Blackburn end Wrexham's FA Cup run with 4-1 home win

BLACKBURN, England :Sammie Szmodics scored twice as second tier Blackburn Rovers came from behind to beat lowly Wrexham 4-1 on Monday and secure an FA Cup fifth round clash with Premier League Newcastle United.

Andy Cannon fired League Two (fourth division) Wrexham ahead against the run of play in the 19th minute but the Championship side hit back with two more first half goals in the space of two minutes.

Szmodics, the Championship's top scorer so far this season, equalised in the 32nd from close range and Sam Gallagher made it 2-1 in the 34th with Wrexham goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo caught on the hop and an empty net beckoning.

Szmodics then grabbed his second, and fifth of the FA Cup campaign, in first half stoppage time before Norwegian midfielder Sondre Tronstad made it 4-1 with a deflected shot in the 59th.

Blackburn's Danish manager Jon Dahl Tomasson, a former Newcastle player, told BBC television the Cup always held dangers for a side like his against lower opponents.

"We started really well, could have been 2-0 up after five minutes and then we conceded a goal. But the players stayed calm and we scored three brilliant goals after that and dominated the game. It was a great win," he said.

Cannon's goal was Wrexham's first real chance of the night and he blasted the ball past goalkeeper Aynsley Pears to a roar from the 7,000 Wrexham fans who had made the trip to Blackburn's Ewood Park.

Pears denied Cannon a second with a fine double save three minutes later but there was to be no fairytale finish for the Welsh side as Blackburn turned up the heat and swept the visitors aside.

Wrexham have won a new global support since movie A listers Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney took over and helped secure their return to the English