LEON Best hit the winner as Blackburn Rovers saw off Portimonense 1-0 in a friendly in Portugal on Saturday.
Former Portimonense man Fabio Nunes set up the 14th minute winner on his return to the Estadio Municipal when he broke free and set up Best to score.
Rovers had been expected to comfortably defeat the Portuguese second tier side and fielded almost two different XIs in each half with Ruben Rochina starting the game despite speculation linking him with a move away from the club.
Trialist Yann Songo’o, who played in the win at Wrexham last weekend, also started the match in defence and was the only player to play the full 90 minutes.
Scott Dann and Jason Lowe also started with both getting their first taste of pre-season action.
Best’s winner capped a good start from Rovers and it was fitting that the former Newcastle man found the net given that he suffered a serious knee injury in pre-season 12 months ago shortly after joining from the Magpies.
Rovers’ first chance came inside the opening 10 minutes with Josh Morris playing the ball through to Best, who hurdled the keeper, but the angle was too tight and the striker was unable to finish the move off.
The home side were certainly not overawed by playing Championship opposition and almost took the lead when Diego Souza delivered a low cross from the right to Anselmo, who got ahead of his man and diverted the ball towards goal only to see his shot cannon back off the post.
And the hosts were made to pay for missing that chance as Rovers took the lead.
Nunes did well to work himself some space on the left and his centre was tapped home by Best.
Rovers continued to threaten and summer signing Alan Judge came close on the half hour when he went for goal with an ambitious lob.
The Portuguese side continued to create chances of their own though and Rui Correia saw a goalbound header blocked.
Ricardo Pessoa was causing Rovers problems and his set piece created a chance for Souza, but his header was deflected over.
Moments later, a third Pessoa corner again found Souza, who beat Grant Hanley to the header but Rovers keeper Jake Kean was equal to the test.
Rovers struggled to create too much in the latter stages of the first half and the hosts almost levelled on the brink of half time with only Kean’s acrobatics keeping the visitors’ slender advantage intact.
Jason Lowe fouled Souza 25 yards from goal and Ze Miguel’s curling effort was on target before Kean tipped the shot over the bar.
At half time boss Bowyer changed all his side apart from trialist Songo’o with Matthew Kilgallon coming on for his Rovers debut after signing on a free transfer last week.
Portimonense registered the first effort of note in a low-key second half when Pessoa floated over a free-kick and Andre headed goalwards but Simon Eastwood was equal to the task.
There was another new face on show when Alex Marrow, signed from Crystal Palace, replaced Josh King midway through the second half to complete his Rovers return having been released by Sam Allardyce during his first spell at Ewood Park.
Eastwood was called upon again 14 minutes from time when home sub Joao Nascimento tried his luck from long range.
Two minutes later Rovers threatened when Markus Olsson’s left wing cross came to Jordan Rhodes who couldn’t find the net despite having two efforts.
Eastwood preserved the advantage in the final moments when he did well to deny Nelsinho.
Rovers (first half): Kean, Songo’o, Hanley, Dann, Morris, Judge, Lowe, Pedersen, Nunes, Rochina, Best.
Rovers (second half): Eastwood, Orr, Songo’o, Kilgallon, Olsson, King (Marrow 69), Dunn (King 87), Taylor, Rosado, Campbell, Rhodes.
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