Some random facts and statistics after the 2-2 draw with Norwich City, plus a few extras from the League Cup win at Stockport County…

• Ryan Hedges dinked in a delightful opener – was he trying to imitate Yuki Ohashi from last weekend… or put right his crucial failed attempt at Preston in April 2023?!

• Rovers opened the scoring at Carrow Road with a superb left-footed effort exactly ten years ago – Tom Cairney’s Goal of the Season on 19th August 2014

• 5ft 11in Yuki Ohashi outjumped 6ft 4in Shane Duffy for the equaliser

• A 2-2 draw at Norwich brings back memories of a superb Kevin Gallacher brace in February 1994 and supersub Lucas João’s double in March 2017

• After Ohashi’s third goal in three games, former Rovers reporter Rich Sharpe questioned who the last player was to score in each of his first three matches. It seems as though ‘Andrew’ was quickest off the mark by stating that Bill Holmes achieved the feat in 1951/52

• Rovers only produced 3 goals from substitutes in the whole of the 2023/24 league campaign, but have already reached 4 in two games this season

• An injury to Ipswich’s new signing Arijanet Muric resulted in a Premier League debut for Christian Walton. The 2019/20 loanee therefore joins Jason Steele, David Raya and Thomas Kaminski as keepers to have made it to the top level before Rovers in the last decade

• Adam Armstrong, Ben Brereton Díaz, Harrison Reed and David Raya all appeared in the Premier League at the weekend, but the undisputed superstar from the class of 2018/19 – Bradley Dack – now finds himself at League Two Gillingham

• Rovers love a six-goal haul in the League Cup: Watford (6-1) in 1992, Preston North End (6-0) in 1997, Rochdale (6-1) in 2000 and Stockport County (6-1) in 2024

• According to Opta, John Buckley recorded 169 touches of the ball against Stockport – the most by a Rovers player in any match on Opta record (since 2003/04)

• There have now been 12 wins by a four-goal margin or more since 2018, after 11 full seasons without any at all from 2007/08 onwards

• Sammie Szmodics departs having scored on both his debut and last appearance for the club. According to historian Harry Berry, the only others to have achieved this are Richard Birtwistle, Alex Venters, Bill Holmes, Derek Leaver, Alan Shearer and Yakubu

• Szmodics scored 43 goals in 91 appearances (78 starts, 13 as sub)

• Szmodics is just the seventh player to score at least 30 goals in a season, the ninth Divisional top goalscorer from Rovers, and he recorded the seventh highest contribution of the club’s league goals in a season (45% in 2023/24)

• Jack Vale scored his third cup goal on the road for Rovers, but he’s yet to find the net at Ewood or in the league

• Debuting against Stockport, Leo Duru became the 1093rd player to have played a competitive match for the club

• The 39 Steps: Aaron Doran, Pascal Chimbonda, Adam Henley, Colin Kazim-Richards, Rudy Gestede, Matty Platt, John Buckley, Tyrhys Dolan, Kristi Montgomery, Leo Duru

Catch up last week's statistics HERE. Thanks for reading. Any corrections and additions are much appreciated – please email roversfanzine@gmail.com