ROVERS' under 18s earned themselves an FA Youth Cup 5th round tie at home to Manchester United after sneaking past a hardworking Leyton Orient 1-0 at Ewood Park on Monday evening.
The visitors had the better of the opening half with Beautyman and Crowther going close, whilst Tom Hitchcock was denied at point-blank range.
But as the game went on it was Rovers who started to dominate and when Jason Banton was brought down with 20 minutes to go it gave the home side a chance to win the tie.
Academy top scorer Banton stepped up to take the kick himself, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way.
To their credit Orient never stopped, but it was Rovers who got their reward for a dogged display.
With both sides not having played a competitive match for more than a month, it was perhaps inevitable that there'd be some rustiness on display at Ewood Park.
In a first half that was lacking the quality required it was the visitors who just edged it.
They went close from a free-kick by Orient captain Harry Beautyman, taken from almost the exact spot that Benni McCarthy found Ryan Nelsen on Sunday, but on this occasion whilst the ball into the box was equally impressive, there was no-one on hand to get the decisive touch.
Rovers offered little as an attacking force in the opening half, their only chance coming just past the half hour, when from a Josh Morris corner, Grant Hanley headed back for Tom Hitchcock who controlled the ball before shooting, but Orient goalkeeper Jack Giddens pulled off a superb point-blank save.
Though at the end of the half it was again the visiting side who were threatening, a cross from the right finding Louis Crowther, but although the striker leapt well for the ball, he directed it inches the wrong side of the post with Josh Swann scrambling across.
After working so hard in the first half, Leyton Orient will have been disappointed not to have gone in at the break in front.
The second half saw Rovers gain the upper hand as the visitors started to tire.
Micah Evans sent a curling effort inches wide of the far post five minutes in and that set the tone for the second half.
Though it took a fine save from Josh Swann to deny sub Chris Benjamin just past the hour, a ball down the right channel saw the Orient attacker get the better of Josh Morris, but despite a fierce left-footed strike, Swann did well to push the ball aside.
There was a real competitive edge to the game, with both sides giving their all for the cause. The match saw its fair share of meaty challenges that the referee was happy to let go, a far cry from what is often seen in the Premier League and because of this the game was all the better for it.
Grant Hanley headed onto the roof of the net from a Michael Potts free-kick and a minute later came the pivotal moment of the game.
A forward ball sent the fleet-footed Banton racing clear of his marker, he clipped the ball over the advancing goalkeeper only to be brought crashing to the ground.
A penalty was the referee's decision, although it was harsh on the visiting 'keeper.
Nevertheless, it was Banton who dusted himself down to step up and send Giddens the wrong way with a well struck shot into the corner.
Giddens then denied Potts from a free-kick as Rovers looked for a second. But they had to settle for just the one goal in a game that was played in the right spirit.
ROVERS: Swann, Ramm, Morris (sub Ajagbe 86 mins), Lowe, Hanley (c), Pearson, Evans (sub Osawe 78 mins), Bowen, Hitchcock, Potts (sub Morrissey 90 mins), Banton.
Subs not used: Urwin, Knowles.
LEYTON ORIENT: Giddens, Millwood, Nelson, Boakye, Mike, Babbs, Odubajo (sub Benjamin 61 mins), Beautyman (c), Crowther, Argent, Manneh (sub O'Hara 77 mins).
Subs not used: Bygrave, Richardson, Mabuyaku.
Booked: Ramm (Rovers), Giddens (Orient).
Attendance: 561
