Daryl Murphy was delighted to be able to celebrate his 33rd birthday in the best way possible.

The Irishman scored both goals in the Blues’ 2-0 win over Blackburn, converting from the spot before firing home from the edge of the box with time running out, following good work from Luke Varney.

The goals took the forward to 10 for the season, with birthday boy Murphy just happy to have helped his side earn three vital points.

“It was nice, two goals, three points – you couldn’t really ask for anything more,” he said.

“I have to give credit to Reg (Luke Varney) for the second because he’s done so well on the wing, cut inside and played a great pass to me.

“I always knew that if I got a good first touch on it then I could make space for myself to get a shot and thankfully it went in.”

While the Blues’ performance against Blackburn was far from vintage, Murphy believes there were some promising signs.

“I don’t think we were that bad tonight,” he said.

“I thought at times we played some good football but it’s a game where we need to mix it up, sometimes you need to go long and sometimes you need to pass it.

“We did that alright tonight, we know we can play better but the main thing is three points.”