Preston North End 1-4 Blackburn Rovers: FLW report as Mowbray’s men run riot at Deepdale

Blackburn Rovers kept their Championship play-off hopes alive with a 4-1 demolition job on the road at Lancashire rivals Preston North End.

The first real chance came to the visitors and they took it expertly.

Harry Pickering, who had been booked after less than a minute for a foul on Brad Potts, whipped in a free-kick from out wide, which met the head of Ben Brereton Diaz.

The Chile international’s effort hit the far post of Daniel Iversen’s, but it came back into the path of Sam Gallagher, who reacted first with a diving header to give Rovers the lead.

That was a lead that ended up being doubled just minutes later, as John Buckley went unchallenged through the middle of the park and fired in a low, daisy-cutting shot that found the corner of Iversen’s net.

North End were being thoroughly outplayed by their Lancashire counterparts, who were passing the ball around PNE players like they were statues, so it would have come as a surprise to see the Lilywhites get a goal back just before the half-hour mark.

Greg Cunningham’s good play in an unfamiliar inside position of the pitch saw him feed the ball into Alan Browne, who cut back onto his weaker left foot before firing a shot towards Thomas Kaminski’s goal, which was deflected into the roof of his net.

Rovers would soon have their advantage back at two goals though thanks to their skipper Darragh Lenihan.

Joe Rothwell clipped a free kick from not far outside the box towards the back post, and up highest to meet the ball was Lenihan, whose stooping header looped into the far corner of the goal to make it 3-1.

North End went more attacking after half-time with Cunningham withdrawn for a striker in Sean Maguire, but it only took Blackburn seven minutes of the second half to