FA Premiership/ Blackburn 3 Portsmouth 0: With half-time beckoning, the usually uber-professional Mark Hughes felt sufficiently confident to step forward into his technical area and nonchalantly trap a ball flying out of play, then juggle it from foot to foot several times.

Eventually Blackburn's manager directed it back on to the pitch with an eye-catching overhead backheel - and just to reinforce the "cool dude" effect, this cameo was accomplished with his hands remaining in his pockets throughout.

But then Portsmouth were so poor that Harry Redknapp's players might as well as have been operating with their arms tied behind their backs. Brad Friedel, Blackburn's goalkeeper, hardly had a save to make. In contrast Rovers not only scored three times but missed a penalty, felt aggrieved that two more were not awarded after clumsy fouls by the suddenly hapless Linvoy Primus and rued David Dunn missing a late sitter.

"We're still very much in the mix for a European place," insisted Blackburn's manager, who was delighted with Shabani Nonda, scorer of the first two goals. With the almost equally impressive Aaron Mokoena quickly seizing midfield control, Rovers went ahead in the first minute. Pedro Mendes ceded possession cheaply and, although David Bentley's right-wing cross was met by Sol Campbell's head, the erstwhile England defender merely flicked the ball into the path of Nonda, whose right-foot strike from 12 yards beat David James.

Nonda repeated the feat with a low far-post shot after James and Noe Pamarot both misread Matt Derbyshire's low cross from the right wing before Glen Johnson's somewhat slapdash marking of Nonda left the scorer stealing in unattended from the left.

"England's number one," chorused sarcastic Blackburn fans at James, revelling in remembering that, during his West Ham and Manchester City days, Ewood Park was the scene of some memorable blunders by the former England goalkeeper.

At least James - who also made a superlative flying save from Nonda - could not be blamed when the defensively excellent Stephen Warnock registered his first Blackburn goal. Overlapping in exhilarating fashion, the left back swept in a shot at the end of a surging move also featuring Derbyshire and Nonda.

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