Blackburn Rovers 4-2 Sheffield Wednesday: Danny Graham scores hat-trick in Rovers win

Danny Graham scored a hat-trick on his 100th start for Blackburn Rovers as his side claimed a deserved 4-2 win over Sheffield Wednesday.

Goals from Graham and Bradley Dack gave Blackburn a 2-0 lead with less than half-an-hour to go, before Lucas Joao's thunderous strike put Wednesday within touching distance.

Graham's second restored Rovers' two-goal lead before a David Raya own goal against the run of play gave Wednesday hope once again.

But Graham had the last word as he prodded home from close-range to move Rovers to within five points of the play-off places.

Blackburn came into the match having won only five points from their previous six games but started brightly, with the impressive Dack having an effort ruled out and Harrison Reed hitting the post from close range.

Rovers' early dominance was rewarded in the 11th minute when Graham slammed home a rebound after Cameron Dawson had saved from Dack.

Dack then got himself on the scoresheet early in the second-half when he finished off a fine Rovers counter-attack to double Rovers' lead to score his 11th goal of the season.

Wednesday failed to pose a meaningful threat to Raya's goal until the 62nd minute when Portuguese striker Lucas Joao, who spent time on loan at Blackburn in 2017, fired into the top corner from the edge of the penalty area.

Rovers re-asserted themselves with Graham's rebound finish in the 66th minute before Raya's own goal gave Wednesday renewed hope.

But Graham finally ended the visitors' challenge with a close-range effort in the dying stages to leave Jos Luhukay's side only five points clear of the relegation zone.

Blackburn Rovers manager Tony Mowbray:

"I've been in football all my life since leaving school and Danny Graham is as good a one-touch finisher as I've seen.

"I've said to him that I'd like to have had him at 25 - he did it once today, like Usain Bolt, running down the right wing for a spell there, he was flying.

"We've got some quality at the top end of the pitch and it was evident today. It was a performance we should all be proud of and it's an important three points."

Sheffield Wednesday manager Jos Luhukay:

"The expectations in this club are high. We are now not living in the past, and fans maybe live in the past from the success, but last season it was also a direction where it was not good enough.

"That's why I came in January and now we sit in the same situation so we must fight against that, and we must believe that we can take us to a better period.

"Now we are in the worst period, I know that. But in my character, it is not that I will give up, but only solve why we didn't get a good result, or why the fans aren't happy with this."