Blackburn Rovers 3 - 2 Burnley

Thrilling derby win for Rovers

Updated: October 18, 2009, 8:21 AM UK

Sam Allardyce saw his Blackburn side claim the local bragging rights over Burnley in the first top-flight meeting of the clubs for 43 years.

• Dunn delighted with performance

• Richard Jolly at Ewood Park

It was a comfortable victory after an early scare when Robbie Blake made the breakthrough for Burnley after five minutes. However the home side effectively sealed the points before half-time thanks to goals from David Dunn, Franco di Santo and Pascal Chimbonda.

Substitute Chris Eagles scored a second for Burnley in stoppage time but they have now lost five successive games on the road in the Premier League this season. The win gave Blackburn manager Allardyce an early present ahead of his 55th birthday on Monday.

Burnley got off to the best possible start when Blake scored after Chris Samba had cleared the crossbar for the home side. Blake picked up the ball just beyond the halfway line and raced forward as Blackburn backed off. He took advantage of the space to deliver a thunderous strike from 25 yards that flew past Paul Robinson into the corner.

The Clarets' lead was short-lived however as Blackburn equalised in the ninth minute following a flowing move. Morten Gamst Pedersen crossed the ball into the area and a clever flick by Di Santo released Dunn and he scored from close range.

It was an open game and El-Hadji Diouf squandered a good chance six minutes later by sending his shot across the face of the goal after being set up by Steven Nzonzi.

Blackburn went ahead in the 22nd minute when Di Santo took advantage of Graham Alexander's misplaced clearance after keeper Brian Jensen was impeded by one of his own players. It was Argentinian striker Di Santo's first goal for the club after his arrival on loan from Chelsea, but the way he celebrated in front of the visiting supporters did not go down well with referee Chris Foy and he was booked.

Given their dismal away record Burnley seemed destined to struggle after Di Santo's goal. Blackburn stepped up the pace and Dunn worked himself into a good position in the 37th minute only to send a soft shot into Jensen's arms.The Burnley keeper then had to look alert to take a header from Samba after Dunn had swung in a free-kick from the left four minutes later.

Blackburn extended their lead in the 43rd minute with a splendid goal that cut the visitors apart. Keith Andrews picked out Pedersen on the left and he released Chimbonda on the overlap. The former Tottenham full-back got away from Steven Fletcher and cut into the area before finding the corner with his effort.

Burnley were anxious to get back in the game and Fletcher dragged a shot wide of the post in the 50th minute after linking up with David Nugent. Play switched down the other end and the impressive Di Santo skipped away from Steven Caldwell, only for Tyrone Mears to clear for a corner.

Burnley kept pushing forward and Eagles tested Robinson with a minute to go, only for the goalkeeper to push the ball around the post. But former Manchester United man Eagles was on target in stoppage time, scoring from close range following a cross from Stephen Jordan.

Jensen was booked in the final moments after racing from his area and flooring substitute Jason Roberts as he attempted to get clear.

Dunn delighted with performance

Man of the Match David Dunn was delighted to help Blackburn claim Lancashire bragging rights with the 3-2 victory over Burnley.

''To score against Burnley was great but more important than that was to get the three points,'' he told Sky Sports. ''Our next couple of games are really difficult so it's great to get 10 points before we play those matches. But you could see by the reaction of the fans at the end how much this meant.''

The crowd chanted ''Dunny for England'' but the 29-year-old was cautious over his chances of adding to his solitary England cap, won in 2002. ''Who knows? It's difficult to get in the England team given the amount of quality players they have,'' he said. ''I'll keep doing my best for Blackburn. You never know.''

Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce was delighted to have reached the 10-point mark. ''First and foremost we did it for ourselves but also for the fans who were magnificent today,'' he told Sky Sports. ''It was a wonderful performance and a wonderful result coming from behind. There were some quality goals.

''It's a great three points considering it's a local derby and that our next two fixtures are Manchester United and Chelsea away. Those two fixtures are going to be difficult but we have 10 points now.''

Allardyce saluted man of the match Dunn, who has been playing a more advanced role than usual in recent games.

''We've kept David fit which was the most important thing and he's given some terrific performances in a position we didn't think we'd find him in,'' Allardyce said. ''It makes it very difficult for our other three strikers to get a game now. He was terrific.''

Burnley manager Owen Coyle complained about Blackburn's second goal from Di Santo as he felt goalkeeper Brian Jensen had been obstructed.

Coyle said: ''I was convinced that Di Santo had moved into Stephen Jordan and did enough to put Brian Jensen off. That was my initial thought and you won't convince me otherwise.

''Those marginal decisions are going against us. But referees do the job to the best of their ability and I am not going to get caught up in that. We just have to get on with it.''

Coyle added: ''We got off to a great start and it was a terrific goal from Robbie then we conceded some soft goals. We have scored two goals but got no points. However that away win is around the corner - we will continue to play on the front foot as that is what our fans deserve.''