Blackburn secured only their second Premier League victory of the season thanks to a 4-2 win against 10-man Swansea at Ewood Park.
Striker strikes four times in crucial win for Rovers
Blackburn secured only their second Premier League victory of the season thanks to Yakubu Aiyegbeni, who scored all four goals in their 4-2 win against 10-man Swansea at Ewood Park.
In an entertaining first half, Blackburn took the lead after 20 minutes through Yakubu.
The Nigerian thumped home Gael Givet's pull-back after a well-worked move, but the visitors soon restored parity thanks to Leroy Lita as he got up at the back post to head home Mark Gower's delicious delivery.
However, the hosts struck on the stroke of half-time to go back in front as Simon Vukcevic's left-foot volley was diverted into the back of the net by Yakubu.
And Rovers stretched their lead just before the hour mark as Christopher Samba's header back across goal was nodded in by Yakubu to claim his hat-trick.
The side from South Wales showed their fighting spirit as they hit back through substitute Luke Moore nine minutes later, but the visitors were then reduced to ten men as Joe Allen was shown his second yellow card of the game.
And just a minute later Neil Taylor brought Simon Vukcevic crashing down in the area which allowed Yakubu to bag his fourth goal of the game from 12-yards and settle the contest.
Rovers boss Steve Kean will be hoping this is the start of something special as Swansea's search for an away win goes on.
Bright
Brendan Rodgers' men had started brightly after a minute's applause for Gary Speed, with Scott Sinclair causing problems down the left and drilling an eighth minute shot just wide.
Swansea's early invention sparked the first signs of restlessness with the inevitable chants for Kean's dismissal starting after Sinclair saw another dangerous cross blocked by Samba.
Rovers failed to threaten at all until the 12th minute when Mauro Formica won a free-kick on the edge of the box, but Morten Gamst Pedersen's set-piece flashed wide.
Swansea keeper Michael Vorm had to punch away a deep free-kick from his opposite number Paul Robinson, as Rovers belatedly began to make an impression in the visitors' half.
And Yakubu grabbed his first in the 20th minute after superb work from Givet, who cut in from the left flank and crossed for the Nigerian to blast home the opener.
But even that goal did not placate some sections of the home support, who booed when Kean celebrated with the goalscorer on the touchline.
It was clear Yakubu was up for the challenge, but after sending another chance squirming wide it was the visitors who grabbed an equaliser in the 35th minute.
Gower sent in a looping cross from the right flank and Lita, in for the injured Danny Graham, rose to angle a fine header in off Robinson's left-hand post.
Yakubu restored Blackburn's lead in first-half injury time when he reacted with a point-blank header after substitute Vukcevic volleyed across the box.
Moves
Sinclair was at the centre of almost all Swansea's moves early in the second half, setting up Lita to blaze over the bar then unleashing a shot of his own into the side-netting.
Formica shot just wide for Rovers then Yakubu had the ball in the net for a third time after being fed by Vukcevic, but was rightly adjudged to be inches offside.
Remarkably Robinson, the penalty box hero at Wigan a fortnight ago, played a big part in Rovers' third when his booming goal kick was tipped over the bar by opposite number Vorm.
From the resulting corner Rovers grabbed their third, with Samba heading back Pedersen's set-piece and Yakubu pouncing to finally complete his hat-trick from close range.
But Swansea were far from done and they reduced the deficit in the 66th minute when Moore fired home from inside the box after Robinson had parried an initial effort from Wayne Routledge.
With nerves clearly jangling among the Rovers rearguard, Sinclair was given space to blaze over the bar before Taylor's foul on Vukcevic allowed Yakubu to complete his solo show.
And, with Allen having been shown a second yellow card seconds before the goal, Swansea's hopes were over.
| Blackburn Rovers |
Team Statistics |
Swansea City |
| 4 |
Goals |
2 |
| 2 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
| 5 |
Shots on Target |
4 |
| 6 |
Shots off Target |
5 |
| 4 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
| 3 |
Corners |
4 |
| 12 |
Fouls |
13 |
| 1 |
Offsides |
0 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
0 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
1 |
| 73.7 |
Passing Success |
88.9 |
| 27 |
Tackles |
22 |
| 88.9 |
Tackles Success |
68.2 |
| 31.6 |
Possession |
68.4 |
| 53 |
Territorial Advantage |
47 |
| 323 |
Total Passes |
695 |
| 8 |
Total Crosses |
21 |
| 136 |
Lost Balls |
147 |
| 41 |
Recoveries |
56 |
| 30.1 |
1st Half Poss. |
69.9 |
| 33.2 |
2nd Half Poss. |
66.8 |
|
