Rotherham United 4-0 Blackburn Rovers: Hakeem Odoffin’s early strike sets Millers on way to thumping win

Hakeem Odoffin scored after 33 seconds as Rotherham United thrashed third-placed Blackburn Rovers to move four points clear of the Championship relegation zone.

Rovers responded and dominated possession with Bradley Dack and Ryan Hedges wasting excellent first-half chances.

But Ollie Rathbone’s thunderous 18-yard shot made it 2-0 soon after the interval, Shane Ferguson scored with an inswinging corner and Conor Washington’s sharp turn and strike sealed an impressive victory.

Rovers, who could have gone to within six points of second-placed Sheffield United before the 15:00 GMT kick-offs, made an encouraging response to conceding the quickest goal in the Championship this season, but faded miserably after going 2-0 behind .

Blackburn’s second-half performance lacked conviction and composure, and backed up the statistics that had seen them fail to take a point from any game in which they conceded first this season.

Rotherham took full advantage of dismal early defending, setting the tone for a display full of spirit and confidence.

A sloppy long pass gifted possession to the Millers, allowing Leo Hjelde to race down the left. Although his cross lacked precision, Dom Hyam’s poor clearance fell to Odoffin who cut across the ball with his right foot to power the hosts ahead.

Blackburn responded well but clearly missed the goal threat of leading scorer Ben Brereton Diaz, whose partner is expecting their first child.

The impressive Dack’s creativity and composition brought control in midfield and the visitors dominated possession, spurning several excellent openings to draw level before the break.

Sam Gallagher’s touch let him down after being played through by Dack, who himself wasted a glorious opportunity when he headed wide at the near post, while Hedges was thwarted by an excellent block by onrushing keeper Viktor Johansson.

But the hosts, with rookie Sean Morrison outstanding in defence, held out and Rathbone smashed in their second goal via the underside of the bar to settle any nerves – and Rovers barely threatened thereafter.

Ferguson’s corner delivered to the near post deceived scrambling Rovers keeper Thomas Kaminski to make it 3-0, before Washington rounded off a slick team move – and performance – with a fine low strike into the corner.

Rotherham manager Matt Taylor:

“We have felt pretty low for the last six weeks or so. We have been lower than a snake’s belly.

“There was intent and we were up in their faces and there was great execution in the quality of the goals. That first goal gave us a huge boost.

“There has been honesty from myself, the players and the staff. We have brought some players in and changed the shape. We have simplified our approach to the game which seemed to help the players. We have generally kept a good team at arm’s length .

“The message to the players before the game was we were in a 20-game season now and we’re in the fight of our lives.

“It’s the biggest fight I have ever been in and we have to show that. When you are confronted with a challenge you’ve got one or two options. You can run away and hide and make excuses, or you can stand up to it and put your best foot forward. That was the way we went about our business.”

Blackburn head coach Jon Dahl Tomasson said:

“It’s a disappointing result and a poor performance. We talked about starting the game well and then conceded in the first minute.

“We had three big opportunities to get back in the game in the first half. They are probably the three best chances in the game. You need to take those chances.

“We need to apologise to our fans because it was a poor performance. The second goal killed us a bit. We need to stay in the game. We need to be creative in the final third.

“It was not good enough. It’s an extremely young squad and it is something they need to learn. There are no excuses. We can win every game and lose every game.”