Rovers were still pushing for more goals as the referee sounded the final whistle, having to settle for five against Wycombe Wanderers at Ewood Park.

Tony Mowbray’s men recorded their first Championship win in some style, with Adam Armstrong leading the way with a hat-trick, as Tyrhys Dolan scored his first senior goal, with Derrick Williams also on target.

Rovers were 3-0 up inside 33 minutes and played the final 35 minutes against 10 men after Darius Charles was shown a straight red card for pulling down Armstrong.

More than 20 shots flew the way of Wycombe goalkeeper Ryan Allsop who had a busy afternoon, a performance which kept the score down, not least when denied Armstrong a fourth in the dying stages.

His first half double included a penalty, won by Dolan, who got his name on the scoresheet on his first start in senior football. Williams added a fourth after the red card before Armstrong scored the second hat-trick of his career to complete the scoring.

There was a surprise in the Rovers team, as Ryan Nyambe dropped to the bench, with Joe Rankin-Costello switching to right back as Bradley Johnson and Adam Armstrong returned to the starting line-up.

That meant an inexperienced right-hand side for Rovers, with Tyrhys Dolan playing infront of Rankin-Costello, and it was down that flank where Wycombe threatened early. Joe Jacobson crossed to the far post where the ball was just over the head of David Wheeler.

The Wycombe wide man also had a goalbound shot blocked by Derrick Williams after an unconvincing punch from Thomas Kaminski as Rovers started nervously.

They began to settle into their work and by the 14th minute they had the lead. Dolan tricked his way into the box and was tripped by Jacobson as the referee took a moment to decide before pointing to the spot. Armstrong found the corner from 12 yards to put Rovers ahead with his third of the season.

From there Rovers pressed the accelerator as the youthful combination of Dolan and Rankin-Costello combined to good effect going forward.

In the 20th minute they had their second. This time it was good play from Ben Brereton down the left before a neat flick from Lewis Holtby put Dolan clear. Allsop was equal to his initial effort, but there was a composed response from the teenager as the ball came back his way, sliding the ball into the corner before setting off to complete his trademark somersault celebration.

Wycombe were stunned, Rovers continuing to pour forward, doing real damage down the flanks, their right-hand side in particular. It had been a gamble from Mowbray to pair the two inexperienced players together, but going forward they were a constant menace. Rankin-Costello, up from right back, found himself as the furthest man forward when firing goalwards, his shot flicking the outside of the post with Allsop beaten.

The Wycombe keeper, in a way that Paul Robison used to do for Rovers in years gone by, was taking free kicks from almost the halfway line, with both central defenders joining the attack, forcing Rovers into plenty of aerial challenge. That made the return to form of Bradley Johnson so key, with a tram otherwise not picked based upon its physicality or height.

There were plenty of spaces for Rovers when they did win the ball, and their counter-attacking pace was too much for the visitors as they stormed into a 3-0 lead inside 33 minutes. Brereton led the charge, after Amari’i Bell had won the ball, and while his pass looked to have sent Rothwell wide, he was able to square the ball perfectly for the unmarked Armstrong to tap home at the back post.

It was a great piece of play, demonstrating the attacking quality Rovers have when they get it right.

The Wycombe threat was always going to come from set plays, but stand firm to that, and the feeling was that opportunities would come in attack.

A fourth would have been in the offing before the break were it not for a fingertip Allsop save to keep out Armstrong’s dipping effort.

There were no changes at the break, or in the momentum, with Rovers pushing the harder for the game’s fourth goal. Brereton and Dolan switched flanks temporally, and twice down the right he found room to first square for Rothwell, whose shot was blocked, and then race on to a throughball which was struck too closely to Allsop.

The pace and dancing feet of Dolan continued to be too much for Wycombe to handle, and their task got even harder with just 11 minutes of the second half gone.

A loose touch from Charles offered Armstrong the chance to break free on goal, albeit some 35 yards more to go, but he pulled him down, with Peter Bankes pulling out the red card with no hesitation.

Rovers had the opportunity to make them pay within a matter of minutes, though Rankin-Costello would have been disappointed with his shot which gave Allsop an opportunity to save easier than he would have envisaged when the full back pulled back his right foot.

The fourth did arrive, moments before a double switch, as Wycombe began to wilt under the pressure. Dolan had time, from a short corner, to tee up Rothwell, and his deflected shot wrongfooted Allsop who did manage to keep it out, but Rovers were queuing up to score, with Williams doing just that, tapping home from six yards.

There was never any chance of the visitors giving up though, and they reminded Rovers of their threat as substitute Uche Ikpeazu controlled with his back to goal before swivelling and shooting narrowly wide of Kaminski’s near post.

That did little to unsettle Rovers who sensed more goals, Holtby, via another short corner, seeing a goalbound effort deflected over via the head of Alex Pattison.

There was a rest for Holtby in the closing stages, replaced by Jacob Davenport whose first involvement saw him test Allsop from distance. The keeper was equal to that, as he was to a Bradley Johnson thumping effort, his performance deserving of a goal.

Another substitute, John Buckley, was at the heart of Rovers’ fifth, setting Armstrong away for his hat-trick with a beautiful through ball, the striker having no problems slotting home a fifth on his left foot.

He had a similar chance within seconds, free of the last defender again, but this time Allsop stood tall to tip his right-footed effort around the post.

Harry Chapman fired two efforts goalwards in his quest to join the scoresheet, while at the other end, Thomas Kaminski claimed the first clean sheet of his Rovers career.

Rovers: Kaminski, Rankin-Costello, Lenihan, Williams, Bell, Johnson, Holtby (Davenport, 78), Rothwell (Buckley, 69) Dolan, Brereton (Chapman, 69), Armstrong

Subs: Fisher, Nyambe, Bennett, Wharton

Wycombe: Allsop, Grimmer, Jacobson, Stewart, Charles, Bloomfield (Ikpeazu, 62), Pattison, Horgan, Kashket (Tafazolli, 57), Wheeler, Onyedinma (Samuel, 77)

Subs: Stockdale, Freeman, McCarthy, Parker