Brentford 1-3 Blackburn Rovers: Report and reaction

Victories for Nottingham Forest and Birmingham meant Rovers' Griffin Park success was insufficient to save them from dropping into the third tier of English football for the first time in 37 years, and becoming the first former Premier League champions ever to do so.

The visitors made the dream start when Charlie Mulgrew curled home a goal-of-the-season contender with a superb dipping free-kick from the edge of the box after just 10 minutes. The travelling Rovers fans were in raptures six minutes later when Danny Guthrie pounced on a half-clearance to fire home past Bees goalkeeper Daniel Bentley, who had an obstructed view of his effort.

At that stage it looked good for the hordes of travelling fans but as results from the City Ground and Ashton Gate changed, so did the complexion of this game.

Brentford clawed their way back into it just before the hour mark when Lasse Vibe touched home Harlee Dean's cross at the near post.

But defiant Blackburn, buoyed by Dean's sending-off for a professional foul on Marvin Emnes a minute later, kept pressing forward and got their reward when Craig Conway converted the spot-kick.

Tony Mowbray's side were good value for the win as they showed far more desire and passion, harrying and chasing the Londoners throughout, but ultimately results earlier in the season had caught up with the Lancashire side.

Brentford, who fielded a full-strength team, were second to almost every ball with Rovers' striker Sam Gallagher a constant headache.

Jota provided most of the hosts' highlights in a below-par first half, twice curling wide when he found a way past Blackburn's well-drilled defence.

Gallagher came close to stretching Rovers' lead on the half-hour though when he was inches away from connecting with Elliott Bennett's searching cross to the far post.

But the visitors had goalkeeper David Raya to thank for keeping their two-goal cushion intact when he pulled off a full-length fingertip save to deny Vibe's low drive.

The goalkeeper had to be at his best when Brentford enjoyed a purple patch after the hour mark when he tipped pile-drivers from Jota and Vibe over the crossbar.

At the other end, Bees goalkeeper Daniel Bentley had to be at his best to thwart Bennett late on after Danny Graham wasted a gilt-edged chance to give the game a more emphatic scoreline.

Nico Yennaris headed agonisingly wide for the hosts after a neat cross from Alan McCormack, but Brentford lacked the passion and desire of Mowbray's side and were second for long spells.

Rovers defended stoically and refused to give Jota or Sergi Canos a clear sight of goal all afternoon, leaving the visiting fans wondering why they had not produced this form all season.

Post-match reaction

Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray backed his relegated side to bounce straight back to the Sky Bet Championship if they show the same desire they did in the final-day win at Brentford.

Mowbray, who has led a revival which has seen just three defeats in 15 games, said: "I am disappointed now but we have to try to keep the spirit we showed here and, if we do, the club will be very strong in League One next year.

"It's decided over 46 games and at the end of the season everyone at the club from the players to the medical team and the analysts have not been good enough to stay in this division."

Mowbray praised his players' spirit as they refused to stop going in search of goals that might have changed the complexion of the relegation battle.

"There have been games we've drawn that we should have won, but the harsh reality is if you don't get enough points you can't argue with the outcome," said the 53-year-old, whose side finished below Forest on goal difference.

Brentford boss Dean Smith was disappointed his team could not make the most of their second-half possession.

"We wanted to finish the season on a high but there were a lot of tired legs out there - at the end they were putting their bodies on the line and that showed how much it mattered to do their best for the other clubs down there," said Smith, whose side ended the campaign in 10th spot.

"It was what we were doing when we didn't have the ball that annoyed me in the first half. I gave them a rocket at half-time and we started the second half quite well but couldn't make our possession count."

He added: "They took an early lead and that set the pattern for the game, so when they got a second we didn't react like we should have done, which was disappointing and not the way we wanted to end the season.

"I feel for Tony. He has done a great job there and if he's allowed to keep the players he has, and the club keep him, then I'm sure they'll be knocking on the door to come back up next season."