Late heartbreak for Blackburn earns Preston derby spoils

It was a frantic atmosphere for a Friday night Lancashire derby with both teams trading blows. Arnor Sigurdsson went closest to opening the scoring as hit the woodwork from close range with a volley.

Preston opened the scoring shortly after as Alan Browne broke the defence and finished high into the roof of the net. It was a fantastic ball to pick him out and the North End skipper made no mistake with a clinical strike.

Rovers pushed for the leveller but were denied by the woodwork a second time as Andrew Moran's shot cannoned back off the bar. It was proving to be another frustrating afternoon in front of goal.

However, five minutes after the restart, Rovers restored parity. Sam Szmodics went through and calmly slotted in his tenth of the season to level the game at 1-1.

It was then Preston's turn to be frustrated as Duane Holmes struck the post from close range. A cross was half-cleared and the strike hit the inside of woodwork and bounced out, much to Rovers' delight.

Both teams had spells of pressure in the second half but neither could muster a breakthrough. That was until the final throws of the game when North End snatched the points.

Ben Whiteman's cross to the back post found Lindsay, who had peeled on to Callum Brittain and headed into the back of the net from close range. That proved to be the last action of the half, sending Rovers into the international break with a defeat.

Jon Dahl Tomasson made two enforced changes to his Rovers team. Joe Rankin-Costello is out for three months with a hamstring injury, with Arnor Sigurdsson coming in on the wing.

The frustrating blow was losing Harry Pickering to a quadricep injury, which forced another defensive reshuffle. Callum Brittain moved to left-back with Lewis Travis coming into the side at right-back. It left Rovers with a very youthful bench including Tom Atcheson, Pat Gamble and Jake Batty, none of whom have played a Championship minute.

In front of a crowd in excess of 20,000 at Ewood Park, the start to the game matched the frantic atmosphere in the stands. Both teams traded blows with the typical fierce, scrappy nature of a derby match descending on a frosty Friday night.

The first chance of the game for the visitors despite Rovers dominating the possession early on. Milutin Osmajic got the better of James Hill down the right and crossed for Duane Holmes but his shot was blocked in front of the line by Callum Brittain.

That was the only real threat the visitors posed, with Blackburn holding most of the territory. With the personnel on the pitch, Rovers lacked a focal point to stretch the pitch. They were guilty of coming to feet too often, making it easy for the PNE back three to push up and constrict the centre of the pitch.

With Rovers unlikely to throw crosses in for Tyrhys Dolan against three towering defenders, their best route to goal was working it down the flanks and into the box. That created their best opening of the first 45.

Dolan's chipped cross found Sigurdsson six yards out but his volley deflated off the underside of the bar and to safety, much to the home fans' agony. It was a major let-off and another Deja vu moment.

In typical fashion, North End then punished Rovers. Nobody spotted Browne's run from deep and he was picked out by an excellent Brad Potts pass behind the defence. His first touch was good and the second emphatic as he fired into the roof of the net past Leopold Wahlstedt.

With 10 minutes to until the break, Rovers needed a spark. They almost levelled the scores in stoppage time when Moran's half-volley from the edge of the box came off the bar.

The Irishman was again involved as Tomasson's side levelled the score five minutes after the restart. He floated a lovely ball in-behind the defence for Szmodics, who took it down and calmly slotted past Freddie Woodman to level the score. Ewood erupts, game on.

Blackburn's tails were up once more and it was Preston on the back foot. Szmodics scampered behind the defence once more but Woodman this time read the finish and made an important stop.

Despite struggling to string two passes together, Rovers were handed another warning about how tight the margins were. North End had their first attack of the second half and almost scored.

Liam Millar's cross was only half cleared and broke to Holmes but his shot came back off the inside of the post from close range. So close the goal that would've sent the away end barmy once again.

The introduction of Ched Evans added some calm to North End's play and they began to threaten. Osmajic's header went in off the underside of the bar, only for the linesman's flag to intervene.

There were penalty appeals soon after as Potts went down in the area but his appeals were rightly waved away. Whilst Evans had given Preston a focal point, Rovers were lacking a way to get out from defence and someone to build from.

As the game ticked towards 90, both teams had a go. Scott Wharton produced an excellent clearance to divert Potts' cross from goal.

But from the resulting corner, Ben Whiteman's cross to the back post found Lindsay and he headed home from close range to win the game for North End.

A sucker punch for Rovers when a point apiece would have been the fair result. Once again, Tomasson's side were left ruing missed chances at crucial moments in the game.

The result means Rovers have won just three of their eight home matches in the Championship. Ewood Park was the backbone of their top-six push last season but it has been their Achilles heel this time around.