Sammie Szmodics on the double as Blackburn rout Sunderland to boost survival hopes

John Eustace's wait for a win as Blackburn boss came to an end in emphatic fashion as relegation-threatened Rovers hammered Sunderland 5-1 at the Stadium of Light.

The Championship's top scorer Sammie Szmodics set Blackburn on their way with a quickfire first half double - his 22nd and 23rd goals of the season - before strikes from Ryan Hedges and Tyrhys Dolan early in the second half wrapped up the points.

Chris Rigg came off the bench to score a consolation for Sunderland 13 minutes from time but Blackburn added a fifth four minutes later through substitute Andrew Moran.

After seven draws and two defeats from his first nine games in charge, Eustace's first win lifts Rovers five points clear of the relegation zone.

Sunderland ended a seven-match winless run at Cardiff on Good Friday but failed to build on that victory and were booed off at half-time and full-time.

Eustace was dealt a blow early on when left-back Harry Pickering suffered an injury and had to be replaced by Ben Chrisene, but Rovers steadily got a grip, started to impose themselves and broke the deadlock just before the half-hour mark.

Patrick Roberts, making his first start after a two-month lay-off with a hamstring injury, slipped in his own half and Blackburn made the winger pay. Dolan played a neat one-two with Chrisene before sliding in Szmodics, whose crisp finished flashed low past Anthony Patterson and into the bottom corner.

Just seven minutes later, Szmodics scored his and Blackburn's second, turning in Joe Rankin-Costello's cut-back from six yards out after good play again from Dolan in the build-up.

It could have got even better for Blackburn, with Rankin-Costello forcing a good save out of Patterson. Sunderland desperately needed the