DAMIEN Johnson declared himself very pleased with his Blackburn Rovers Under-23s side as they moved a step closer to progression in the Premier League 2 Cup with a 4-0 win over Burnley.

Rovers scored four unanswered goals in the second half to move three points clear of Burnley in Group B, and one behind leaders Sunderland, with two games left to play.

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Anthony Stokes found the net twice on his run-out for the Rovers youngsters, as did central defender Matthew Platt, as Johnson’s side cruised to victory in the end at Morecambe’s Globe Arena.

Stokes put Rovers in front just 60 seconds after the restart, with Johnson pleased with the quality his side showed on the ball in the second-half.

“It was a good result for us in the end,” said Johnson. “The first half was tight, with us probably having some good opportunities that we didn’t capitalise on.

“We knew it would be very frantic on a difficult pitch.

“We managed to get the goal early in the second half and then from there I thought we played some good football.”

The first-half was an even affair, with Burnley arguably having the better of the chances. Rovers goalkeeper Andrew Fisher making smart saves from Josh Ginnelly and George Green.

But from the moment Stokes put Rovers in front, turning in from a Connor Mahoney corner, it was one-way traffic.

Johnson added: “We just asked them at half-time for a little bit more quality in the final third and it came from two set pieces.

“It was nice to hit the back of the net. Goals have been hard to come by for us so that will give us confidence.

“I thought we dealt with both sides of the game well, the physical side of it being a derby game and the quality on the ball on a pitch that wasn’t really conducive to good football.”

Platt doubled Rovers’ lead in the 56th minute, heading in another Mahoney corner, before Stokes grabbed his second in the 73rd minute with a neat finish from a Connor Thomson cross.

He was taken off with eight minutes to play, but having now recovered from a spell out of the side with illness and injury, he is well placed to be handed a start in Saturday’s FA Cup tie at home to Blackpool.

Platt scored Rovers’ fourth just prior to Stokes’ departure, looping a header in to the corner from a Lewis Hardcastle cross.

It was the second victory over Burnley in the competition for Rovers, who have seven points from their four games, leaving them well placed to reach the last 16 knockout stages.

“The most important thing for the lads is to get games and the further we go in the competition the more games you get,” Johnson said.

“We want to get in to the next round that’s for sure and then look to give some of younger players more opportunities to play.”