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Blackburn U23

Folarin Balogun hit a hat-trick of penalties in our opening fixture of the Premier League 2 season on Monday night, as we ran out 3-1 winners over Blackburn Rovers.

Rob Holding played 63 minutes as he continues to regain match fitness, while Emile Smith Rowe made his first start since returning from injury.

With that in mind, there were plenty of positives ahead of kick-off - but it was the hosts who opened the scoring when Stefan Mols raced behind our defence and coolly slotted into the bottom corner.

However, their lead would last all of three minutes, as Balogun forced a foul from Louie Annesley inside the penalty area, leaving the referee with no other choice than to point to the spot.