Rhodes pen in vain for poor Rovers
BLACKBURN fell into the bottom three after they were beaten by Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.
Jordan Rhodes put the visitors ahead from the spot but the home side hit the front thanks to a Jermaine Johnson strike and a Leroy Lita penalty nine minutes before the break.
Scott Dann levelled for Rovers after 71 minutes, before Johnson put his side back in front seven minutes later with his second impressive strike.
Johnson’s moments of individual brilliance were the highlights of a poor game, although the win moved Wednesday three points clear of the drop zone.
Blackburn came into the contest without a win since beating Arsenal in the FA Cup in February, while inconsistent Wednesday were in decent form with their only defeat in four games coming at Cardiff.
Wednesday forced a succession of early corners but it was the visitors who created the first chance with David Dunn’s accurate cross forcing a scrambling Chris Kirkland to deflect the ball to safety.
After 12 minutes Kirkland was scrambling again, but this time he was caught out.
Miguel Llera was comfortably beaten for pace by Rhodes who got on the end of a long ball over the top. Although Kirkland stopped the Scottish striker, the ball fell to Dunn who went down under the stopper’s challenge.
Rhodes sent Kirkland the wrong way for his 25th goal of the season.
Within eight minutes Wednesday were level. A ball into the box fell kindly for Johnson, who cut inside and, with Rovers defenders slow to react, he fired hard and low into a corner.
The hosts should have taken the lead when Lita’s dummy played in Jeremy Helan and with Blackburn ball watching, he turned and screwed his shot over.
Blackburn were dropping deeper and deeper and after 35 minutes found themselves in trouble. Reda Johnson was bundled over as Grzegorz Sandomierski claimed a cross into the box and linesman Mathew Buonassisi immediately flagged for a penalty.
There was little protest apart from the goalkeeper and Lita tucked away the spot-kick.
The on- loan Swansea man could have put his side two goals ahead when he was played through, but Sandomierski pushed his effort away from goal.
In the second half Wednesday insisted on playing long balls forward but it was Blackburn who drew level after 71 minutes when Josh King’s cross was headed home by Dann.
But that was not to last long as Johnson broke forward and fired an unstoppable winner into the corner.