Sammie Szmodics opens the scoring for Blackburn at Edgeley Park
Sammie Szmodics made it three goals in two games as Blackburn easily reached the Carabao Cup second round at Edgeley Park with a 6-1 thrashing of Stockport County.
Last season's Championship golden boot winner netted in the league opener against Derby County on Friday night and then grabbed two more in the opening half hour against the League One opponents
Rovers had the game won by half-time as Andreas Weimann and Yuki Ohashi added two more against a Stockport side who made 10 changes from their victory over Cambridge on Saturday, including handing debuts to four youngsters.
One of them, 16-year-old defender Nathan Mapengu, pulled one back for the home side but Senegalese striker Makhtar Gueye and Jack Vale added two more for Rovers.
A mauling looked on the cards from the moment the team sheets were handed in, with Stockport manager Dave Challinor beset by injuries and refusing to risk his front-line players against a relatively strong Rovers side.
That proved to be the case as Szmodics picked out the top corner, Weimann slotted in the second and Szmodics volleyed in the third from a Harry Pickering scooped pass, all in the opening 25 minutes.
Ohashi headed home from a short corner routine to make it 4-0, and both managers rang the changes in the second half.
Defender Mapengu had his memorable moment on debut, prodding home at the far post from Jayden Fevrier's corner, but Rovers were not finished.
Stockport goalkeeper Ben Hinchliffe made a string of saves and Ohashi lashed a shot against the post but Gueye, signed from Dutch side Molenbeek, headed home from a corner and Vale finished expertly from a tight angle to round off a big win.
