Lancashire | Blackburn Rovers ease to win over Hull City

Hull City 0 - 3 Blackburn Rovers

Ryan Hedges scored his first goal in over a year as Blackburn Rovers swept aside Hull City to claim their first Championship victory of the season in emphatic fashion.

Author | Ajay

Stadium | MKM Stadium

Blackburn players and fans celebrate

Yuki Ohashi and Todd Cantwell were also on target in a resounding win for Valérien Ismaël’s side, who had begun the campaign with three defeats across league and cup. Hedges and Cantwell were at the heart of Blackburn’s best work, the pair outstanding as Rovers recovered from a shaky opening to take complete control.

A closer look at what happened

Hedges, without a goal since August 2023, put Blackburn ahead after 18 minutes with a composed finish. Sidnei Tavares nodded the ball into the path of Augustus Kargbo, whose clever touch released Hedges to dink the ball calmly over Ivor Pandur. The goal came against the run of play, with Balázs Tóth having already produced three fine saves in quick succession to deny an own goal, an Oli McBurnie header and Joel Ndala’s strike.

From that point Rovers grew into the contest, Hedges heading over from Ryan Alebiosu’s cross before Kargbo fired wide. The game was settled early in the second half with two goals in three minutes. First, Cantwell caught Hull cold with a short free-kick to Hedges, whose low ball into the area rebounded off Ohashi and past Pandur. 

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Soon after, Alebiosu brushed aside Ryan Giles on the flank and delivered a cross that Pandur could only push into Cantwell’s path for a simple finish.

View from the Hull City fans

Blackburn came close to a fourth when Dominic Hyam’s back connected with Cantwell’s corner and the ball struck the bar, while later Pandur denied Ohashi and Hedges wasted a clear chance from close range.

Hull, by contrast, rarely threatened after their bright start and were repeatedly exposed on the counterattack. For Blackburn and Ismaël, though, there was a sense of relief and momentum ahead of Cantwell’s reunion with former club Norwich next weekend.