Ben Brereton Diaz double downs Derby

Posted Sunday, October 31, 2021 by PA

Ben Brereton Diaz’s first-half double gave Blackburn a 2-1 win that ended Derby’s five-game unbeaten run in the Championship.

The Chile international deservedly put Blackburn in command during an opening 45 minutes in which Derby were pulled apart, taking his tally to 12 goals for the campaign.

It was more even in the second half and Curtis Davies gave Derby, bottom of the table, hope with a late volley before Colin Kazim-Richards rattled a post in added time.

American businessman Chris Kircher, who has confirmed his interest in buying Derby, was at the game and saw Blackburn waste a good chance in the second minute.

Sam Gallagher met a cross from the left but headed wide from inside the six-yard box when he should have hit the target.

But Blackburn went ahead in the eighth minute when John Buckley whipped in a cross from the right and Brereton Diaz bundled the ball over the line at the back post after Kelle Roos saved his first effort.

Blackburn went close to a second in the 14th minute as Jan Paul Van Hecke’s header from a corner struck the outside of a post but they scored again six minutes later.

Tyrhys Dolan and Gallagher combined to play in Brereton Diaz who slipped the ball under Roos from 10 yards.

Derby were struggling to cope with Blackburn’s movement and Brereton Diaz had another chance but this time his shot lacked the power to trouble Roos.

Brereton Diaz opened Derby up again in the 38th minute with a fizzing cross from the left but Gallagher fired over as he arrived at the back post.

Derby responded two minutes later when Nathan Byrne surged forward and set up Ravel Morrison, who forced Thomas Kaminski into a sprawling save.

But the half ended with another great chance for Blackburn with Roos saving from Bradley Johnson before Dolan sent the rebound inches wide.

Derby made a double change, bringing on strikers Kazim-Richards and Sam Baldock, and they almost pulled a goal back in the 56th minute.

Graeme Shinnie was tripped just outside the area and Morrison’s free-kick was turned behind by Kaminski.

Derby were asking more questions of Blackburn and Tom Lawrence was only just off target with a 20-yard drive in the 74th minute.

Blackburn had given away several free-kicks around their box and they were punished in the 89th minute when Davies hooked the ball in from the edge of the six-yard area.

It set up a frantic finale and Kazim-Richards almost snatched a point when he hit the post in stoppage time before firing wide as Blackburn ended up hanging on.