Blackburn 3 (Tugary, Cole, Hignett, Jansen)
Charlton 1 (Euell)
*Report from Football365
Blackburn new-boy Andy Cole demonstrated against Charlton just why Graeme Souness bought him and why Sir Alex Ferguson was prepared to sell him. Cole marked his home debut by scoring his first Premiership goal for his new club, but he also missed three good chances to underline why Ferguson had opted for Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Charlton threatened first when Brad Friedel saved well from Jason Euell and that stop became even more important in the fifth minute when Rovers took the lead. Tugay played a one-two with Cole on the edge of the area and then curled a delightful right-foot shot into the far corner of the net to register his third goal for the club.
Then came the moment when every Rovers fan thought Cole was about to open his Premiership account for Blackburn when he ran through on the right only for his shot to rebound off the foot of the post. It was all Blackburn, and Dean Kiely denied Damien Duff what would have been a goal of the month contender. Cole had another chance to score when Dunn released him on the left, but his first touch let him down and Kiely rushed out to smother his shot.
Then in first-half stoppage time came the goal all Ewood Park had been waiting for - John Curtis began the move when he nutmegged Claus Jensen and fed Dunn, who in turn slipped the ball on for Cole to score right-footed into the top right corner.
Charlton were much improved in the second half and on 53 minutes they reduced the arrears when Stig Inge Bjornebye sliced a clearance across his own box to Euell, who scored left-footed past Friedel. The game then turned again in the 64th minute when Hignett broke upfield and fed Jansen, who was brought down just outside the area by Parker and he was promptly sent off by Neale Barry. Parker's red card halted Charlton's revival and Cole should have made sure of the points for Blackburn when he was played through on the left, but his shot was saved by Kiely. Hignett finished Charlton off five minutes from time - and two minutes from time, Jansen netted to complete the scoring.
Man of The Match: Andy Cole