LIFT OFF AT LONG LAST FOR COYLE
BLACKBURN sealed their first league win of the season and it was a performance that left boss Owen Coyle purring over how they demolished the Millers.
Danny Ward gave Rotherham the lead but Rovers fought back through Craig Conway, Marvin Emnes and Ben Marshall.
Ward added his second late on before Sam Gallagher scored Blackburn’s fourth in stoppage time to lift Rovers off the foot of the table.
“What’s so pleasing about it was the manner of the performance and how we won,” said Coyle.
“We started the game brilliantly, we could have been two goals up and from that we concede a counterattack goal from two very good players.
“It’d have been easy then to feel sorry for yourself, but we’ve said to them each day as we work with them, we continue to play in the same way whether you’re 1-0 up or 10 down.
“We’ve got a certain way we want to play and that’s on the front foot, pass and move with the ball, which we did.
“We scored a wonderful equaliser and then we just continued to get better and better.”
Following a bright Rovers start, Rotherham took a 12th-minute lead after Isaiah Brown slipped in Ward who coolly slotted a one-on-one past Jason Steele.
Conway drew Blackburn level ten minutes later after picking up possession in the middle and unleashing a ferocious shot which flew past an outstretched Lee Camp.
Brown tore through the Blackburn midfield to find Ward once more on 25 minutes, who was denied his second of the afternoon by an onrushing Steele.
Then Rovers took the lead when Conway burst down the left and drove into the box, coolly setting up a free Emnes for a composed finish on the half hour.
Camp kept the deficit at just one with a sublime save after Conway’s cross was deflected towards goal by Millers defender Joe Mattock.
But within 20 seconds of the second half, Marshall added Rovers’ third after cutting inside and curling a left-footed effort past Camp.
Gallagher nearly had a goal to cap off his fine performance after rising highest to meet Conway’s cross but his header rattled off the bar.
The Millers grabbed one back with seven minutes to go when Stephen Kelly darted down the right wing and his cross was headed past Steele at the near post by Ward for his second of the game.
But Blackburn had the last laugh as Emnes outmuscled and drifted into the box to set up strike partner Gallagher, who fired home for a deserved goal.
It left boss Millers boss Alan Stubbs admitting his side contributed to their own downfall after letting in four goals away from home for the second successive game.
“I thought we significantly contributed to the result and when you give away goals that we’ve given away, you’ll find it’s very difficult to win games of football,” he said.
“We can’t come away from home and score two goals and not be in a position where you’re taking something out of the game. First and foremost, we have to cut out basic, fundamental mistakes.
“I can’t think of any goals that we’ve conceded where teams have completely cut us open, but we’re significantly contributing to our own downfall by making those mistakes and we’re getting punished for them.”