As rain poured down at full-time and frustrated Leicester City players left the pitch, Blackburn supporters remained in their corner of the King Power Stadium.
An enthusiastic contingent of traveling fans are now dreaming of a trip to the capital after a 2-1 win over the Premier League side saw their side into the FA Cup quarter-finals thanks to goals from Tyrhys Dolan and Sammie Szmodics. .
“No sera sera, whatever happens, we’re going to Wembley,” was how the Rovers fans serenaded their players, the team praised.
Another win and Rovers will be there in the next round.
“The players wrote a new chapter in their great history,” their beaming boss Jon Dahl Thomassen said afterwards. “They can be very proud.
“It was great to hear our fans, the players won it on the pitch and the fans won it in the stands.”
‘World’s Biggest Cup’
Blackburn have not played in the top flight since being relegated at the end of the 2011-12 campaign but, as well as a cup run, they are eyeing big-time promotion this season.
The Lancashire side sit fourth in the Championship and although an automatic return to the top two is unlikely, a play-off place is within reach.
Tuesday night’s win at Leicester, full of energy and passion, extended Blackburn’s impressive run to 13 games unbeaten and they are unbeaten in the last 10.
The fifth-round tie did not impress the Foxes’ fans, with the stadium having a reduced capacity of 9,000, but Blackburn fans went home on a dull and thrilling evening.
He was more vocal in supporting his team for the full 90 minutes, and was rewarded with a remarkable victory on his 200-mile round trip.
A 50% discount on ticket prices made the win even sweeter for the 2,600 supporters heading to the Midlands.
Rovers, who beat West Ham in the Carabao Cup earlier this season to claim another Premier League title, have reached the FA Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 2015.
“The boys have done a great job,” said former Newcastle and AC Milan striker Thomassen. “A massive killer against West Ham in the last 16 and now in the last eight of the greatest cup in the world.
“It has all those traditions. I talked about it many times as a young kid, when I sat and watched English television [channels]. The Cup is fantastic and one of the only countries where It’s alive – it made our fans proud.
“We take the cup very seriously, it’s a cup with many traditions and the football club is the most important for the fans. We need to give it a go and we did it with them.
“Last eight in the best cup in the world, a fantastic achievement for a club like Rovers.”
Former Everton midfielder Leon Usman added: “Blackburn played with the freedom their manager said they would before the game. It’s one thing to believe but to do it. There is another thing.
“They took the game to Leicester both in and out of possession and that’s no mean feat at a Premier League club away from home. They dominated for 65 minutes and could have scored more than their two goals. were
“Then they had to defend themselves and show another side of themselves, so it was an all-round performance from Blackburn Rovers and a well-deserved win.”
Leicester were winners of the competition just two years ago, when they beat Chelsea in the final, but elimination means they can now focus on trying to avoid relegation from the Premier League.
The Foxes are 14th in the table, just four places and three points above the drop zone.
Manager Brendan Rodgers said: “It was a chance to get to the FA Cup quarter-finals, at home against a Championship team, but they were much better than us.
“We have to worry about that.”
