New Blackburn Rovers boss Sam Allardyce's return to management proved a success as he oversaw a 3-0 victory against Stoke City at Ewood Park.
Allardyce's appointment on Wednesday, 24 hours after Paul Ince had been sacked, ended an 11-month absence from the game for the former Bolton and Newcastle chief and he made an immediate impact in his first game in charge.
The success ended Rovers' run of six successive defeats in the Premier League, which has left the one-time winners of the competition facing a fight against relegation, and also deservedly secured a first three-point haul in 12 games.
Star striker Roque Santa Cruz, who is rumoured to be set for pastures new in the January transfer window, was missing from Allardyce's squad after sustaining a calf strain in training, but the Paraguayan's absence did not show.
Rovers took the lead after nine minutes as Benni McCarthy - Santa Cruz's replacement - converted from the penalty spot and Jason Roberts then doubled the advantage shortly after when stabbing home from close range.
McCarthy then added a third before the half-hour mark as he tapped in after Roberts had been denied by Stoke shot-stopper Steve Simonsen, who had replaced Thomas Sorensen due to an injury sustained during the warm-up.
Stoke had dominated possession in the first half and the pattern continued after the interval, but the Potters could not find a route back as their best chance came late on when Blackburn defender Christopher Samba deflected against his own post.
Although the resul could not lift Rovers out of the relegation zone it reduced their five-point disadvantage and, more importantly, provided a huge boost for morale.
Allardyce, it has to be said, benefited from getting the one break which Ince had been desperately hoping for during his desperate run without a win.
In the ninth minute McCarthy played a neat ball around the corner into the penalty area for Morten Gamst Pedersen and he was crudely hacked down by Ibrahima Sonko.
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