Match ends, Blackburn Rovers 1, Preston North End 2.
BlackburnBlackburn Rovers1PrestonPreston North End2
Preston North End edged out Lancashire rivals Blackburn Rovers to seal three points thanks to a frantic first-half performance at Ewood Park.
Preston took the lead against the run of play thanks to Greg Cunningham's superb strike and doubled their advantage through Liam Lindsay's header.
Blackburn hit back on the stroke of half-time through Adam Armstrong's penalty after Andrew Hughes was judged to have brought down Sam Gallagher.
Bradley Dack had the ball in the net for Blackburn late on but his close-range effort was ruled out for offside.
The result moves Preston up to 10th in the Championship table and level on points with eighth-placed Blackburn, with both sides six points off the play-off places.
Despite a drab opening quarter of an hour, Cunningham's stunning goal gave the match some much-needed inspiration.
It was towards the end of the first half that the match really perked up, however, as Blackburn fought back no sooner had Lindsay glanced in Preston's second.
Referee David Webb initially seemed unfazed after Hughes went in on Gallagher, yet it was the intervention of one of his assistants that saw him award a penalty to the hosts.
Armstrong made no mistake from the spot to score his 18th Championship goal of the season to put Rovers back in it moments before the break.
Emil Riis almost made sure of the points for Preston late on but his one-on-one shot was saved by Blackburn keeper Thomas Kaminski.
And even despite not taking that chance, Alex Neil's side held on to make up for their 3-0 defeat by Rovers at Deepdale in November.
Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray told BBC Radio Lancashire:
"Our first-half [performance] wasn't very good. We had no forward passes, we were messing around in our own half. We played the wrong game really.
"We pinned them back and probably deserved to get an equaliser in the second half but it wasn't to be.
"The team know the expectations at this club, they have to go out and do it and they didn't tonight."
Preston manager Alex Neil told BBC Radio Lancashire:
"I thought the way we went about it was very good. We changed our shape, personnel and how we function in two days.
"For the lads to take it on and carry it out was very good. It's not easy when you've got new players.
"We deservedly won. The fans now will have the bragging rights until the next time we meet."
Line-ups
Blackburn
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Kaminski
- 2NyambeSubstituted forElliottat 63'minutes
- 26Lenihan
- 30Branthwaite
- 15Douglas
- 27TravisSubstituted forBreretonat 87'minutes
- 18DavenportSubstituted forDowningat 45'minutes
- 9GallagherSubstituted forHarwood-Bellisat 75'minutes
- 23Dack
- 8RothwellSubstituted forDolanat 45'minutes
- 7A Armstrong
Substitutes
- 6Downing
- 13Pears
- 16Elliott
- 17Bell
- 20Brereton
- 21Buckley
- 22Harwood-Bellis
- 29Evans
- 39Dolan
Preston
Formation 3-4-1-2
- 22Iversen
- 14Storey
- 6LindsayBooked at 84mins
- 16Hughes
- 8Browne
- 18LedsonBooked at 61mins
- 17Whiteman
- 37Cunningham
- 11JohnsonSubstituted forPottsat 76'minutes
- 29BarkhuizenSubstituted forRiis Jakobsenat 76'minutes
- 26EvansSubstituted forMolumbyat 90+2'minutes
Substitutes
- 2van den Berg
- 12Gallagher
- 15Rafferty
- 19Riis Jakobsen
- 21Molumby
- 23Huntington
- 25Ripley
- 31Sinclair
- 44Potts
- Referee:
- David Webb
Match Stats
Home TeamBlackburnAway TeamPreston
- Possession
- Home64%
- Away36%
- Shots
- Home15
- Away9
- Shots on Target
- Home2
- Away3
- Corners
- Home6
- Away5
- Fouls
- Home7
- Away16
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Blackburn Rovers 1, Preston North End 2.
Post update
Offside, Blackburn Rovers. Tyrhys Dolan tries a through ball, but Adam Armstrong is caught offside.
Post update
Barry Douglas (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Foul by Brad Potts (Preston North End).
Substitution
Substitution, Preston North End. Jayson Molumby replaces Ched Evans.
Post update
Offside, Preston North End. Brad Potts tries a through ball, but Ched Evans is caught offside.
Post update
Attempt missed. Brad Potts (Preston North End) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Ryan Ledson following a corner.
Post update
Corner, Preston North End. Conceded by Jarrad Branthwaite.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Brad Potts (Preston North End) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Substitution
Substitution, Blackburn Rovers. Ben Brereton replaces Lewis Travis.
Booking
Liam Lindsay (Preston North End) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Post update
Bradley Dack (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Post update
Foul by Liam Lindsay (Preston North End).
Post update
Attempt blocked. Tyrhys Dolan (Blackburn Rovers) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Stewart Downing (Blackburn Rovers) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Post update
Corner, Blackburn Rovers. Conceded by Greg Cunningham.
Post update
Attempt missed. Adam Armstrong (Blackburn Rovers) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Barry Douglas with a cross following a corner.
Post update
Offside, Blackburn Rovers. Adam Armstrong tries a through ball, but Bradley Dack is caught offside.
Post update
Corner, Blackburn Rovers. Conceded by Jordan Storey.
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