Blackburn eased their relegation worries with a thumping victory over Aston Villa.

David Dunn sent Rovers on their way with an excellent early strike.

And two more fine goals towards the end of the game secured maximum points for the struggling Ewood Park side.

Just as important for Blackburn as their goalscoring prowess, though, was the stubborn defensive display that held Villa at bay in the second half.

Rovers started brightly and Cole nearly atoned for his sending off against Bolton last weekend when he deflected a Henning Berg header onto the bar from a sixth minute corner.

Dunn made no mistake a minute later, though.
He cut inside from the right wing and unleashed a thundering left-foot shot from the edge of the penalty area that flew past Villa goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel into the top corner of the net.

Cole had a golden opportunity to double the lead in the 10th minute, but was only able to guide a free header from a Duff cross straight at Schmeichel.

Villa settled after the early setback and Darius Vassell forced Blackburn goalkeeper Brad Freidel into a brilliant fingertip save after stealing between two defenders to connect with a low cross.

Cole then struck the woodwork again, when he lobbed the ball over Schmeichel after being put clean through by Dunn - only to see it rebound off the post.

Schmeichel recovered well to save a follow-up shot from Duff.

Both sides continued to carve out chances in an entertaining first half and Blackburn hit the post again from Duff’s deflected cross.

Villa made changes at half time and immediately imposed themselves on the match after the interval, but Juan Pablo Angel’s touch let him down on several occasions.

George Boateng brought a save out of Friedel with a 25-yard volley - but Villa lacked the cutting edge to seriously trouble the Rovers defence.

Blackburn continued to break well and Cole was again denied by Schmeichel when the striker headed weakly from another Duff cross.

Villa pushed on in search of an equaliser - but two more goals in the last five minutes ended their resistance.

First Duff fired home a spectacular 20-yard shot.

And then Cole punished a Schmeichel error to seal the win in the closing minutes.

The goalkeeper charged out of his area but failed to get to the ball, and Cole held off his former Manchester United team-mate before lobbing the ball into an empty net.