Michael O'Neill suffered his first defeat as Blackburn manager as Emil Riis Jakobsen helped fire Bristol City to a 2-1 win at Ewood Park.
The Northern Ireland boss won the first two matches of his Championship job-share, against QPR and Preston, and was tracking for a third when Yuki Ohashi put Rovers in front early on.
But Riis almost single-handedly flipped the momentum as he ran the first half, netting the equaliser and setting up a 31st-minute winner for former Burnley man Scott Twine.
Relegation-battling Rovers rallied hard in the second period but were unable to convert a handful of good chances, including Radek Vitek's save off Moussa Baradji with the last kick of the match.
Blackburn grabbed the lead with the first proper attack in the sixth minute, Ryoya Morishita beating Rob Atkinson for pace and picking out Japanese compatriot Ohashi at the near post. The finish was instinctive and emphatic, rifled into the top corner without a moment's hesitation.
Ohashi had been rewarded for his injury-time winner against Preston with a starting spot and wasted no time justifying the promotion.
But the goal did little to settle the hosts. Balazs Toth did his best to keep the ball out of his goal, twice denying the vibrant Riis. He tipped the first out for a corner after a simple long punt caught Rovers napping then got both hands to a header that Riis should have buried after meeting a perfect hanging cross.
There was no keeping him quiet, though, and when Hayden Carter threw a limp boot at Cameron Pring's cutback in the 17th minute the equaliser was imminent. Riis took one touch to control and set up his own volley, then despatched it on the angle.
The Blackburn defence were so preoccupied by Riis they left Mark Sykes in acres of space on the right, allowing him to saunter to the edge of the area before planting a shot against a post.
It felt inevitable that the Robins would score again and the moment came just after the half-hour, Sykes finding Riis, who turned and fed Twine in the centre. The one-time Claret was the most alert man in the box and hooked smartly into the top corner.
Ryan Alebiosu's pace from full-back was Blackburn's most effective weapon as the second half began but, when he found Mathias Jorgensen free inside the six-yard box, the resulting header was woefully misdirected.
Alebiosu played creator again for Ohashi, who did well with a neat overhead kick which had Vitek scrambling to save. The visitors lost their momentum entirely as O'Neill's side poured forward but a host of opportunities went begging.
Substitute Andri Gudjohnsen's lethargic reaction let a three-on-two break go to waste, Morishita saw a clean strike charged down and Dion De Neve drew a last-ditch goal-line block from Vitek.
Blackburn's hopes had been kept alive when Toth kept out Tomi Horvat's free-kick but when Baradji bundled through the box and shot in the fifth minute of added time, Vitek closed the angle for a vital save.
Blackburn's Michael O'Neill:
"I've been here nine days and we've played three games. At the moment we've got six points out of nine, if we keep that pattern going I'll be more than happy," he said after ending the evening four points clear of the bottom three.
"It's difficult in that space of time to get to know the players with games coming so quickly. I've not seen them train much, but we've got a full week next week which is a bit of an opportunity.
"But we've got a good group who are easy to work with and determined to do well. I think there's enough in that dressing room to get us away from the situation we're in.
"The signs I've seen so far would indicate there's enough to pull away.
"We're not going to get out of it by playing scintillating football all of the time, there'll be moments to play but our attitude and character will get us out of the situation we're in."
Bristol City's Gerhard Struber:
"With the play-offs at the moment, nothing is clear. We know this is a race until the last day, I'm 100 per cent convinced on that.
"It's really important we bring the points home and it starts today.
"When you play against a team where the manager is new every single plyer wants to show his best profile and the energy is on a different level. We can see this Blackburn team is changing, the vibe is different, the belief is different."
"We expected today to be a real challenge, we know their identity and their directness. We needed big engagement to come from behind."
