Second half double seals Rovers win

Just as the Bristol Rovers squad deserve praise for their 2-1 victory over Morecambe on Saturday, the Memorial Stadium ground staff deserve their own acclaim for beating the freezing West Country temperatures and making sure the match went ahead.

Head groundsman Richard Allsworth and his team worked throughout the nights building up to the game to keep an eye on the playing surface. Both frost and rain covers protected the turf, while hot air blowing heaters aided the efforts to keep the pitch supple for the Lancastrians visit.

Their labours were duly rewarded as the Pirates pushed on from a dour first half performance to send Jim Bentley's charges on the four hour return journey with nothing to bare.

The game finally opened up in the 57th minute, Lee Brown tapping in from close range; Scott McGleish making it two with a penalty. Substitute Kevin Ellison thrashed in a late goal which, despite continuous late pressure from the visitors, ended as nothing more than a consolation.

It could have been a very different game had Morecambe made their first half forays into the Rovers penalty area count, journeyman forward Jason Price scuffing a shot after just 30 seconds following a defensive lapse.

Phil Jevons, the subject of derisive howls from the home support due to his association with their cross-city rivals, was the next to threaten the hosts' goal. Cian Bolger mistimed a header, allowing Jevons to rush in and clip an effort over the indecisive Michael Poke, though he was left in visible anguish as his shot struck the right hand upright.

Pirates skipper Matt Gill blazed a thumping volley over the top as his side attempted to gain a foothold in the match.

McGleish forced Chris Kettings into a full stretch save, pushing the ball onto the post, before Gill wasted another opportunity, hitting wide after the visiting custodian fumbled when challenged by the boisterous McGleish.

There was an increase in quality from the off in the second half, most notably from the home side who switched from 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2 formation, bringing the desired effect soon enough.

Eliot Richards, a first half replacement for Joe Anyinsah, went on a marauding run down the right flank, cutting inside and beating three defenders in one move. The 20 year old proceeded to send a teasing low cross goalwards, Matt Harrold flicking the ball towards the back post where Brown was on hand to emphatically hammer into the roof of the net from a yard out.

Fifteen minutes from time the lead went from one to two via the penalty spot. Rovers broke and former Shrimper Craig Stanley played debutant substitute Matthew Lund into the penalty area, the Stoke loanee turning back on Danny Carlton, only to be dragged down by the arm.

Despite missing his previous spot kick in an FA Cup tie with Aston Villa, McGleish kept his cool to slam home his ninth goal of the season, his first as a starting player since November.

Looking to see out the match, the home side were playing five in midfield, but none of the quartered quintet were at fault for the Morecambe goal. Cian Bolger swiped at fresh air, allowing Jordan Burrow to sprint towards Poke who saved his initial drive, but could do no more than parry it into the path of Ellison to ruthlessly thunder a goal back.

It was Ellison who came closest to claiming an undeserved point for the travellers, unleashing a stinging volley that Poke had to be one hand to tip over the bar, sending the ground staff away with an unseasonably warm feeling inside.

Sessegnon settles north-east derby

THE only true blip on Martin O'Neill's start to life in charge of Sunderland was the failure to finish of local rivals Middlesbrough in the FA Cup barely two weeks ago, especially as the original fourth round tie was played at the home that could easily be redubbed 'The Fortress of Light'. The rectification at the Riverside on Wednesday night in a Tees-Wear derby that huffed and puffed but failed to provide any true quality will be satisfactory for the Northern Irishman.

The fact that the first game finished 1-1 was a disappointment among a set of supporters that have been on an almost opiate high, more pertinently because of the denial of a perfectly good goal by a poor piece of judgement from a linesman.

This replay, settled by Stephane Sessegnon's strike in the 23rd minute of extra time, puts Sunderland into a last-16 tie with Arsenal in just a couple of weekends time. The Beninese attacker's goal was required to finish of a plucky Boro, who had drawn level through Lucas Jutkiewicz in the second half, following Jack Colback's stunning opener.

With the in-form Black Cats desperately chasing the unlikely top six finish that would grant a Europa League spot, a run to a Wembley final could provide O'Neill's charges with a berth in continental competition come next term.

Middlesbrough started the game compact and fluent, looking to work Sunderland out of the tie, but remaining wary of their opponents' Premiership quality, though neither side's final product was worthy of creating a derby hero. Julio Arca, an adopted son of north-east football, wastefully shot at Simon Mignolet from a perplexing angle for Boro; January loan signing Jutkiewicz's effort flying closer to the South Stand roof than it did towards the Belgian's goal in the opening exchanges.

The home team continued to push and a fairly innocuous free kick almost produced the opener. A woefully timed defensive header allowed Seb Hines to stretch for a volley, forcing the Sunderland custodian into an impressive reaction stop.

That's not to write O'Neill's on-song team out of the script, it's just that they weren't producing any drama. When the Black Cats did possess a momentary threat, it was soon wiped out by effortful defending; Sessegnon flicking the ball into Michael Turner's path, only for the London-born defender to dawdle, allowing Matthew Bates to fly in with a block to maintain the parity.

And yet, despite their lacking edge, Middlesbrough were right to remain cagey of the Premier League class. John O'Shea sent a high ball onto Fraizer Campbell's head, the 24 year-old nodding the ball down for Colback to control and hit a magnificent swerving volley onto the angle of post and crossbar and into the net.

It wasn't a lead that Sunderland truly deserved, though neither were Boro worthy of an advantage themselves. Still, it proved the spark for an entertaining finish to first half proceedings, the Championship side refusing to take their bow without a fight. Phil Bardsley was forced to throw himself feet first at a sweetly struck Tony McMahon drive, while Mignolet was similarly required to leave the ground, pushing Curtis Main's stinging effort wide of his right-hand post.

Where the first half had given the visitors a goal against the run of play, the second spun 180 degrees; the hosts finding a reply with just over 30 minutes to go as Jutkiewicz volleyed into the bottom corner after Main's flying header dropped invitingly for the ex-Everton youngster. The gleeful look on Jutkiewicz's face as he celebrated in front of the home end was not only down to the equaliser itself, but for the release of tension that came with his first goal since signing on loan from Coventry, after four goalless appearances in a red shirt.

Sunderland slowly worked their way back into the half, almost snatching the lead back through Phil Bardsley, only to see the right back's shot cannon off the post with Jason Steele in the Middlesbrough goal flying despairingly for the unreachable ball.

Three second half substitutes did not provide Boro with the impetus to take the game in normal time, the seats at either end receiving a peppering from the frustratingly inaccurate forward lines. The moronic pair of pitch invaders, one of whom seemingly attempted to slide tackle Justin Hoyte, proving the only vaguely newsworthy point as the game limped into extra time.

It was one of those subs, namely Marvin Emnes, who could and, certainly in the eyes of the home support, probably should have given Middlesbrough the lead, but his shot from fourteen yards was charged down after Hoyte had burst past Kieran Richardson to lay the ball into his path.

The Dutchman's dallying proved costly as, with just seven minutes remaining, Sessegnon provided the decisive blow, sweeping a finish past Steele to secure the home tie with Arsenal on February 18th, with the added bonus of a fourth live game on ITV in as many matches in this season's FA Cup.