Villa ease through

Robert Pires' first goal for Aston Villa helped them continue their recent dominance over Blackburn in cup competitions with a 3-1 FA Cup fourth round triumph at Villa Park.

The former Arsenal star restored Villa's lead after Ciaran Clark's opener had been cancelled out by Rovers substitute Nikola Kalinic.

Nathan Delfouneso further increased Villa's lead, and even the red card after 62 minutes for defender Nathan Baker for a challenge on Junior Hoilett failed to halt their progress.

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