Blackburn denied win over fellow play-off hopefuls Preston after late own goal

Posted Sunday, April 23, 2023 by PA

Blackburn’s play-off push suffered another blow as Dominic Hyam’s stoppage-time own goal saw top-seven rivals Preston snatch a dramatic 1-1 draw.

Rovers had appeared on course to claim their first Championship win in six matches when Sammie Szmodics fired them ahead in the 80th minute at Deepdale.

However, with five minutes of added time almost up, Blackburn missed a gilt-edged chance to make it 2-0 and Preston raced down the other end, where Liam Delap fired in a cross which Hyam deflected into his own net.

Blackburn’s fourth successive draw leaves them in seventh spot on 65 points, two clear of local rivals Preston in ninth.

Preston’s man in form Tom Cannon came into the game having scored seven goals in his last eight games and in the early stages he was playing with confidence.

Josh Onomah set him up but he swept his shot wide before he turned creator for Troy Parrott who was crucially dispossessed by Joe Rankin-Costello in the penalty area.

Rovers manager Jon Dahl Tomasson made a big call leaving star man Ben Brereton Diaz on the bench in favour of Tyrhys Dolan, and the decision nearly paid off when Dolan took the ball down and shot goalwards, only to see his effort charged down by Jordan Storey.

It continued to be end-to-end as Preston goalkeeper Freddie Woodman made a decent stop to deny Tyler Morton and, at the other end, Aynsley Pears saved Ben Whiteman’s effort.

Szmodics put the ball in the net for Blackburn shortly before the break but it was ruled out for offside against Dolan in the build-up.

Tomasson changed his wingers at half-time, bringing off Sorba Thomas and Dolan and introducing Ryan Hedges and Diaz.

It almost brought results straight away as Hedges got in down the right and tried to play in Szmodics only for the ball to be cut out by Whiteman who made a vital last-ditch interception.

Rovers were enjoying the better of the early second-half possession and the ball fell at the feet of Rankin-Costello in a promising position inside the area but he shot wide.

Blackburn fans behind the goal thought their team had the lead when Szmodics turned in Diaz’s cross, but celebrations were cut short when assistant referee Constantine Hatzidakis ruled it to out for handball.

The visitors were looking increasingly likely to score the first goal the longer the second half went on, and Rankin-Costello pulled another effort off target before Szmodics nearly met Harry Pickering’s cross.

Rovers kept on coming and their constant pressure eventually paid off when it fell for Szmodics whose shot nestled into the bottom corner.

There was still one final twist in the tale, though.

Hedges made a mess of his finish one-on-one, then the hosts broke up the other end and grabbed a late equaliser when Delap’s cross was turned into his own net by Hyam.