Lancs Senior Cup victory at Blackburn
LATICS RESERVES 0, BLACKBURN ROVERS 0
(Latics won 5-4 on penalties)
(Latics won 5-4 on penalties)
Goalkeeper Luke Simpson made the vital save to keep out Hugo Fernandez's spot kick.
It was the only miss from the ten penalties as Latics held their nerve with Daniel Taylor scoring the final and matchwinning kick as Latics knocked out a vastly experienced Rovers side.
Latics had earlier scored through Matt Smith, Taylor, Connor Hughes and Kirk Millar.
Blackburn were twice denied by the woodwork in the opening half as David Dunn and Colin Kazim-Richards both struck the frame of the goal while Simpson made an excellent save to deny Paulo Jorge.
Latics were awarded a penalty after a pull on the short of Tomos Clarke, but Taylor fired wide from the spot.
In the second half, Simpson pulled off an unbelievable reflex save low to his left to keep out a close-range header from Diogo Rosado.
Smith had four headed chances to give Latics the lead in a ten-minute spell, but could not find the target or a way past Polish international keeper Grzegorz Sandomierski.
Simpson pulled off another good save late on to ensure the outcome would be decided by penalties.
Latics defended superby with Simpson and right-back Connor Brown (pictured) standing out while rookie central defenders Glenn Belezika and Tomos Clarke also hardly put a foot wrong.