Match Report

Preston North End player ratings v Blackburn Rovers as Alan Browne shines again

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Preston North End claimed all three points and bragging rights after beating Blackburn Rovers 2-1 on Friday night.

Alan Browne opened the scoring with a superb goal, taking in a Brad Potts pass before smashing past Leopold Wahlstedt.

Rovers did draw level after the break though, as Sammie Szmodics ran in behind to slot past Freddie Woodman.

PNE had to withstand Rovers pressure but found a winner late on as Ben Whiteman crossed for Liam Lindsay to plant a diving header into the net.

North End fans behind the goal were sent into absolute delirium as PNE grabbed another Ewood Park victory.

Here are our player ratings from a memorable North End victory…

Blackburn Rovers v Preston North End - Sky Bet Championship
Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Freddie Woodman 7 Caught out a little for the Rovers leveller but solid handling throughout.

Jordan Storey 8 Has really grown in confidence in the right-sided centre back role, showing more belief when carrying the ball out from the back. Did well defensively too.

Liam Lindsay 8 Strong at the back and popped up with the winning goal with a last-gasp diving header in front of the travelling fans; the stuff dreams are made of!

Kian Best 8 Fresh off a first England Under-18 call-up, Best turned in an impressive display as he defended well whilst offering real quality on the ball. Passes forward and crosses into the box were of real quality.

Brad Potts 7 Started slowly but played a superb pass for Alan Browne’s goal and put in another massive shift up the right flank.

Liam Millar 5 We are huge fans of Millar but this just wasn’t really his game. Direct and able to take PNE up the pitch, but nothing quite went Millar’s way in the final third.

Ben Whiteman 7 Strong in front of the back three, always seems so calm and composed on the ball and set up Liam Lindsay’s winner.

Alan Browne 9 Browne was exceptional against Coventry City last week and replicated that at Ewood Park. A sumptuous touch and finish put North End ahead, and Browne was the driving force in midfield throughout.

Duane Holmes 6 So very nearly scored in the second half but hit the post. Always a danger in transition but seemed to tire after the break.

Will Keane 6 Some nice link-up play, as we have some to expect from Keane, but didn’t pose a major attacking threat to the Rovers defence.

Milutin Osmajic 6 A bit more awareness of his surroundings on two occasions could have given Osmajic big chances to score, but we was sloppily offside. Battled hard and his energy when pressing meant Blackburn couldn’t settle.

Substitutes

Ched Evans 7 Made a big impact at the right time for North End. Rovers were on top, but Evans helped bring a little more control to PNE attacks with some valuable, experienced centre forward play.

Mads Frøkjær-Jensen 7 Tried to make things happen with his creativity, but it was his endeavour to beat a Blackburn man to a bouncing ball which set up PNE’s winner. A valuable cameo.

Robbie Brady 6 Has come in for criticism of late but did a decent job on the left side after his introduction.