Rangers down Blackburn 2-1

Reigning Scottish champions Rangers held on for a 2-1 pre-season win over Premier
League side Blackburn in an entertaining Sydney Festival of Football encounter on
Sunday.
Goals to American midfielder Maurice Edu and veteran striker Kenny Miller put
Rangers up 2-0 at halftime before David Dunn pulled one back for Rovers with a
second-half penalty.
Rangers could have been 3-0 up just seconds prior to Dunn's goal, with Miller
blasting a penalty of his own over the bar at the Sydney Football Stadium.
Socceroos stars Brett Emerton and Vince Grella both came on as second-half
substitutes as Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce eases them back following World Cup
duties.
Rangers dominated the first half with Edu opening the scoring in the 10th minute,
rising high to meet a curling Steve Davis free-kick and powering a header past
Blackburn 'keeper Paul Robinson.
Blackburn's early opportunities were limited to a half-chance to Jason Roberts and a
long-range effort by Dunn before Rangers doubled their advantage just before
halftime.
Steve Naismith and Kyle Lafferty combined beautifully out wide, the latter darting
into the box and cutting back for Miller to turn the ball home on 44 minutes.
The Scottish side looked set to go 3-0 up when Blackburn substitute Grant Hanley
barrelled Edu over in the box and referee Peter Green pointed to the spot, but
Miller opted for power over precision and blasted the penalty high and wide.
Dunn showed how it's done in the 65th minute, getting Blackburn off the mark after
Madjid Bougherra appeared to trip Junior Hoilett in the box.
But Rovers couldn't find an equaliser.
Emerton replaced Morten Gamst Pedersen in the 60th minute, rotating between central
and wide midfield roles while Grella looked a tad rusty upon replacing Dunn in the
79th.