DEADLY GRAHAM THE SPECIAL ONE
TONY Mowbray described Danny Graham as a “special finisher” after his hat-trick helped Blackburn to victory over Sheffield Wednesday.
Rovers looked well on their way to an easy victory after a pair of tap-ins from Graham and Bradley Dack put the hosts two-up early in the second half, only for Lucas Joao’s spectacular 62nd-minute screamer to peg Blackburn back.
However, Graham notched his second from a rebound soon after, and although David Raya’s own goal set up a nervy finish, Blackburn’s frontline striker popped up again to secure his hat-trick and ensure the perfect end to his 100th league start for Blackburn.
Rovers, looking to avoid losing three consecutive league games since April 2017, should have taken the lead in the eighth minute when Craig Conway’s cross found Harrison Reed on the right, but his volley struck a post.
But they went ahead three minutes later when Dack saw his low drive brilliantly saved, only for Graham to be on hand to hammer home the rebound.
Wednesday fell further behind in the 53rd minute when Graham broke down the right and his inch-perfect cross was slotted home by Dack, prompting anger from the visiting fans directed at their beleaguered boss.
Any thoughts of Rovers running away with it were ended by Joao, whose thunderous 30-yard strike flew past Raya and in via the underside of the crossbar for his sixth goal of the season.
Rovers restored their two-goal cushion four minutes later when Dack saw his rasping low drive hit a post, but Graham was on hand to tap home the rebound.
To their credit, Wednesday fought back and gave Blackburn a scare five minutes from time when Barry Bannan raced through and although his delicate effort hit a post, Raya bundled the ball into his own net.
Fittingly though, Graham had the last word in the last minute, completing his hat-trick after Dack squared to give the forward an easy finish.
After Blackburn’s third win in the last four at home, Mowbray praised the quality of finishing from 33-year-old Graham.
He said: “Danny is a special finisher. I’ve been in football all my life since leaving school and Danny is as good a one-touch finisher as I’ve seen.
“We’ve got some quality at the top end of the pitch and it was evident.”
The Owls remain in 16th place, but this performance was uncomfortable viewing for the club’s fans. It is now just one win in the last eight, including six defeats, and Wednesday haven’t won in the last four on the road.
But Jos Luhukay said that he will not quit, despite the poor run. “We are now not living in the past, and fans maybe live in the past from the success, but last season it was also a direction where it was not good enough,” he said. “That’s why I came in January and now we sit in the same situation so we must fight against that.”