Blackburn Rovers caused a minor upset in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday when they defeated nine-man Swansea City 3-1 at Ewood Park.

Swansea's afternoon took a downward turn with just five minutes played when Kyle Bartley was shown a red card for bringing down Joshua King as the Rovers forward was trying to get through on goal.

Despite being down to 10 men, the visitors took the lead on 21 minutes as Gylfi Sigurdsson found the net with a ferocious strike from 25 yards.

However, the home side levelled moments when Chris Taylor controlled the ball in the box before lashing a volley past Lukasz Fabianski.

Rovers got themselves in front on 78 minutes thanks to an instinctive strike from Rudy Gestede before Craig Conway sealed the victory late on with a low shot that somehow squirmed past Fabianski.

Swansea's day then ended in the same way as it began as Sigurdsson was given his marching orders for a reckless challenge from behind on Taylor.

Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at the action on an entertaining afternoon in Lancashire.

Match statistics

Blackburn
Shots: 12
On target: 8
Possession: 49%
Corners: 3
Fouls: 12

Swansea
Shots: 5
On target: 2
Possession: 51%
Corners: 4
Fouls: 12

Was the result fair?

Blackburn were worthy winners on the day thanks to a committed, passionate and organised display. The Championship side looked hungrier from the first whistle, while Swansea were woefully below par throughout.

Blackburn's performance

The hosts did not always play the prettiest football against their Premier League opponents, but their energy and determination played a huge part in getting them through to the next round. The likes of Chris Taylor and Craig Conway had a big impact in midfield, while Joshua King gave the Swansea defence nightmares with his pace. If anything, Gary Bowyer's side could have won this by a greater margin had they been a bit more clinical in the final third. There were a few occasions where the visitors applied some pressure - most notably when it was 2-1 - but the Rovers back four held firm and threw themselves at the ball with some heroic defending.

Swansea's performance

This was most definitely an out-of-sorts display from the Swans, who never really got going. While their cause was not helped by Kyle Bartley's early red card, a complete lack of inspiration, invention and dynamism at the other end of the pitch meant that the Blackburn defence had a relatively simple afternoon. Swansea may have taken the lead in the match, but this was nothing more than a false dawn as the South-Wales outfit struggled for large periods. Two players in particular who were disappointing were Nathan Dyer and Bafetimbi Gomis. The former was a peripheral presence at best, while the latter did barely anything of note up front. Garry Monk may not be overly fussed that his team is out of the competition, though he should be very concerned by the way in which they were defeated.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Joshua King: The young Blackburn forward was a constant menace, running at the Swansea defence whenever he could to make life extremely difficult for the visitors. He made an impact early on when he contributed to Kyle Bartley's red card, while his clever skills and pace continued to light up the game thereafter.

Biggest gaffe

Gylfi Sigurdsson was made to look foolish in stoppage time when he was sent off for a reckless challenge from behind on Chris Taylor. We know that the midfielder is not an aggressive player, but this proved that his ice-cool persona is capable of slipping in frustration.

Referee performance

Craig Pawson was busy early on when he sent off Kyle Bartley for a foul on Joshua King. Despite both players jostling for possession, the official got that one right. He also correctly dismissed Gylfi Sigurdsson late on for chopping down Chris Taylor. Those two incidents aside, Pawson did a decent job of allowing the game to flow on an entertaining afternoon at Ewood Park.

What next?

Blackburn: Rovers are back in Championship action on Tuesday when they host high-flying Derby County.

Swansea: The Swans continue their Premier League campaign next Sunday with a trip to Southampton.