Championship
BlackburnBlackburn Rovers2PrestonPreston North End2

Blackburn Rovers 2-2 Preston North End

Aiden McGeady (right)
McGeady (right) is on loan at Preston from Premier League Everton

Aiden McGeady scored deep into injury-time as Preston denied relegation-threatened Blackburn a vital win in an entertaining Lancashire derby.

North End took the lead when Tom Barkhuizen latched onto a Jordan Hugill pass to fire in from close range.

Lucas Joao hit the post for Rovers before Elliott Bennett's 20-yard strike levelled matters at the break.

Craig Conway converted Marvin Emnes' cross before McGeady fired in from 10 yards in the 93rd minute.

Rovers, who have now drawn their past three games 2-2, were just moments from creeping out of the Championship relegation zone but now find themselves still in 22nd place, a point adrift of Bristol City, Nottingham Forest and Burton Albion.

They have, however, improved significantly under new boss Tony Mowbray having gone unbeaten in his first seven games at the helm.

Preston opened the scoring with some superb link-up play between Barkhuizen and Hugill, with the former stabbing home from six yards for his fifth goal of the season.

Rovers were unlucky to not be level soon after, with Joao firing over the bar before nodding Derrick Williams' cross onto the post, but they equalised before the break when Bennett struck from outside the area.

And after some early pressure from the visitors in the second half, Mowbray's side took the lead as Conway slid Emnes' cross past Chris Maxwell from 12 yards.

Ryan Nyambe went close for the hosts late on before McGeady struck at the death to leave the 6,005 North End fans celebrating an unlikely point.

Line-ups

Blackburn

Formation 4-4-2

  • 1Steele
  • 24Nyambe
  • 26Lenihan
  • 14Mulgrew
  • 5Williams
  • 31BennettSubstituted forMahoneyat 76'minutesBooked at 77mins
  • 6Lowe
  • 23Guthrie
  • 32ConwaySubstituted forFeeneyat 80'minutes
  • 17EmnesSubstituted forGallagherat 80'minutes
  • 18Lucas João

Substitutes

  • 4Hoban
  • 7Feeney
  • 19Gallagher
  • 21Akpan
  • 28Mahoney
  • 30Brown
  • 33Raya

Preston

Formation 4-4-2

  • 22Maxwell
  • 5Clarke
  • 24Boyle
  • 23HuntingtonBooked at 87mins
  • 3CunninghamBooked at 67mins
  • 7HorganSubstituted forRobinsonat 67'minutes
  • 11JohnsonSubstituted forGallagherat 75'minutes
  • 4Pearson
  • 14McGeady
  • 29Barkhuizen
  • 25HugillSubstituted forMakienokat 77'minutes

Substitutes

  • 1Lindegaard
  • 8Browne
  • 9Makienok
  • 10Beckford
  • 12Gallagher
  • 17Spurr
  • 37Robinson
Referee:
Stuart Attwell
Attendance:
18,435

Match Stats

Home TeamBlackburnAway TeamPreston
Possession
Home57%
Away43%
Shots
Home11
Away15
Shots on Target
Home3
Away4
Corners
Home3
Away5
Fouls
Home8
Away10

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Blackburn Rovers 2, Preston North End 2.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Blackburn Rovers 2, Preston North End 2.

  3. Goal!

    Goal! Blackburn Rovers 2, Preston North End 2. Aiden McGeady (Preston North End) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Tom Clarke.

  4. Post update

    Connor Mahoney (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  5. Post update

    Foul by Callum Robinson (Preston North End).

  6. Post update

    Offside, Preston North End. Paul Gallagher tries a through ball, but Paul Huntington is caught offside.

  7. Post update

    Charlie Mulgrew (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  8. Post update

    Foul by Aiden McGeady (Preston North End).

  9. Booking

    Paul Huntington (Preston North End) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  10. Post update

    Lucas João (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  11. Post update

    Foul by Paul Huntington (Preston North End).

  12. Post update

    Attempt missed. Aiden McGeady (Preston North End) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Ben Pearson.

  13. Post update

    Attempt missed. Aiden McGeady (Preston North End) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Tom Barkhuizen.

  14. Post update

    Sam Gallagher (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  15. Post update

    Foul by Ben Pearson (Preston North End).

  16. Post update

    Attempt saved. Paul Gallagher (Preston North End) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.

  17. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Greg Cunningham (Preston North End) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.

  18. Substitution

    Substitution, Blackburn Rovers. Sam Gallagher replaces Marvin Emnes.

  19. Substitution

    Substitution, Blackburn Rovers. Liam Feeney replaces Craig Conway.

  20. Post update

    Attempt missed. Tom Clarke (Preston North End) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Paul Gallagher following a set piece situation.

As It Stood

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Newcastle38246870323878
2Brighton38238763333077
3Huddersfield37225104743471
4Leeds382161152361669
5Reading38207115149267
6Sheff Wed38188124839962
7Fulham381613966471961
8Norwich38169136556957
9Preston381512115347657
10Derby381411134138353
11Barnsley38149155555051
12Aston Villa381312133939051
13Cardiff38149155354-151
14Brentford38148166057350
15QPR38148164651-550
16Wolves37129164648-245
17Ipswich381015133847-945
18Birmingham381112153854-1645
19Bristol City38118195053-341
20Nottm Forest38118195364-1141
21Burton381011173953-1441
22Blackburn38913164657-1140
23Wigan38810203144-1334
24Rotherham3845293387-5417
View full Championship table

Elsewhere on the BBC