It may have ended in a 2-1 defeat, but in many ways, Blackburn Rovers' second-round Carabao Cup against Sheffield United may well be one of Tony Mowbray side's most encouraging performances of the early season so far.

Up against the newly-promoted Premier League club, Rovers certainly seemed to hold their own, posing plenty of attacking threat and, with the exception of the odd defensive error, restricting a side who comfortably did the league double over them on their way to promotion last season to very few chances.

What you feel will have been most pleasing for Mowbray and co. however, is the identity of Rovers' sole goalscorer at Bramall Lane on the night.

Over two years after his initial loan spell with the club came to an end, and following five, somewhat frustrating, league appearances this season, Rovers summer attacking recruit, Sam Gallagher finally got back on the scoresheet in Blackburn colours, producing a towering header to hand his side what turned out to be a consolation after coming on as a second-half substitute.

The fact that Gallagher has got off the mark relatively early in his second spell with Blackburn will not only be a relief to him, but also to plenty of others around the club, and you don't have to look that far back in history to see why.

Just as they had done with the apparent £5million they spent on Gallagher this season, Rovers had also put their money where their mouth is in terms of adding to their attacking ranks this time last year, spending a reported £7million to bring Ben Brereton to Ewood Park from Championship rivals Nottingham Forest.

It was a move that has yet to fully pay off for Blackburn.

So far Brereton has found the net just once in 30 appearances for the Lancashire side, and that goal didn't arrive until late last season, coming in a 2-0 win over by then already-relegated Bolton Wanderers at Ewood Park on Easter Monday.

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While the relief following that goal was palpable, the damage to that campaign had already been done, with Brereton missing several guilt edge chances to get off the mark throughout the course of the campaign - and win Rovers valuable points in the process - with each missed opportunity seeming to increase the pressure and dent the confidence of the then 19-year-old even more.

With Brereton struggling so badly last season, much of the burden had fallen on the veteran Danny Graham to lead the line last season, and while he did that admirably - deservedly winning the club's Player of the Season award - you feel it is too much to ask the 34-year-old to perform that role all by himself for a second season running.

Thankfully for Rovers therefore, Gallagher's goal on Tuesday night, means they surely won't have to.

Having got that monkey of the first goal off his back inside the opening month of the campaign, Gallagher will not have to go through the season feeling the same pressure, and loss in confidence, that Brereton did every time he missed a chance to get that elusive first goal.

You feel that Gallagher will now know that he is still capable of getting goals at this level, as he has shown before - not least in that loan spell with Blackburn - and he will be backing himself to do so whenever he is called upon, something which should put the minds of plenty around the club at rest, given the scrutiny the decision to spend that money on Brereton last summer has not surprisingly come under.

Like Gallagher, Brereton did have the ball in the back of the net at the home of a Premier League side around this point last season - only for his goal in a third-round Carabao Cup defeat to Bournemouth to be ruled out for offside - and you wonder how different things could have been had that not been the case.

For Gallagher however, that flag did stay down, and Rovers may now get the chance to see how different things could have been for Brereton had it done the same just under 12 months ago at the Vitality.

Given what has gone on since then, you feel they will hope the extent of that difference, is a significant one.