Blackburn Rovers 5-2 Cambridge United: Sammie Szmodics hits hat-trick as Championship side win in FA Cup

Sammie Szmodics' first career hat-trick guided Blackburn into the FA Cup fourth round after a first-half scare against League One side Cambridge.

The Championship's leading scorer took his tally for the season to 19 from just 27 games to thwart a U's side who had twice led, through goals from Jack Lankester and Sullay Kaikai.

Midfielder Szmodics came up with three expert finishes to twice level the score and then edge Rovers ahead in a hectic first half.

Further goals from Arnor Sigurdsson and Harry Leonard secured Rovers only a second win in nine games in all competitions and allowed boss Jon Dahl Tomasson to make Rory Finneran the youngest debutant in the club's history at the age of 15 years, 10 months and eight days.

Cambridge's 1,600 travelling fans went to Ewood Park in hope rather than expectation after failing to win in their previous 11 away games, a run that has contributed to them sitting just above the relegation zone in League One, 25 places below Rovers before the game.

The U's, however, took advantage of a Blackburn defence that has conceded more goals than any other Championship side this season, apart from Rotherham.

They were ahead after six minutes as Blackburn were slow to clear a free-kick into their box and Jubril Okedina teed up Lankester for a sweet left-footed finish into the far corner.

Sammie Szmodics has now scored 19 goals in all competitions for Blackburn Rovers this season

Szmodics finished off a sumptuous one-touch move from Blackburn, with Hayden Carter supplying the slick final pass, but within three minutes Lankester headed a James Brophy cross into the path of Kaikai and the striker volleyed past Leopold Wahlstedt.

Szmodics was unstoppable and when Sigurdsson picked out his run from right to left, he swept the ball through a yawning gap between Cambridge keeper Jack Stevens and his near post.

The midfielder grabbed his third before the break, volleying in Callum Brittain's cross to put the six-time FA Cup winners ahead for the first time in the game.

Rovers dominated the second half and only a string of fine saves from Stevens stopped Szmodics from increasing his tally and Cambridge suffering acute embarrassment.

Andrew Moran hit the bar and moments later won possession on the byeline and crossed, with Carter smuggling the ball to the unmarked Sigurdsson for the fourth.

Leonard missed an open goal from Szmodics' superb cross but then headed in the fifth from a Harry Pickering cross to round off the scoring and allow Finneran - named the Republic of Ireland's under-15 player of the year in 2023 - to make history in the final few minutes.

Blackburn manager Jon Dahl Tomasson told BBC Radio Lancashire:

"The development of Sammie is great to see. He's a team player, a goalscorer who is very good at doing all the concrete things, and then he has scored all those goals, his first hat-trick, and got an assist.

"We all know the charm of these games when you're playing a side from a level lower in the league, who suddenly rise and make it difficult. You can lose those games and I was disappointed with the two goals we conceded.

"The crowd helped us through that time and the players showed great character, togetherness and spirit to come back. We scored five goals and it could have been 10.

"It was great to see a couple of young boys getting minutes, Ryan Finneran at just 15. He's a talented boy able to play with left and right, and has great vision - but we shouldn't forget he's still very young. It was a good opportunity to give him some experience."

Cambridge manager Neil Harris told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire:

"It was a gallant effort. We went into the game with personnel issues at one end of the pitch and at the other end the game was decided by a Championship side of great quality.

"The game went how we expected it to go. They have great threats and Sammie Szmodics is a top, top player who can go up again and play at the next level.

"We didn't help ourselves at times with conceding goals. Individual errors cost us and we have to cut them out because when you play a good side you can't give them a leg-up.

"In the first half our shape and our press was excellent, we regained the ball, used it really well and scored two good goals, but you can't give opportunities in the box to these teams, they're too clinical. That's my only frustration."