AFC Wimbledon boss Neal Ardley felt his side unsettled Rovers in the opening 30 minutes which proved key to 'an unexpected' win.

Kwesi Appiah scored the only goal of the game as the Dons held on for their first away win of the season.

And Ardley felt the goal, and an impressive save by goalkeeper George Long in the second half, proved decisive.

“It was an unexpected win, but of course we are delighted with the result. 

“You obviously look at the fixture list and see you've got Blackburn away and you think "ok this is going to be tough".

“I thought for the first 30 minutes we carried a real threat. I thought we were really good and unsettled Blackburn. We didn't let them get into a rhythm and I thought we had chances to get a couple of goals.

“In the last 15 minutes of the first half they got back in it and got a little bit of control and then the second half was always going to be tough because they were going to throw caution into the wind."

“It was a great finish by Appiah. I thought he caused the two centre-backs problems for the large spells of the game.

“I think what with that and George Long's incredible save, when he was going the wrong way, I think they are two massive moments that make a difference.”

Wimbledon will be looking to consolidate themselves in the division, after promotion in 2015/16, one Ardley believes is tougher than last season.

He added: “I think the most important thing from my point of view we have found a bit more of an identity in the last couple of games in the way we go about our business and how effective we can be. That's the key thing.

“It's only three points, even though it's a great three points for us, and there's a lot of good teams in this league. I think this league is so much tougher than last season. 

“We need to be better last season so we are not in a fight down the bottom.”