CHAMPIONSHIP · EWOOD PARK
ROVERS CUT DOWN PARKER'S HAMMERS
Blackburn 2, West Ham 1. Blackburn: Andri Guðjohnsen 54, Oladapo Afolayan 71; West Ham: Joel Piroe 82. Gudjohnsen's header and Afolayan's strike from range sink West Ham after a blank first half
Blackburn Rovers beat West Ham United 2-1 at Ewood Park, ending a two-game losing run and spoiling Scott Parker's first Championship away day.
A blank first half gave way after the restart. Jayden Fevrier broke and crossed, and Andri Guðjohnsen headed home from very close range on 54 minutes. Oladapo Afolayan made it two on 71, sweeping a left-foot shot from outside the box into the bottom right after Yuki Ohashi's assist. Joël Piroe pulled one back on 82, finishing Valentín Castellanos' cross into the top left, but Rovers held on.
“We all know how emotional football is and generally when you lose a game, people usually see the negative side of a performance or the work rate or whatever it is, but I've been pretty happy with this group of players since the day I walked in. They care about each other, they work hard for each other, so we're delighted today. That's a tough game. You can feel their quality, their power and strength.” – Tony Mowbray, Blackburn Rovers head coach, speaking to BBC Radio Lancashire, via BBC Sport
“It's very disappointing. We dominated first half without creating too much and we suffocated Blackburn for large parts. Second half, we came out really sharp and really bright but we didn't manage to score and their first goal gave us a bit of a hill to climb.” – Scott Parker, West Ham United head coach, speaking to BBC Radio London, via BBC Sport
Where it leaves them: Blackburn 13th on 21 points; West Ham 9th on 23 points. Blackburn climb off 14th with a first win in three; West Ham slip after Scott Parker's first away game in charge.