Yuki Ohashi gave Blackburn Rovers a dramatic 1-0 win over Preston North End to boost their hopes of survival in the Championship.
In Michael O’Neill’s first game in charge at Ewood Park, it took until the final seconds to get all three points, with Preston missing the chance to progress into the play-off places.
The visitors started on the front foot, with the strong wind almost overtaking Blackburn’s defense as Alfie Devine’s corner went in, but it looped onto the crossbar after two minutes.
Lewis Dobbin then saw a low effort pushed away by Balaz’s Toth before Blackburn piled on the pressure without testing David Cornell, with Ryoya Morishita blazing over their best opening.
Both sides continued to push in the second half without testing the goalkeepers, although Toth suffered another nervous moment when Devine’s free-kick on the left missed everyone in the middle before hitting the far post just after the hour mark.
Mathias Jorgensen and Ohashi forced smart saves from Cornell as Blackburn pushed for a late winner.
And the Japan international finally got the ball in the 95th minute when he broke away from his defender and smashed Eiran Cashin’s looping cross past the wrong-footed Cornell to take all three points.
Full-time: #Rovers 1-0 #pnefc
Victory at the moment of death!!! #ROVvPNE pic.twitter.com/DmXLlFs6nt
— Blackburn Rovers (@Rovers) February 20, 2026
Data debrief: O’Neill continues perfect start
O’Neill has made it two wins from two since taking over for the remainder of the season, while it is the first time Blackburn have won back-to-back Championship games since early November.
Overall, the hosts deserved the win, with 13 shots worth 1.06 expected goals (xG) to Preston’s three, despite Paul Heckingbottom’s side dominating possession.
But while Preston missed the chance to move up to sixth, Blackburn picked up a further three crucial points, moving them six points clear of the relegation zone.
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