signed a one-year contract extension with the west London club.
The twins have used their popular social media accounts to chart both the lows and highs of a young footballer’s career path.
“There is not always ‘ups’ – and me getting released from Watford was not pleasant, but it is to show the work that it takes to get into clubs like Watford and the (different) routes, which for some kids will be a lot easier than others,” Kyrell said.
“The things which me and my twin post try to kind of document that, (showing) this is what it takes and the hard work, the dedication and also the noes.
“Being told you are not good enough at something you spent thousands of hours investing in is difficult, but that is how me and my twin have kind of got quite popular on TikTok because a lot of young footballers can relate to hearing that.
“We are just trying to show our journeys and to inspire kids to show that you can get to where you want to be.”
England’s Ben Stokes is set to have surgery at the end of the World Cup as he attempts to conquer his long-standing left knee injury.
The Test captain has been struggling with the problem for at least 18 months and has had to play as a specialist batter recently, with his body unable to cope with the rigours of bowling.
Stokes suggested he was considering an operation after this summer’s Ashes series, which he laboured through in visible discomfort, but instead chose to come out of ODI retirement and take part in England’s title defence in India.
With England on the way out at the end of the group stage, he is likely to go under the knife before the end of the month and will hope to be ready to lead his side’s Test tour of India in the new year.
The first Test in Hyderabad starts on January 25, with the team expected to fly out to the United Arab Emirates for a warm-up camp two weeks earlier.
Stokes, speaking on the eve of his side’s clash with Ashes rivals Australia in Ahmedabad, said: “I am having surgery after the World Cup. I will hopefully be fine for the Test series (against India).”
Pressed for further details, he added: “When we go to those meetings we generally take a physio and doctor and they start talking. I just turn up, go to sleep, wake up and hope it is better.”
The National Hunt programme continues to be affected by the weather, with the Friday meeting at Wetherby the latest to be abandoned.
Rain during the week led to river levels rising markedly, leading to pressure on the track’s drainage system and leaving standing water in places.
An update on the course’s website read: “Following the inspection of the racecourse at 7am, racing on Friday 3rd November has been abandoned due to standing water remaining on the track. Despite the river levels dropping there has been insufficient improvement in conditions in order to be able to race today.”
Wetherby is due to host the bet365 Charlie Hall Chase on Saturday, featuring last year’s winner Bravemansgame and Ahoy Senor.
The statement continued: “In so far as the prospects for Saturday’s bet365 Charlie Hall meeting go, the river levels peaked at around 11pm last night and it continues to fall and should continue to do so throughout today.
“Consequently, we have seen our own internal drainage dykes recede overnight as well, albeit marginally. The forecast for Friday is for a dry, breezy day and therefore we would hope to see further improvement during today.
“Therefore we will continue monitor conditions this morning and an announcement regarding timings of any official inspection for Saturday will be made later on Friday morning.”
Australia captain Pat Cummins has encouraged his side to get “fired up” for the chance to knock Ashes rivals England out of the World Cup.
Three months have passed since the tightly-fought Test series between the sides ended 2-2 at the Kia Oval, with tensions running high over the course of the summer.
A handful of Australian players have since made fun of claims that England won a ‘moral victory’ after being denied a decisive win by the Old Trafford weather. Cummins, meanwhile, could barely suppress laughter when asked to comment on England’s struggles at this tournament.
He adopted a better poker face on the eve of their reunion in Ahmedabad but, with his side marching towards the semi-finals and England one more defeat away from officially crashing out, Cummins is happy to see his players embrace their emotions.
“(The Ashes) was a couple of months ago. It’s done. It’s a new game, new tournament, but I always think a healthy amount of rivalry is good,” he said.
“Especially so for our playing group. We’re quite a chilled, calm group, so sometimes when we get a little bit more fired up, I actually don’t think it’s too bad a thing.
“I mean it’s an old rivalry so yeah, you’re not going to lie, if they beat us I know it’s probably just that little bit sweeter than beating other teams. And the same for us, with their history and how well they’ve done in white-ball cricket. It would be a great win.”
That was as far as Cummins was willing to go in terms of needling the opposition, refusing to be revved up by Joe Root’s suggestion that England boast a better XI despite the teams’ vastly differing fortunes in India.
“I mean yeah, of course he’d say that. We would say the same about our team, so I wouldn’t read too much into it,” he said.
“I’ve played in many other games against England over the years. Even growing up, you watch it and you hear about it. There’s always banter before any game. So, I think you’re immune to it. You know that cricket speaks for itself.
“Everything else is just preamble and noise to a game that everyone’s really excited about.”
Australia have been damaged by the loss of two key all-rounders ahead of the match, Glenn Maxwell recovering from concussion after falling off a golf buggy and Mitch Marsh returning home for personal reasons.
Marcus Stoinis and Cameron Green are on hand to fill the gaps, with Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne set to climb up one place in the batting order.
John Mousinho is honest when asked what has caught him off guard as a new manager.
The Portsmouth boss is learning the ropes, 11 months into his career, despite guiding his unbeaten side to the top of Sky Bet League One.
As the former chair of the Professional Footballers’ Association and a player who started his coaching badges early, his transition to management has been almost seamless.
Yet the former defender who made 550 appearances in an 18-year career is still getting used to one final change.
“I love the job, I really do, everything apart from three to five o’clock on Saturday is great because I just feel completely helpless,” he told the PA news agency.
“Any time you see a head coach or a manager on the sidelines and their behaviour seems a bit erratic just spare them a thought because you lose that control. Sometimes it’s such an emotional game, emotions get the better of you.
“It’s been the biggest surprise because as a player I always felt in control, at least able to influence something. In some ways you do have ultimate influence and control but in others you’re standing on the touchline hoping 11 players do their jobs.
“A lot of the time it’s a really horrible place to be but, genuinely, I am loving it.
“We knew it (his appointment) might be seen as more of a gamble or risk than normal, although we didn’t think it was the case.
“If you start gambling with the future of the football club you can put yourself in a bit of a tricky spot.
“There’s a risk in every appointment and that was one of my answers when we were talking about the whole process and the appointment itself, there’s mystery with every single appointment no matter how many games you’ve managed or coached.”
That process has taken the 37-year-old, the third youngest boss in the EFL, and Pompey to the League One summit with a six-point lead.
Stretching back to March, they have not lost in the league in 26 games and have won 17 points from losing positions this season – including coming from 2-0 down to beat Reading 3-2 on Saturday.
Mousinho’s January appointment raised eyebrows as he was still playing and coaching at Oxford under Karl Robinson. He had 24 hours before his first game – a 2-0 win over Exeter – but has not looked back, having also had to step down from the PFA.
“I’d been with Oxford, at Fleetwood away, and I didn’t play. I was sat at the back of the bus and 10 days later I was the head coach of Portsmouth,” said September’s League One manager of the month, who credits Robinson for his guidance.
“It’s strange making the transition. Your whole life has changed overnight.
“I had to think about how I interacted with players, how I interact with the staff. As a player you can be very, very selfish. Then all of a sudden, you can’t be as a head coach.
“The biggest change from when I first started playing and maybe in the last 10 years is players have become a lot more conscientious about their own careers.
“It’s an interesting new side of it. When people first started playing it maybe wasn’t particularly cool to do your extras, to look at video analysis and dedicate your life to being a professional footballer.
“We were getting to the back end of the drinking culture when I first started playing and it’s slowly gone out of the game so players are much more focused on their own development.
“We’re probably just a bit behind other countries in terms of the way we’ve embraced that as individuals. There’s no longer the accusation of being busy. It’s good to be good.”
Mousinho takes Portsmouth to Chesterfield on Sunday in arguably the pick of the FA Cup first-round ties.
The Spireites, top of the Vanarama National League, are managed by former Pompey boss Paul Cook, along with the ex-players on his coaching staff Gary Roberts, Tom Naylor and Michael Jacobs.
Just four years after winning the FA Cup in 2008, Portsmouth were relegated to League One and spiralled into the fourth tier before Cook took them back up in 2017. They have been in League One since and Mousinho plans to be the one to take them out.
“When you’re at Portsmouth, one of the first things people talk about is the success with the FA Cup,” he said. “There’s a huge amount of spice to this game.
“The club has been through a lot over the past 10-15 years, going right to the brink of liquidation, so what we’re trying to do is part of the long, slow rebuild.
“Everybody’s desperate to move the club forward, the most important thing is we move the club forward in the right way.
“That’s been the whole mantra since day one. Yes, we want to get out and we’d love to have done it yesterday but these things just take time.”
Ian Holloway left Blackpool to become Crystal Palace’s new manager, on this day in 2012.
Holloway signed a four-and-a-half-year contract to fill the vacant position at Selhurst Park, with the Eagles having allowed Dougie Freedman to join Bolton in October.
The move ended Holloway’s three-and-a-half-year stay with Blackpool, where he oversaw their promotion to the Premier League in 2010.
Holloway was unveiled to the Palace crowd at half-time of their Championship game with Blackburn.
A 2-0 win took the Eagles third in the table and Holloway was delighted with what he was seeing when he spoke to the crowd.
“How lucky are we to see a team like this? It’s fantastic,” he said. “I think I have got goosebumps on the back of my neck to get an opportunity like this.
“People ask me why I have come here but the board sold me their dream about what they want for their club and with their energy and my energy let’s hope we can all be very happy.”
Palace went on to finish fifth in the Championship and secured promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs, but Holloway’s contract was terminated by mutual consent after seven defeats in the first eight games on their top-flight return.
“This club needs an impetus of energy but I just feel tired to be honest. I’m worn out,” Holloway admitted.
“I want to give them the chance to stay in this division.”
The 2023 number one draft pick Victor Wembanyama has officially marked his arrival in the NBA with 38 points as his San Antonio Spurs beat the Phoenix Suns 132-121.
The 19-year-old centre from France had 10 rebounds to go with his scoring effort as the Spurs held off a late charge from the Suns to beat them for the second time this season.
Kevin Durant scored 28 points while Devin Booker had 31 for the Suns, but it was not enough to stop the 7 foot 4 tall teenager.
The Spurs are now sitting with three wins and two losses while the Suns, who have been missing all star Bradley Beal, have two wins and three losses.
The Philadelphia 76ers showed that life without James Harden, who was traded to the Clippers, might not be so bad after beating the Toronto Raptors 114-99.
Centre Joel Embiid starred for the 76ers with 28 points and 13 rebounds, while Kelly Oubre Jr and Tobias Harris had 23 points each.
It takes the 76ers to three wins and one loss while the Raptors fell to their fourth loss of the season.
A young Orlando Magic side beat the Utah Jazz 115- 113, with Paolo Banchero scoring 30 points for the Magic.
Banchero, 20, had nine rebounds and five assists while Franz Wagner contributed with 21 points.
The depleted New Orleans Pelicans took care of the Detroit Pistons in a nine-point win, despite Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram both sitting out.
Guard CJ McCollum stepped up with 33 points while centre Jonas Valanciunas had 13 rebounds to go with his 23 points.
World number five Jessica Pegula defeated Greece’s Maria Sakkari in straight sets 6-3 6-2 in the WTA Finals, continuing her unbeaten run through the group stages.
Pegula had already secured her spot in Saturday’s semi-finals by beating both Sabalenka and Rybakina in her earlier matches in Mexico.
But the American is yet to drop a set so far this tournament and it took her just under 80 minutes to beat Sakkari, who failed to qualify for the semi-finals after losing all of her games.
Meanwhile, fighting for a spot in the semi-finals, world number one Aryna Sabalenka and world number four Elena Rybakina had their match suspended due to wet weather.
Sabalenka won the first set 6-2 in the Australian Open final rematch on a rain interrupted evening and had Rybakina on the ropes early in the second set.
But Rybakina fought back to take the lead 5-3 before the match was called off for the night, with play to resume on Friday.
Also on Friday, Iga Swiatek will take on Ons Jabeur while Coco Gauff plays Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova to decide who makes the semi-finals.
Victor Wembanyama had the best game of his young career with 38 points and sparked a decisive fourth-quarter run as the San Antonio Spurs squandered a 27-point lead before pulling away for a 132-121 win over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday.
Wembanyama produced a handful of highlight plays in his fifth NBA game, including a flying dunk in the lane in the second quarter. The 7-foot-4 phenom shot 15 of 26 and grabbed 10 rebounds.
He hit a 3-pointer, made three free throws, dunked and hit an 18-foot jumper during a 12-0 run after the Suns erased a 27-point deficit to tie it at 116 with 4:21 remaining.
Devin Booker scored 31 points in his return from a sprained ankle and added 13 assists and nine rebounds, while Kevin Durant tallied 28 points.
The Spurs beat the Suns in Phoenix for the second time in three days after a stunning 115-114 victory on Tuesday, when they rallied from a 20-point deficit.
Embiid leads 76ers past Raptors
Joel Embiid tallied 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 114-99 win over the Toronto Raptors in their first game since trading James Harden.
Kelly Oubre Jr. had 23 points and Tyrese Maxey added 18 as Philadelphia won its third straight since a season-opening loss.
Scottie Barnes scored 24 points for the Raptors, who have lost four of five, including two losses to the 76ers in six days.
Oubre moved into the starting lineup in place of PJ Tucker, who was also dealt to the Clippers in the Harden deal.
Marcus Morris and Nic Batum did not play in their first game since they were dealt, though Robert Covington and K.J. Martin played some in the final 90 seconds with the game in hand.
Short-handed Pelicans beat Pistons
CJ McCollum poured in 33 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 23 with 13 rebounds as the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a pair of key absences in a 125-116 win over the Detroit Pistons.
New Orleans had a season high in points despite playing top scorers Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson.
Williamson was given the night off in the second half of a back-to-back and Ingram missed his third straight game with right knee tendinitis.
Matt Ryan made his first career start and responded with a personal-best 20 points, making the first four 3-pointers he took and finishing 6 of 8 from long range.
Cade Cunningham had 22 points and 11 assists as Detroit lost its third straight.
Will Cuylle snapped a tie midway through the third period and the New York Rangers edged the Carolina Hurricanes, 2-1 for their sixth consecutive win on Thursday.
Chris Kreider had the other goal and Igor Shesterkin stopped 27 shots to give the Rangers eight wins in their first 10 games for the second time in franchise history. The 8-2-0 mark trails only a 9-1-0 record to open the 1983-84 season.
Seth Jarvis scored for the Hurricanes, who had a three-game winning streak stopped.
New York has won 10 of its last 14 regular-season games against Carolina and is 19-4-0 in the last 23 meetings at home.
Rangers forward Artemi Panarin assisted on Kreider’s goal to extend his season-opening point streak to 10 games with five goals and 11 assists.
New York’s Adam Fox left the game with a lower-body injury after the first period. He appeared to suffer the injury in a leg-on-leg collision with Carolina’s Sebastian Aho.
Bruins top Maple Leafs in shootout
Jake DeBrusk and Charlie Coyle converted in the shootout and the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 to remain without a regulation loss.
DeBrusk and Pavel Zacha scored in regulation and Jeremy Swayman stopped 33 shots to help Boston improve to 9-0-1 and keep pace with Vegas as the only teams yet to fall in regulation.
Toronto’s William Nylander had an assist to extend his season-opening, franchise-record point streak to 10 games.
Mitchell Marner and Auston Matthews had regulation goals for the Leafs, who are winless in their last three (0-1-2).
Golden Knights defeat Jets
The Vegas Golden Knights got a hat trick from Jonathan Marchessault and continued their blazing start with a 5-2 victory over the visiting Winnipeg Jets.
Ivan Barbashev and William Karlsson each had a goal and an assist to help Vegas improve to an NHL-best 10-0-1.
The Golden Knights are the 13th team in NHL history to record a season-opening point streak of at least 11 games.
Logan Thompson turned aside 29 of 31 shots and is 5-0-0 this season.
A three-yard touchdown with just four minutes left secured a comeback win for the Pittsburgh Steelers at home against the Tennessee Titans.
It was the fourth time in five wins the Steelers have emerged victorious after trailing headed into the final quarter, with wide receiver Diontae Johnson closing the game out.
The Steelers were the first to score in the game through running back Najee Harris, who made a 10-yard touchdown run.
Titans running back Derrick Henry returned serve in the second quarter with a two-yard touchdown.
The Titans kicked three field goals through Nick Folk while Chris Boswell kicked two for Pittsburgh, putting the Titans up by three going into the fourth quarter.
Rookie quarterback for the Titans, Will Levis, threw for 262 yards with one interception which came on the last play of the game.
Steelers’ quarterback Kenny Pickett threw for 160 yards and the game-winning touchdown.
Pittsburgh now move into five wins for the year, while the Titans dropped to three wins and five losses.
Promoter Eddie Hearn has revealed he is eying up MMA fighter Francis Ngannou as a future opponent to take on Anthony Joshua in the boxing ring.
The Cameroonian-French professional mixed martial artist made his professional boxing debut on Sunday, facing Tyson Fury in a heavyweight showdown in Saudi Arabia.
The ‘Gypsy King’ was spared what would have been one of the biggest upsets of all-time after the night ended in a highly unconvincing split decision win over the 37-year-old former UFC heavyweight champion.
Hearn disclosed to the BBC that he had been in touch with Ngannou’s representatives, adding: “All of a sudden that fight between two giants, they’re carved out of stone, it becomes a massive fight. We’re definitely willing to consider it.
“The MMA world believe Ngannou beats everyone. When I met Ngannou he was trying to pitch me AJ against Ngannou in Africa. I spoke to AJ about it at the time and he said ‘I want to try to win the world heavyweight championship now’.
“I said ‘this guy was close to beating Tyson Fury so he surely has to be a credible fight’. The MMA world are telling me Ngannou beats AJ easily. I’m like ‘please make the fight because that’s not the case’.”
Hearn suggested Saudi Arabia or another Middle Eastern country could host, but also wondered if it would be financially feasible for a potential bout in Africa between the ‘Predator’ and two-time heavyweight champion Joshua would be financially feasible.
The promoter revealed he and his team were in the midst of planning Joshua’s next six to 12 months, with the Olympic champion eager also to fight again before Christmas, and was after seeing Fury fight Ngannou perfectly willing to entertain the thought experiment of an all-British bout.
He added: “I’ve always been convinced AJ beats Tyson Fury but after watching that fight now I’m so sure.”
Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay is “100 per cent sure” manager Erik ten Hag can turn the club’s fortunes around.
Former Ajax boss Ten Hag has come under increasing pressure as United bid to put their worst start to a season since 1962-63 behind them.
McTominay insisted all the hard work by the players and coaching staff behind the scenes will soon start to pay off.
The Scotland international told the club’s official website: “There’s more that goes into it when you’re not playing well and you’re not doing so well.
“I know the fans don’t want to hear that, they want to see results and performances and I think they want to see the players smiling and happy.
“It’s not quite happening at the moment, but I’m 100 per cent sure that the manager can put that into practice and it can come off. I’m sure of that.”
After successive 3-0 home defeats to Manchester City and Newcastle, United play at Fulham on Saturday and face Champions League group rivals Copenhagen in Denmark next Wednesday.
“We have to win, that’s always the thought process,” McTominay said. “Obviously my thoughts are with the fans at the minute because we’re not playing well and it’s difficult for them.
“They pay their hard-earned money every week to come and watch us and the least we can do is play well and win football matches.
“It’s not quite happening at the moment, sometimes that’s football, but I feel like for us in that dressing room we have to stay tight and keep a clear head, and we can’t get too emotional with everything that surrounds us. We’ve got to block it all out.”
Ten Hag has urged his players to “stand up” and work “shoulder by shoulder” and McTominay agreed a united dressing room is key to halting their slide.
“Everyone knows that we’re not in our best period at the minute. We have to stick together, that’s the most important thing,” he said.
“Obviously the fans will hear the generic response of ‘we’ve got to stick together’, but it’s true.
“Everyone wants this football club to succeed and we have to pull together and try to be as good with each other as possible in the dressing room to get those results going our way.
“I feel like we’ve got more than enough talent in the changing room to do that and whenever you look at the boys who are playing, but obviously something isn’t quite clicking.
“That’s up to the manager and the players to fix that and I’m 100 per cent confident that we will.”
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino wants his side to convert this season’s lack of continental competition into a successful set of domestic cup runs.
The Blues moved one step closer to securing a first Carabao Cup since 2015 with a 2-0 last-16 victory over Blackburn on Wednesday night, and will host Newcastle in their December 19 quarter-final.
Should Chelsea go all the way, Pochettino would become just the third Blues manager in club history, after Gianluca Vialli and Jose Mourinho, to lead the five-time winners to a League Cup in his first season with the club.
He said: “We need to think that this is an important competition for us because we are not in Europe, and that should be the priority for us, like the Premier League, and when in January we start the FA Cup.
“Of course, we need to think that we can win this competition.”
Chelsea, 11th in the Premier League with just 12 points from their first 10 top-flight matches, sit 10 points behind Aston Villa, currently occupying fifth and the Europa League group stage position, and may need to defy recent odds to lift the League Cup.
Every winner since the 2017/18 season has also finished top four in the Premier League, though Chelsea have reached two finals in the last five seasons.
Pochettino’s ranks got a boost on Wednesday night, welcoming captain Reece James back to the starting line-up for the first time since August and Benoit Badiashile marking his first appearance since May with the opener at Stamford Bridge, where Raheem Sterling fired in the Blues’ second.
Still, the Argentinian knows there is work to be done and a morale boost necessary to improve on their 2-0 defeat to Brentford last Saturday and just one Premier League win at home, August’s 3-0 victory over newly-promoted Luton, particularly with Premier League leaders Tottenham followed by title holders Manchester City up next.
He said: “After Saturday it was important for us to win the (Blackburn) game, to go through in the competition, of course too many (missed) chances, we need to be more clinical, but that you cannot change from Saturday to (Wednesday), and now we try building the confidence.
“Now we’re looking forward to the next round but now to prepare for the next two games that are so important and into the international break.”
Blackburn boss Jon Dahl Tomasson was impressed by his side’s fight against their Premier League challengers, with the average age of his starters just 22.6 years old.
Blackburn particularly impressed in the first half, defending well inside their 18-yard box to deny Chelsea early chances, while Rovers were left to rue a potential Conor Gallagher handball shout that could have been a game-changer for the Championship side.
He said: “It’s true, we always need a bit of luck when you’re playing against a team who is on another level, because Chelsea is of course an excellent team, but still we need to be honest.
“They were better than we were. Nothing wrong with that. They should be better than we were.”
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