Blackburn Rovers manager Sam Allardyce rued his side's inability to score goals after they lost their Carling Cup semi-final first leg to Aston Villa at Ewood Park 1-0.

James Milner grabbed the only goal of an entertatining match but Rovers went close to scoring when Nikola Kalinic twice hit the post.

Allardyce said after the loss:"We can't find the back of the net and that's a real disappointment, particularly tonight for Niko Kalinic.

"He's showing more and more of the ability he's got but it's so unkind for him that he hasn't scored tonight.

"We got caught by a sucker-punch on the break, which we'd worked on not letting them do. That's their strength, with the pace in their team, but we allowed them a very soft goal.

"We gave a spirited performance in the second half. What more can we do? Not a lot, but hopefully next time it will turn in our favour when we get a chance in front of goal."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email