Blackburn Rovers unbeaten home run came to an end as they fell to defeat against Sheffield United, making it back-to-back defeats and three games without a goal.
John Eustace made three changes to the starting XI following defeat away at Watford last time out. With Joe Rankin-Costello, Tyrhys Dolan and Yuki Ohashi all earning a start, replacing Callum Brittain, Andi Weimann and Makhtar Gueye.
The visitors controlled proceedings for the vast majority of the game, with Harrison Burrows capitalising on a misplaced clearance from Rankin-Costello just past the quarter-hour mark to give the Blades an early advantage.
Tyrese Campbell netted his side's second of the afternoon with just over an hour played, ten minutes after replacing the injured Rhian Brewster. Making it two goals in as many games for the former Stoke City forward.
Despite enduring almost 60% possession, the Rovers attacking unit struggled to test Mike Cooper in the visitors goal, as they failed to register a single effort on target throughout the 90.
It was a mature, controlled, and well-drilled display from Chris Wilder’s side, whose quality shone through as they claimed three points that were thoroughly deserved.
Here are your Blackburn Rovers player ratings.
Player Ratings
Aynsley Pears 6.5
Pears was left hopeless for both goals, with little he could have done to prevent either. Although he parried a strike from Campbell back to the Englishman before firing in the second.
He made several impressive stops to keep the scoreline respectable, including a powerful header by Kieffer Moore from point-blank range early in the second half.
Joe Rankin-Costello 3.5
Back in the XI after being benched for Rovers trip to Vicarage Road last weekend, Rankin-Costello had a tough afternoon as Callum O’Hare and Harrison Burrows caused his constant problems in the wide areas.
His misplaced clearance following Vinicius de Souza Costa’s deflected effort provided Burrows with a perfect opportunity to grab his first Blades goal for the afternoon's opener.
He was pushed further forward with the introduction of Callum Brittain on the hour mark, before being replaced by Makhtar Gueye after 70 minutes during an afternoon that was simply not his day.
Danny Baath 5
The experienced centre-half certainly had his work cut out for him when handed the task of keeping Moore and Brewster under wraps and he wasn’t caught out on too many occasions.
Dom Hyam 5.5
Much like Baath, Dom Hyam was handed the difficult task of keeping Sheffield United’s attacking quartet of talent quiet.
An impressive goal-line clearance when denying Moore a certain goal following his free header on the back of Burrows looping ball towards the back stick early in the second 45.
Owen Beck 5
The vast majority of the Blades' early moves came down the right-hand side through Crystal Palace loanee Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, and Beck, on the whole, dealt with the quick threat.
Like his fellow starting full-back Rankin-Costello, he was pushed further forward when Harry Pickering entered proceedings.
He never gave up when trying to venture forward throughout the game, but nothing really materialised from his efforts.
Sondre Tronstad 5.5
Sheffield United’s midfield unit is considered to be one of the best the Championship has to offer, so Tronstad and Travis were always going to be at the heart of the battle this afternoon.
Tronstad was much like his usual self, attempting to win the ball and break the lines whenever possible, but the visiting midfield proved to be too much across the game.
Lewis Travis 5.5
Much like his midfield partner, Travis’ efforts went without reward as they were ultimately overrun and defeated by Ollie Arblaster and Souza in the Blades midfield.
Ryan Hedges 4.5
While Rovers had plenty of possession, they struggled to create any real chances, and when they did arise, they were not capitalised on.
Dolan’s pin-point cross soon after the opener gave Hedges a golden opportunity to level proceedings, but he was unable to connect with the ball in.
The Welsh winger had little moments of possession in the forward areas and didn’t really cause any problems.
Tyhrys Dolan 5
Dolan has been one of Rovers' most influential forwards this season, but he struggled this afternoon as a combination of the centre-half duo of Jack Robinson and Harry Souttar managed to keep Dolan’s influence very minimal.
Todd Cantwell 5.5
Cantwell was one of Rovers' most anticipated additions in the summer, and he has definitely made a difference to the side since he was introduced to the XI.
Although his technical ability on the ball was again clear to see this afternoon, he was unable to cause problems for Wilder's side.
Yuki Ohashi 4
The Japanese striker had been limited to very few openings this afternoon and failed to make the most of the chances he did have to make a difference.
Moments before being replaced Ohashi had two chances to influence proceedings, but he failed to find Cantwell as he made a darting run into the middle, as well as failing to fire a goalward effort just after.
Substitutes
Andi Weimann 4.5
The Austrian international was always going to find it difficult when being introduced into a game where his side faced a very sturdy visiting back line.
He only managed eight touches of the ball in the half an hour he played, not really having an influential impact on proceedings.
Callum Brittain 4
Brittain accompanied Weimann in entering the fray just past the hour mark, and like his fellow substitute, he struggled to influence the outcome.
Although he did have several speedy bursts forward, Moore managed to skip past the former Barnsley man before playing the ball in that lead to the second goal of the afternoon.
Makhtar Gueye 4.5
Gueye posed a slightly more aerial threat but ultimately struggled to make an impact in the just under 20 minutes he had on the field.
John Buckey 5
Like Gueye, he struggled to make an impact in the minimal time he had on the pitch, but he did play a few nice passes and put in a few well-timed challenges.
Harry Pickering 5
Pickering tried to loop a couple of crosses into the area, but the imposing figures of Robinson and Souttar were unphased by the efforts.
Rovers will be looking to bounce back to winning ways and match last season's total tally of home wins on Wednesday night when Stoke City travel to Ewood Park.
