Blackburn Rovers eased their relegation concerns and finally found some joy on home soil with a 2-0 victory over Millwall, only their second home win of the season. Early goals from Andri Gudjohnsen and Yuki Ohashi did the damage as Valerien Ismael’s team produced the fast start that has eluded them at Ewood for much of the campaign.
Having gone into the game without a win in five and with just six points collected at home all season, Blackburn were under pressure to respond. They did so clinically, scoring twice before the interval to double their tally of first-half goals at Ewood for the season, then managing the contest with assurance after the break as Millwall’s own winless run stretched to three.
Fast start ends Blackburn’s first-half struggles
Blackburn’s repeated failure to score first-half goals at home had become a defining issue, but those concerns were swept aside inside three minutes. Ryoya Morishita worked the ball neatly into the path of Matty Litherland, making his first senior start, and the youngster’s low strike from the edge of the area was not dealt with cleanly by Max Crocombe. The Millwall goalkeeper could only fumble the effort, and Gudjohnsen reacted quickest, thundering the rebound into the roof of the net for his seventh goal of the season.