First-half goals from Jack Cork and Robbie Brady earned Burnley a 2-0 win over Blackburn Rovers in Wednesday night's EFL Cup second-round tie at Ewood Park.
Cork climbed highest to head home a Brady cross 27 minutes in, before the Irishman rifled into the roof of the net from an angle to get his own name on the scoresheet.
Blackburn registered just one attempt on target all evening as they struggled to force their way back into the game, giving the Clarets a safe passage through to the next round.
Relive how the 90 minutes of action unfolded with Sports Mole's live text coverage below.
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the EFL Cup second-round tie between Blackburn Rovers and Burnley at Ewood Park. After picking up their first league win last time out at the third attempt, the home side will be desperate to carry that momentum into tonight's clash against their East Lancashire rivals. Plenty on the line this evening, not least bragging rights, in what should be one of the tastier ties of the round.
These sides are now two divisions apart due to Blackburn's plight in recent years and Burnley's rise to the top tier. The Clarets have the better record this decade, too, which we will look into a little later, but it is fair to say that the home supporters inside Ewood Park are well up for this game. The league comes first for both sides, of course, though it will be interesting to see just how many changes are made by either manager.
BLACKBURN ROVERS TEAM NEWS!
STARTING XI: Raya, Williams, Smallwood, Feeney, Chapman, Whittingham, Mulgrew, Ward, Caddis, Antonsson, Gladwin
SUBS: Leutwiler, Samuel, Graham, Evans, Bennett, Conway, Doyle
Home boss Tony Mowbray has made five changes to his starting lineup for this EFL Cup tie, handing full debuts to a trio of players Harry Chapman, Marcus Antonsson and Ben Gladwin all come in for their first starts since joining, while fellow summer signing Peter Whittingham and winger Liam Feeney are also brought back into the XI. Rotation was always going to be likely for the Blue and Whites, but this is still a strong-looking side for League One level.
Dominic Samuel has impressed early in the season with a couple of goals, but he is among those to miss out tonight, as do Corry Evans, Elliott Bennett and Craig Conway. Those four are among the subs, though that is not the case for Bradley Dack as a hamstring problem picked up last time out sees him join the injury list. Joining him in the stands are Scott Wharton, Ryan Nyambe and Darragh Lenihan, the latter of whom has been the subject of numerous Sheffield United bids.
BURNLEY TEAM NEWS!
STARTING XI: Pope, Taylor, Cork, Tarkowski, Barnes, Brady, Westwood, Walters, Bardsley, Long, Arfield
SUBS: Heaton, Lowton, Mee, Vokes, Wood, Defour, Gudmundsson
Mass changes made by visiting boss Sean Dyche, too, as he almost completely overhauls the side that lost to West Bromwich Albion at the weekend. The Clarets will likely go with two up top this evening, with summer signing Jonathan Walters handed a first start up top alongside Ashley Barnes, having so far been introduced late on against Albion and Chelsea in his side's opening two league games.
Walters is now the only player to benefit from some squad rotation, as another of the new recruits in Charlie Taylor slots in at right-back and Ashley Westwood is given a chance to prove his worth in the middle of the park. No place for club-record signing Chris Wood in the starting lineup, though, with Dyche keeping him among his back-up options. Mass changes for the Premier League side, but still enough quality to make them strong favourites to win this one.
Both managers have made mass changes to their starting lineups, despite local bragging rights being on the line tonight. Five alterations made in all by Tony Mowbray, as he brings in Harry Chapman, Marcus Antonsson and Ben Gladwin for their first starts. Sean Dyche has opted against throwing record signing Chris Wood straight into the mix, meanwhile, just a couple of days on from officially signing from Leeds United.
Blackburn have made a slow start to life in League One, failing to live up to their tags as many neutrals' favourites for promotion. Three points from nine is not the best of returns for Mowbray, who stuck with the club following their relegation from the Championship, but that solitary win did come in their most recent outing; a Dominic Samuel goal away to Bradford City giving the Blue and Whites lift-off in the third tier.
Prior to that, Rovers lost 2-1 and 3-1 to Southend United and Doncaster Rovers respectively in the league, leaving them 17th in the division at this very early stage in proceedings. There was also a 3-1 triumph over Mowbray's former club Coventry City, helping to set up this tasty second-round tie at Ewood Park, so all-in-all it has been a pretty mixed start to 2017-18. Saturday's result against MK Dons will go a long way to determining the mood around these parts.
In terms of the visitors, they made a dream start by picking up a memorable 3-2 victory away at champions Chelsea. They were 3-0 up at the interval and managed to hold on after conceding twice against their nine-man opponents, only to come crashing back down to earth last time out with that crushing 1-0 home defeat to West Brom. It was classic Tony Pulis in many ways, as the Clarets racked up shots galore yet still lost.
Burnley now face a trip to Wembley Stadium next weekend to take on Tottenham Hotspur. It is perhaps a good time to head to the capital, with Spurs still attempting to adapt to their temporary home, but that will still be one of their toughest games of the campaign. The Clarets won just once on their travels all of last season, remember, though they have already equalled that this time around with one match played.
It does not get any easier following the two-week international break as they face Liverpool, Everton and Manchester City in successive away days. Dyche will hope to have a new player or two in his ranks before then, having been strongly linked with Majeed Waris of Lorient in the last couple of days. A centre-back is also surely high up on the agenda to replace Michael Keane, who departed for Everton earlier in the summer.
With kickoff in Lancashire now just a couple of minutes away, let us check out some pre-match talk from both camps:
Tony Mowbray: "Ultimately the passion and the emotion of the game is from the supporters. They live here, work with people who support Burnley, and have to go to work the next day and either suffer or poke fun at someone on the other half of the divide. It is not just another game, the players go to Sainsbury's to do their shopping and you might get stopped by people who recognise you and they tell you how much it means to them."
Sean Dyche: "I like [Mowbray], I like him a lot. You try not to forget the people who have done right by you and when I started out at Watford, and I had a really tough start, we played them when he was manager of Middlesbrough at the time. We played really well and got beaten 1-0, and he was fantastic afterwards in his press comments. I've never forgotten it because I was getting a lot of stick at the time and I thought we'd played well on the night. You don't forget those little things. And I think he's a proper bloke as well."
KICKOFF! We are up and running at Ewood Park in this Lancashire derby clash. Blackburn Rovers have not beaten their rivals in any of their last six meetings stretching back to 2010, having previously gone over 30 years without losing.
Around 5,000 visiting fans in attendance this evening, making the 14 mile journey between the grounds down the M65. Really good atmosphere inside Ewood Park, as anticipated, as the two teams look to find their feet early on.
Walters lands awkwardly following a challenge from Smallwood. The worry for Dyche is that the Irishman has stayed on the ground, which is not a good sign. Physio is now on and an early change looks like it may have to be made.
There was not a great deal in that Smallwood challenge on Walters - just one of those things. It has taken up about four minutes of the match for the Irishman to receive treatment, and at the end of it all he is OK to continue. Wood sits back down.
Nine minutes on the clock but only around half of that has been eaten up by Walters's injury. A Brady cross deep into the box is well dealt with by Raya, as the visitors take control of the game now that it has settled down.
Walters seems completely fine now, incidentally, having looked for all the world as though his evening was over a few minutes ago. Wood was stripped down and given plenty of instructions by Dyche, but he is now back on the bench.
A quiet start to the this EFL Cup second-round tie, not helped by that lengthy early stoppage. The contest will surely settle down as it goes on, but for now neither side can really put together any serious attacking moves.
Blackburn seeing far more of the ball over the past few minutes, getting a few crosses into the box for back-up Burnley stopper Pope to deal with. A Whittingham attempt from the edge of the box was rather scuffed and successfully cleared away.
Not really happening for Burnley at the moment. When the Clarets did finally look to put an attack together, Taylor could not control a Westwood pass down the left flank and the move came to a rather abrupt end, summing things up.
Still awaiting the first chance of the contest, with Burnley currently the side pressing. A good cross via the boot of Arfield down the left is too close to Raya, who is able to collect down low before a visiting player could get a touch.
SAVE! Burnley have definitely stepped things up now, coming close to making the breakthrough via a Barnes shot 20 yards out. The forward was given too much space on the edge of the box and tested David Raya with a decent attempt that was pushed over.
The Clarets took some time to get going but they are starting to dominate things now, enjoying a prolonged spell on the ball in their opponents' half of the field. Just the one shot of note - Raya denying Barnes from 20 yards out.
Extra time and penalties a possibility tonight should the scores remain level, which is not a bad shout at this rate. Blackburn starting to sit further and further back at the moment, though, inviting a little too much pressure on themselves.
GOAL! BLACKBURN ROVERS 0-1 BURNLEY (JACK CORK)
Jack Cork is off the mark in a Burnley shirt, nodding home from Brady's fine cross. The Clarets had taken control of the match over the past 10 minutes or so; Blackburn can hardly complain that they were not warned. A couple of fans now on the field, trying to get at the visiting players.
Another two-or-three-minute stoppage in play due to those fans running on to the field of play after Cork's opener. A few smoke bombs let off in the away end, too, so the Football Association will no doubt intervene in the coming days.
Rovers struggling to get to grips with things as Burnley again burst forward through Brady, whose shot from 20 yards out is blocked by an opposition player. The intensity levels have increased, as has the atmosphere, since Cork's headed goal.
Not a great deal of chances in the opening 34 minutes of the match, but Burnley will argue that they deserve to be in front after seeing far more of the ball in dangerous positions. Prior to Cork's opener, Barnes had a shot kept out by Raya.
CHANCE! Good chance for Barnes to add a second for his side. The ball fell into his path after Rovers failed to clear their lines, but his shot from five yards out was blocked by a mixture of Smallwood and Raya in front of goal.
Better from Blackburn, as they get bodies forward and win a corner through Cork's block. Whittingham, as good a set-piece taker anywhere in the English Football League, sends in a decent ball for Cork to again get on the end of and head clear.
All of a sudden it is the visitors who are having to do more of the defending. Nothing too stressful for the backline, with set-piece deliveries seemingly Blackburn's best route to goal at the moment, as we enter the final five minutes of the half.
SAVE! Walters, who may well be taken off in the next few moments, gets across his marker and glances a header down the middle for Raya to keep out. The Irishman has battled on well but Wood is again being readied to come on.
BURNLEY SUB! Jonathan Walters never truly managed to shake off that ankle injury picked up in the first minutes of the game and, with a minute of normal time to go, he is replaced by club-record signing Chris Wood.
CLOSE! Blackburn living dangerously at the back. Scott Arfield's shot powerful looked to be finding the back of the net, if not for a block from Barnes, before Raya somehow managed to tip the ball away from his goal.
CLOSE! Burnley are good value for a second at the moment. Brady is given the chance to cut inside and then put his foot through the ball, sending it narrowly wide of Raya's target. Three of the six added-on minutes played.
SAVE! Bar a five-minute spell, Blackburn have been second best near enough throughout this first half. The Clarets starting to create numerous openings now, the latest falling to Wood who could not beat Raya from close range - good save!
GOAL! BLACKBURN ROVERS 0-2 BURNLEY (ROBBIE BRADY)
Burnley take completely control of this EFL Cup tie with a second of the evening deep into added time. Brady took it past a couple of players but still had the angle against him, though that mattered little as he rifled it into the roof of Raya's net.
HALF TIME: BLACKBURN ROVERS 0-2 BURNLEY
After close to eight minutes of added-on time, the whistle sounds for half time at Ewood Park. Charlie Mulgrew nearly pulled one back from a free kick with the final kick of the half; his attempt skimming the roof of Pope's net on its way over.
Burnley, unbeaten against their arch-rivals in the previous six encounters, saw their early momentum disrupted due to an ankle injury picked up by full debutant Jonathan Walters a couple of minutes into the match. After five minutes of treatment the Irishman was fine to continue, though he did not fully recover and Chris Wood was brought on for a debut of his own before the first half was out.
In-between those two incidents Burnley largely dominated the match, but they had to wait until 21 minutes in to register their first attempt as Ashley Barnes's shot was pushed over the bar by David Raya. The opener arrived soon after through Jack Cork, who climbed highest to head home Robbie Brady's cross for his first goal since joining from Swansea City in the summer.
Barnes then had a close-range shot kept out by a big Richie Smallwood block, before Walters's glanced header was stopped by Raya from his final involvement before being replaced. Burnley, despite the eight changes made, were starting to make their Premier League quality count and were good value for their second when it arrived deep into added time. After Wood had a shot kept out by Raya, Brady had better luck as he rifled the ball into the roof of the net from a tight angle.
Burnley boss Sean Dyche has already been forced into one change, bringing on debutant Chris Wood for Jonathan Walters shortly before they scored their second, but will he further tinker at the break? More chance of Tony Mowbray altering his Blackburn Rovers side slightly, you feel...
BLACKBURN ROVERS SUBS: Leutwiler, Samuel, Graham, Evans, Bennett, Conway, Doyle
BURNLEY SUBS: Heaton, Lowton, Mee, Vokes, Defour, Gudmundsson
RESTART! Blackburn Rovers get us back under way at Ewood Park, where there have been a couple of changes made by the home side at the break. The League One side with it all to do over these next 45 minutes to force extra time.
Bennett and Conway are the players introduced by Mowbray at the break, taking over from Gladwin and Feeney. Burnley seeing plenty of the ball since the restart to the delight of their 5,000 travelling fans, greeting each pass with an "Ole!"
The attendance has just been announced as 16,313, including 5,135 in the away end. Whittingham's clumsy challenge gives Burnley a chance to further test Raya, but they were unable to truly make the most of the free kick in a good position.
Blackburn desperately need a goal to give us a game, but as things are panning out it will be a stress-free second half for Dyche and his Burnley players. Mowbray still has one more card up his sleeve, having brought on two subs at the break.
YELLOW CARD! Phil Bardsley goes in late on Conway, leaving his opponent in need of some treatment and being shown the game's first caution for his troubles. Rovers just need to get at their Premier League visitors a little more.
No real sign of the scoreline changing in the opening 11 minutes or so of the second period. Burnley still the side seeing more of the ball, without really doing too much with it - not that it matters, having bagged two first-half goals.
CHANCE! The travelling fans making plenty of noise at the moment, understandably, as Wood fails to keep his latest attempt on target after being spotted by Taylor. One big chance for the new striker late in the first half, which he was unable to convert past Raya.
An hour of the match played and Dyche does not appear to be in any rush to tinker with his side. Just three survivors from the defeat to West Brom at the weekend, so a couple of those may be taken off in the next 15 minutes or so.
YELLOW CARD! Good cross from Taylor into the middle, but it is headed to safety by a Blackburn defender. Kevin Long joins Bardsley in seeing yellow for his rather poor attempt to win the ball out wide when up against Chapman.
BLACKBURN ROVERS SUB! Peter Whittingham, brought back into the side this evening, makes way with 64 minutes on the clock. Dominic Samuel is on in his place, adding a little more quality in the attacking third of the pitch.
Bennett looks to pick out Samuel around the back, but the linesman's flag stopped him in his tracks. Certainly provided another option since being brought off the bench, though, which Rovers will aim to make the most of in the remainder.
Good play down the wing ends with Raya plucking a cross from out of the air. Burnley back into their passing groove again, which is music to the ears of their players thanks to that strong vocal backing behind one of the goals.
This second half has lacked the bite that was saw in the latter stages of the first. A Blackburn goal will change all that, but some sloppy play when in possession is costing the hosts, who need to show far more urgency that they currently are.
Dyche appears to be ready to make another change, with his side cruising towards the third round as things stand. Very little between the teams in terms of chances in this second half, though the onus is on Blackburn to create something.
Barnes gets his legs tangled with Bennett's and comes out second best, seemingly in a little pain. Unlike Walters in the first half, though, this one will be quickly shaken off. Great cross from Mulgrew, with Samuel unable to make a telling touch at the back post.
Bardsley is the latest Burnley player to be clattered, though after some treatment on the field he is quickly back on his feet. Dyche delaying that second change for now, presumably so that he can monitor those players carrying minor knocks.
BURNLEY SUB! Here comes that second Burnley change - Johann Berg Gudmundsson replacing Robbie Brady, who leaves the field with a goal and an assist to his name. Fast approaching the final 10 minutes here and Blackburn no closer to a goal of their own.
Blackburn's wait for a victory over Burnley looks likely to go on, then - seven years without a win will become at least eight, though it could be a while before they meet again in a competitive fixture. The Clarets now need to remain professional.
GOAL DISALLOWED! Blackburn thought that they had a route back into the match, only for Samuel's goal to be ruled out for offside. The substitute could not get out of the way of the initial attempt, which was likely creeping in.
SAVE! Wood has had a couple of big chances to open his scoring account for Burnley this evening. The latest shot was well kept out by Raya from close range - the Rovers keeper is winning that personal battle at the moment.
Wood now curls a shot over the crossbar from the edge of the area - he is desperate to get off the mark on his first outing for the club! No harm in taking on the shot, with this match looking as good as over with around four minutes left to play.
Blackburn not giving up hope just yet. Conway picked out midfield teammate Smallwood, who in turn miscued his effort but still managed to pick out Bennett. The subsequent shot ended narrowly wide of Pope's target.
YELLOW CARD! Elliott Bennett fouls Bardsley to earn a yellow card. Burnley now going through the motion with just a couple of minutes left to play at Ewood Park, in what has proved to be a straightforward passage through.
FULL TIME: BLACKBURN ROVERS 0-2 BURNLEY
The referee blows his whistle for full time, meaning that Burnley retain bragging rights over Lancashire rivals Blackburn Rovers with a third-successive victory in this fixture. Jack Cork and Robbie Brady netted the only goals of the game, both coming inside the opening 45 minutes.
That concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of events at Ewood Park. An on-the-whistle report can be found by clicking here, while a recap of all the night's over scores can be viewed here. Thanks for joining!
