Sammie Szmodics notched a brace as Blackburn came from behind to see off Sky Bet League Two high-flyers Wrexham 4-1 at Ewood Park and set up an FA Cup fifth-round clash at the same venue with Newcastle.
The visitors, who won at Coventry and drew with Sheffield United in last season’s competition, were on for an upset when Andy Cannon put them in front in the 19th minute, bringing a huge roar from the 7,000-plus away fans who had made the trip.
But Blackburn responded in ruthless fashion with goals in quick succession from Szmodics and Sam Gallagher just past the half-hour mark to turn things around.
Szmodics, the Championship’s leading scorer this term with 16 goals who had bagged a hat-trick in the 5-2 third-round victory over Cambridge, then scored his second of the night just prior to the interval before Sondre Tronstad wrapped things up in the second half.
Securing cup progress was a welcome boost for former Newcastle forward Jon Dahl Tomasson’s men, who are currently 18th in the second tier and winless in their last seven league games.
Phil Parkinson’s Wrexham, second in League Two, return to their quest to make it back-to-back promotions in their high-profile resurgence under the ownership of actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Szmodics had a good chance to put Blackburn ahead in the third minute but put his shot wide and moments later sent the ball past goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo from the right side of the box, but Wrexham skipper Ben Tozer was on hand to clear.
A couple of further efforts for the hosts from Jake Garrett followed before Wrexham began to exert some pressure, with Aynsley Pears gathering a Sam Dalby header and a Paul Mullin free-kick.
Soon after, there was jubilation in the vociferous away section as Red Dragons grabbed the lead when Cannon collected the ball from Dalby and fired past Pears.
And they went close to swiftly adding another as Pears parried Cannon’s drive, then did superbly to tip over James McClean’s follow-up attempt.
Having been rocked, Blackburn hit back with an equaliser in the 32nd minute, Szmodics slotting in from Gallagher’s cutback.
And two minutes after that they were in front as a miscalculation by Okonkwo was punished, the goalkeeper opting to race out of his area as Tozer was beaten by Gallagher, who was left with a simple task to slot into the net.
The hosts then extended their advantage in first-half stoppage time as Szmodics controlled Tronstad’s pass and stroked home, putting a finger to his lips as he celebrated in front of the away fans.
Tronstad added a goal of his own just before the hour mark when Gallagher attempted to shoot, the ball came to the Norwegian and his shot went in via a deflection off Elliot Lee.
With the game looking very much up for Wrexham, Lee subsequently tried his luck with a attempt from inside his own half that dropped wide, and substitute James Jones had a low shot saved.
Szmodics had a chance to complete another treble in the closing stages, but saw his strike saved by Okonkwo.
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life after Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life without Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Ten-man Blackburn hold out for draw at Burnley, Middlesbrough beat Cardiff
Blackburn held out for a 1-1 draw away to Burnley in the East Lancashire derby, despite playing the final 33 minutes of the match with 10 men.
Burnley opened the scoring after 10 minutes at Turf Moor after new signing Jaidon Anthony whipped in a perfect cross for Lyle Foster - who remains at the club following a potential move to Ipswich breaking down - to head home.
The home side dominated the early proceedings of the match and deservedly led until Blackburn struck against the run of play in the 23rd minute.
Forward Andi Weimann hit a sumptuous dipping shot from outside the penalty area, which looped over goalkeeper James Trafford, to level the scores.
Rovers thought they had retaken the lead soon after, but Tyrhys Dolan’s finish was disallowed for offside.
Makhtar Gueye was then sent off for a second bookable offence in the 57th minute, picking up his second yellow for dissent after making a card gesture at the referee following a heavy tackle from Maxime Esteve.
Burnley were unable to make their numerical advantage count, despite applying plenty of pressure in the late stages. Indeed, it was Blackburn who arguably came closest to winning the match, with Lewis Travis firing high and wide in the 96th minute after Dolan had played a loose ball to him.
The point leaves Blackburn and Burnley third and fourth respectively in the Championship.
Elsewhere in the early kick-offs in the second tier, Middlesbrough picked up their first league win since the opening day of the season as they beat Cardiff 2-0 on the road.
A second-half header from Matt Clarke and an Aaron Ramsey own goal secured the points for Michael Carrick’s side, although Ramsey did hit the post for the hosts. The win leaves Middlesbrough sixth, while Cardiff are bottom.
Norwich also claimed their first three points of the season, with a 1-0 victory away to Coventry.
Borja Sainz scored the winning goal after 49 minutes, with his shot taking a big deflection to wrong-foot the goalkeeper before landing in the goal.
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