Blackburn are through to the first round of the Uefa Cup courtesy of a 2-0 win on the night over MyPa at Ewood Park.
Bentley and Roberts do the damage
Blackburn are through to the first round of the Uefa Cup courtesy of a 2-0 win on the night over MyPa at Ewood Park, which secured a 3-0 aggregate success.
Mark Hughes' side were comfortable for most of the evening but had to wait until the second half before booking their passage to the competition proper.
Bentley rattled home a superb left-foot volley just after half time, with Jason Roberts' clever close range back heel putting the gloss on a polished enough display.
Rigters debut
Maceo Rigters, the star of Holland's European Under-21 Championship victory in the summer, made his Blackburn bow in a side which saw Hughes make five changes from the weekend.
Blackburn should have extended their advantage in tie in the 11th minute following a sweeping move. Tugay slipped a clever ball through to Brett Emerton and he played it across the area to Roberts, but the big striker was off target.
The home side kept up the pressure and two minutes later Aaron Mokoena rattled in a shot from the edge of the area.
It was spilled by goalkeeper Janne Korhonen but he recovered in time to prevent Rigters taking advantage.
Korhonen then parried a shot from Roberts in the 15th minute as the visitors found themselves on the back foot.
Bentley almost made the breakthrough in the 31st minute when Tugay played a short free-kick to him, but his 25-yard drive that went marginally past the post.
MyPa managed to force a couple of corners in quick succession before being forced to resume defensive duties.
Roberts watched in astonishment as MyPa goalkeeper Korhonen blocked his close-range effort as the home side turned the screw.
Korhonen was proving to be formidable barrier and he diverted Mokoena's header to safety a minute later.
Blackburn made the breakthrough in the second leg in the 48th minute through Bentley.
Bentley impresses
It was a stunning strike as well, a left-foot volley from Pedersen's cross that thundered into the net.
Pedersen then floated in a free-kick after 57 minutes and Ooijer peeled away from his marker only to head over the crossbar.
Bentley came close to getting a second in the 60th minute when his superbly-weighted free-kick drifted just over the crossbar.
Blackburn looked comfortable in front of a crowd of 13,490 although Brad Friedel did well to parry a shot from Tuomas Kuparinen in the 67th minute.
As Blackburn went looking for a second goal on the night, Roberts nearly extended their lead in the 73rd minute but his effort just cleared the bar.
Roberts got his reward for his hard work by extending their lead in stoppage time, with a cute backheel, after substitute Matt Derbyshire had headed the ball on.
| Blackburn Rovers |
Team Statistics |
MyPa |
| 2 |
Goals |
0 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 10 |
Shots on Target |
2 |
| 10 |
Shots off Target |
2 |
| 6 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
| 10 |
Corners |
5 |
| 14 |
Fouls |
21 |
| 1 |
Offsides |
4 |
| 0 |
Yellow Cards |
1 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 83.9 |
Passing Success |
69.2 |
| 16 |
Tackles |
21 |
| 56.2 |
Tackles Success |
76.2 |
| 62.2 |
Possession |
37.8 |
| 59.6 |
Territorial Advantage |
40.4 |
