MARK Hughes has the scent of Wembley in his nostrils again after Benni McCarthy produced a moment of undiluted magic to send Blackburn Rovers fans into ecstacy.

Four times an FA Cup winner as a player, now Hughes is dreaming of lifting the famous old trophy as a manager following an incredible climax to this fifth round replay at a spellbound Ewood Park.

The Welsh warrior has claimed some notable scalps during his two-and-a-half year reign in the Blackburn hot-seat, but this one possibly topped the lot for sheer drama.

With extra-time looming, Hughes summoned McCarthy from the bench, and what happened next was the stuff of fantasy.

The clock was showing 87 minutes when David Dunn, another second half substitute, fed McCarthy with an intelligent ball down the left-hand channel.

Faced with Philippe Senderos, who was standing in as an emergency right-back, the South African still had plenty to do, but he dropped his shoulder and cut inside before unleashing an unstoppable shot that screamed through the air and exploded into the far corner of Manuel Almunia's net.

It was a stunning strike, worthy of winning any game, and McCarthy raced half the length of the field to embrace members of the Rovers bench in a scene of unbridled joy.

If Hughes' decision to drop McCarthy was meant to act as a wake-up call then it certainly worked because the former Porto man provided his boss with the perfect response.

The delighted Rovers chief said: "It was a fantastic strike from Benni and I can't wait to see it again in all honesty.

"It was a goal of world class quality and he's capable of that - he's shown that all through the season.

"He was nice and bright when he came on, and what a good decision it was from the manager to bring him on as an impact player!

"I'll take a little bit of credit, but I've got to say I thought the team were magnificent.

"At times we had to dig in. Both sides cancelled each other out somewhat and there weren't that many clear-cut chances in open play.

"But I thought the goal itself deserved to win any game."

Rovers' passage to the last eight is a major personal triumph for Hughes, who came under heavy fire from the Arsenal camp for his negative' tactics in the first game at the Emirates 11 days ago.

But as he and Rovers have proved, there's more than one way to win a cup-tie, and it's the end result, rather than the style of your football, that separates the winners from the losers.

The foundations for this victory were laid at the Emirates, where Rovers, inspired by the heroics of Brad Friedel, successfully spiked Arsenal's guns.

Last night, Ryan Nelsen and Chris Samba picked up where they left off, brilliantly snuffing out the threat posed by Julio Baptista and Jeremie Aliadiere.

In truth, this was hardly a game for the purists, with both sides guilty of giving the ball away all too easily, but Rovers hung in there and their spirit and character finally saw them through. Not to mention a touch of McCarthy magic.

Rovers must have been heartened by the sight of Arsenal's teamsheet as Thierry Henry, Tomas Rosicky and Cesc Fabregas were all conspicuous by their absence.

But such is the depth of Arsene Wenger's resources, he was still able to welcome back Gilberto Silva, William Gallas and Freddie Ljungberg, who were rested for the Carling Cup final at the weekend.

Hughes, meanwhile, made just one change from the side that comfortably dispatched Portsmouth on Sunday, Ryan Nelsen returning at the expense of Stephane Henchoz.

That meant leading scorer McCarthy had to be content with a place amongst the substitutes, Hughes preferring instead to keep faith with Shabani Nonda, the two-goal hero against Pompey.

Both sides struggled to find any rhythm during a scrappy opening that was littered with misplaced passes.

Aliadiere incensed the Blackburn End when he tried to win' a penalty following a brush with Friedel, but Graham Poll quite rightly waved away his appeal.

Moments later, the Gunners had a more legitimate claim when Brett Emerton pulled back Ljungberg as he bore down on goal, but once again Mr Poll remained unmoved, much to Wenger's obvious displeasure.

Still, Arsenal kept pressing, and Baptista, the man known as The Beast' during his time at Real Madrid, missed a golden chance to put them ahead in the 32nd minute.

Denilson, the impressive young Brazilian, delivered a pinpoint free-kick towards the far post, but Baptista, who was completely unmarked, planted a free header over the crossbar.

More clever prompting from Denilson prized open the Blackburn defence once again, leaving Ljungberg one-on-one with Friedel, but the Swede's first touch let him down and the chance went begging.

In contrast, Rovers made little impact going forward, their final ball too often lacking the required quality.

Hughes was forced into a tactical reshuffle at the start of the second half after Stephen Warnock complained of feeling unwell, but, if anything, the switch appeared to galvanise Rovers.

David Bentley suddenly came to life and curled in a teasing cross which would have left Nonda with a simple tap-in but for Senderos' timely interception.

Then Morten Gamst Pedersen squandered a glorious chance to break the deadlock when he blasted wastefully wide after a quick free kick had carved open the Arsenal defence.

The Gunners still looked menacing on the break, though, and a fizzing shot from Baptista brought the best out of Friedel, who tipped the ball over at full-stretch.

As the home fans' frustrations grew, so did the clamour for McCarthy, and he finally made his entrance, together with David Dunn, in the 64th minute, Nonda and Tugay the players making way.

Desperate to avoid extra-time, Hughes tried to snatch the ball out of Wenger's hands at one point after the Arsenal boss was slow to return it at a throw-in.

Then Chris Samba and Ljungberg squared up to each other following another fruitless penalty appeal. The tension was tangible.

But Rovers - and McCarthy - had one last trick up their sleeves.

Talk about the magic of the cup!