Coventry City vs Blackburn Rovers. Carabao Cup First Round.
Ricoh ArenaAttendance5,372.
Tuesday 8 August 2017 23:01, UK
Tony Mowbray avoided a cup upset against his former club as Blackburn Rovers claimed a 3-1 win at Coventry in the Carabao Cup first round.
Goals from Corry Evans, Richie Smallwood and Dominic Samuel were enough to ensure a safe passage for the League One side.
Evans opened the scoring when he beat Liam O'Brien with a slightly mis-hit shot from 20 yards out on 17 minutes.
The Sky Blues levelled five minutes later when Duckens Nazon swept home a rebound from close range.
Evans was denied by a smart O'Brien save after 30 minutes when City gave the ball away carelessly.
But there was nothing O'Brien could do two minutes later when Smallwood restored Rovers' lead with another long-range effort.
A superb lunging block by Elliott Ward kept out Nazon's goalbound strike at the start of the second half.
Rovers then wrapped the game up when Samuel finished well to open his Blackburn account after 56 minutes.
O'Brien tipped over a fierce effort from Jack Doyle as Rovers continued to threaten in the closing stages.