A crisp Lancashire evening, an FA Cup tie, an opposition to who have almost as glorious a distant past in the competition - when it was prestigious - and who trump our desolate 1960 defeat with a catastrophe in 1974 and two late 90’s capitulations denying Alan Shearer a third winners medal. If we count the Tournoi.

The lack of glamour in the Newcastle side was met by our lack of defenders. And after a dour 2-0 victory on TV on Saturday many neutrals would have chosen to watch Netflix and chill instead.

But, despite an absolute comedy of errors in the first act, it was a thriller of a first half; four goals spanning from onne minute in to right on the board for half-time.

One imagines some of the defence blew on the half-time tea to cool it down for the creative element who had pulled them out of a hole.  And the strong second half display deserved far more than the kick in the teeth they received in extra time.

Ultimately the hoped-for cup run was thwarted by a lack of an offside decision and as hard as it is to swallow right now it is the injuries and illness that worry me more than the injustice. We have got used to that over the years.

Yet for all the angst it still proved that cup nights at Ewood can be special. One of my favourite quotes, ironically in my thoughts after Saturday’s dull-a-thon, is Danny Blanchflower’s “The game is about glory, it is about doing things in style and with a flourish, about going out and beating the lot, not waiting for them to die of boredom."

However, Rovers played Millwall at their own game and emerged victors. They went for glory on Tuesday and ended up with nothing but the prospect of a weekend without Charlie Mulgrew, Bradley Dack and Harrison Reed. 

It’s a tough life being an active football fan but with two home fixtures to follow, and only being six points off the play-offs, maybe the small taste of glory will sweeten this pain.