Ryoya Morishita celebrates scoring for Blackburn against Watford
Ryoya Morishita scored his first Blackburn goal on his full Championship debut to give Valerien Ismael's side a valuable and deserved win at Watford.
Morishita joined Blackburn last month from Legia Warsaw and the Japan winger has quickly made his mark at Rovers.
He hit the bar with a shot in the first half before he scored the only goal at Vicarage Road in front of the watching Sir Elton John.
Morishita, 28, is having a few months to remember after netting his first Japan goal against Indonesia in June.
His strike earned Blackburn only their second win of the season against Ismael's former club and has lifted them away from the bottom three.
Watford have made a slow start under boss Paulo Pezzolano, winning just one of their opening six matches.
The Hornets have yet to keep a clean sheet and their defence was opened up far too easily when Yuki Ohashi played a simple ball through for his compatriot Morishita to score.
The hosts started brightly with efforts from Rocco Vata and Mamadou Doumbia before fading dramatically.
Blackburn grew into the game and Morishita struck the bar with a swerving shot before Watford goalkeeper Egil Selvik saved from Rovers skipper Todd Cantwell.
The visitors scored just two minutes into the second half when Ohashi fed Morishita and he slotted home, right footed, into the bottom-right corner.
Watford could not respond and Luca Kjerrumgaard had an effort before Blackburn goalkeeper Balazs Toth saved from Kwadwo Baah.
Watford wore a special-themed shirt in honour of Sir Elton, but his presence could not rouse the Hornets, who suffered their own dose of the blues in this first home league defeat.
'When he isn't scoring, he isn't happy' - reaction
Watford manager Paulo Pezzolano told BBC Three Counties Radio: "We lacked ideas. We wanted to be more aggressive from the kick-off.
"We had a few players missing after the international break, but regardless of that, that's not the issue. We lacked ideas and we lacked balance in the centre of the pitch.
"We were a little bit static on the pitch and we did not use the spaces when they conceded them. We also lacked some mobility in some spaces on the pitch."
Pezzolano: 'We lacked ideas and balance'
Blackburn boss Valerien Ismael told BBC Radio Lancashire he was delighted with goalscorer Morishita and said: "We saw clearly why he will be so important for us.
"He's a funny guy, a positive guy, always smiling. But when he isn't scoring, he isn't happy and that's what we like, to have that balance.
"It was exactly the game plan we had. We knew at the start we had to be strong, stay calm. After the first 20 minutes, we started to have more of the ball and to create chances."
'It was exactly the gameplan we had' - Ismael
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