Blackburn beat West Ham 2-1 after Mowbray’s side ‘rose to the challenge’

Blackburn returned to winning ways with a 2-1 victory over West Ham, as manager Tony Mowbray praised his players’ work rate and discipline against what he called a strong opponent.

Andri Gudjohnsen opened the scoring with a diving header, his sixth goal in five games. Dapo Afolayan then drove in a low shot to put Blackburn two goals ahead. Joel Piroe scored for West Ham to make it 2-1, but Blackburn held on.

The result was Blackburn’s fifth win in eight home matches at Ewood Park, taking the club beyond its total number of home victories last season. West Ham’s winless run extended to four matches; Scott Parker remained without a victory in his first two games in charge.

West Ham had more of the ball for periods of the match, and Jarrod Bowen hit the woodwork during a spell of pressure early in the second half. Mowbray said he had not wanted his side to chase the ball against opponents capable of finding passes through pressure. Instead, he said, Blackburn stayed disciplined and offered a counter-attacking threat.

Mowbray said the team had shown commitment and endeavour, adding that his players had “rose to the challenge”. He said he was pleased with when Blackburn scored and had asked the team at half-time to be braver and show their own quality.

Parker called the outcome “very disappointing”. He said West Ham had dominated the first half without creating much, then started the second period sharply but did not score before Blackburn’s first goal.

Parker disputed the build-up to Afolayan’s goal, saying Max Kilman had been fouled. He also said West Ham had failed to score when on top. While describing the squad as committed, Parker said there was substantial work to do.

Parker said he had held one training session with the team, including 45 minutes of work the day before the match. More than 7,000 West Ham supporters were at Ewood Park to back the visitors.

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