Blackburn close to within three points of play-offs after win over Hull

Posted Sunday, January 27, 2019 by PA

Blackburn moved to within three points of the Sky Bet Championship play-off places with a convincing 3-0 victory at home to Hull.

Prior to the game, both of these in-form sides might have fancied their chances of making a late dart towards the top six.

But Blackburn’s lofty ambitions now appear a little less fanciful as they dominated what had on paper looked an evenly-matched encounter.

The damage was essentially done before half-time as Adam Armstrong and Jack Rodwell – his first goal for 504 days – put Blackburn on course for a fourth league win on the bounce.

Though Hull, who had gone unbeaten in 10 Championship matches, improved in the second half, Tony Mowbray’s men added gloss to the scoreline when Harrison Reed chipped in after 73 minutes.

Despite the abysmal playing conditions, Blackburn were neat and disciplined when in possession of a football they rarely gave away.

It was, then, not a big surprise when the hosts opened the scoring after 10 minutes.

Bradley Dack continues to gain admirers for his goalscoring prowess.

But this time he turned provider with a beautiful, threaded pass which cut apart Hull’s centre-back pairing of Robbie McKenzie and Ondrej Mazuch.

Armstrong received Dack’s delivery on the move and kept his cool with a sweet finish.

Hull were in a state of some disarray and cheaply conceded a second eight minutes later.

Elliott Bennett was firstly given too much time to charge through the middle, with his goalbound effort from distance deflected over the crossbar.

Reed took the resulting corner, which was hit with depth and headed with delicacy by Rodwell, who was too strong for his marker and found the same corner of the net as Armstrong.

Rodwell’s goal failed to arouse Hull from their slumber as Blackburn continued to press forward for a third goal before the break.

And it nearly arrived after 34 minutes when Armstrong’s direct shot from 12 yards, following another good Reed cross from the right, spooned off a defender for a corner.

Hull finally contributed to a one-sided affair, but Blackburn remained a potent threat after the restart – especially from aerial balls and set-pieces.

Indeed, one such move after 64 minutes allowed Danny Graham a sight on goal from a very tight angle.

David Marshall seemingly had all bases covered, but Graham let fly with a ferocious drive which struck the base of the right post.

The Hull goalkeeper might also have thought he had done enough to prevent a Blackburn third when he expertly palmed Armstrong’s curling shot towards the right of the penalty box.

Marshall stopped Reed’s initial attempt from that rebound, but he could do nothing about the on-loan winger’s follow-up – a crafty, right-footed dink which confirmed another Blackburn triumph.