Derby County 0-4 Blackburn Rovers: Bradley Johnson shines as Rams slip to third loss
- Published
Tyrhys Dolan's early goal means the winger has scored on both his league starts for Rovers
Blackburn Rovers scored three goals in five first-half minutes in an emphatic win over a Derby County side who lost a third consecutive league game at the start of a season for the first time in 28 years.
Former Rams midfielder Bradley Johnson grabbed a superb long-range double after Tyrhys Dolan had tapped home the opener to as good as settle the contest just 15 minutes in at Pride Park.
Blackburn, resounding 5-0 winners over Wycombe Wanderers in their last game, had 13 efforts on target in a one-sided first half and could easily had added to their lead.
They finally did so towards the end of a more even second period when Derby got in a mess playing out from the back and a slick move ended with striker Adam Armstrong netting his fourth goal in two games with a simple far-post finish.
For all their impressive attacking play, Rovers could easily have trailed before Derby's first-half capitulation, defender Darragh Lenihan making a stunning block on the line from Max Bird's strike.
But from the moment Dolan followed up Ben Brereton's strike to make it 1-0, the visitors dominated.
Johnson doubled the lead, finding the bottom corner from 25 yards and another shot from distance a minute later, this time via a deflection, brought a three-goal interval lead.
Wayne Rooney curled an effort wide as he tried to inspire Derby's youngsters.
But the hosts, already beaten by Reading and Luton in the Championship as well as by another second-tier side in the form of Preston in the Carabao Cup, never looked like staging a comeback.
Armstrong's strike, the fifth Championship game in a row he has found the net, completed the scoring and took Blackburn's tally to 11 in three league games to ensure they moved up to fourth in the table on goal difference.
The Rams, who had not lost their first three league games in a season since 1992-93, slip to third from bottom.
Derby head coach Phillip Cocu told BBC Radio Derby:
"Our attitude was not good enough.
"We concede a goal and then we have a rule in the team - stay in the game. In four minutes we conceded three goals, and the game was almost over.
"The second half was much better but when you are losing 3-0 it is too late.
"Some players are underperforming. If you don't play well and have a lack of attitude on the pitch, that is a big concern."
Blackburn manager Tony Mowbray told BBC Radio Lancashire:
"We just keep doing what we do. We should have got more from Bournemouth in the first game, scored five last week and have done pretty well today.
"The players deserve huge credit for their work-rate and the effort they are putting into games.
"They are getting the rewards for the hard work we have tried to do over the past six months, and the benefits are there for us all to see.
"We have worked a lot on finishing and picking the right pass when we get into crucial areas as it was something that was letting us down."