Preston 2-1 Blackburn: Lang double wins Lilywhites the Lancashire Derby | OneFootball

Preston North End ran out 2-1 winners over Blackburn Rovers in the Lanashire Derby at Deepdale this afternoon, thanks to a brace from Callum Lang.

Lang opened the scoring inside the first 10 minutes of the match, when he tapped home from close-range for his first goal in a Preston shirt. He then doubled North End’s lead before half-time, heading home a brilliant free-kick delivery from Jordan Thompson.

An own goal from Stanley Mills early in the second half gave Rovers a lifeline; however, it wasn’t enough to see them get a result in the end.

As it happened

Paul Heckingbottom named two changes to his Preston side following their midweek defeat, with Lang and Jordan Storey replacing Liam Lindsay and Jusef Erabi. Meanwhile, Blackburn made one change, with Adam Forshaw coming into the starting XI for the suspended Tom Atcheson.

An immediate reminder, if it was needed, that this is a local derby came after just 15 seconds when Léo Leroy brought down Ryoya Morishita. Daniel Iversen was forced into an unconventional save early on, clawing the ball back off his line from a Blackburn corner. He was called into action again moments later to deny Todd Cantwell, who had broken free inside the area.

Preston opened the scoring, however, when Delano Burgzorg’s sliced shot fell to Lang just a few yards from goal, who tapped in to a virtually empty net for his first Preston goal. Blackburn nearly got themselves level moments later, when Dapo Afolayan picked the pocket off Harry Clarke, but he couldn’t make the most of the chance.

Morishita looked certain to equalise for Rovers in the 22nd minute, but he fired over from 10 yards. Ryan Alebiosu was next to try and find the leveller, but his long-range effort flew narrowly wide of the top corner.

Yuri Ribeiro was then shown the first yellow card of the afternoon for a foul on Stanley Mills. The resultant free-kick saw North End double their lead when Lang headed home from inside the six-yard box after a superb delivery from Thompson.

Burgzorg broke through the Blackburn defence on the half-hour mark, but he couldn’t quite reach the ball before Aynsley Pears, who raced off his line to meet the Dutchman. Burgzorg received a yellow card before the break after taking too long over a corner kick.

Three additional minutes at the end of the first half failed to yield a goal for either side, meaning Preston took a 2-0 lead into the break.

A quick start to the second half from Rovers saw them get a goal back when Alebiosu’s low cross saw Mills turn the ball into his own net. Mills was booked almost immediately after for a foul on Todd Cantwell.

Iversen denied Andri Gudjohnsson from inside the penalty area minutes later, as Blackburn pushed for an equaliser. At the other end of the pitch, Burgzorg managed to get a shot away but saw it well saved by Pears. He was then withdrawn, as Johnny Kenny made his debut after signing from Celtic on deadline day. Erabi and Andija Vukcevic also replaced Lang and Caleb Wiley.

A double change followed for Blackburn, with Afolayan and Forshaw replaced by Jayden Fevrier and Hayden Carter. Clarke was added to Anthony Blackhouse’s notebook shortly after; for an aggressive challenge on Morishita, the resultant free-kick saw Fevrier rattle the crossbar.

Kenny broke with pace and power for North End; he looked to pick out a teammate at the back post, but the cross was inches away; had it connected, it surely would’ve been a third for the hosts. Mills was then withdrawn for Odel Offiah.

Alfie Devine was next to make way for Preston, as Heckingbottom introduced Liam Gibbs to the proceedings. Harvey Higgins also replaced Sam Morsy for Rovers. Iversen made another superb stop in the 77th minute to deny Gudjohnsson once again; this time the Icelandic forward had shifted the ball onto his right foot before unleashing a powerful effort.

As four additional minutes were announced by the fourth official, Thompson was shown a yellow card for time-wasting. Preston did well to see out the remaining few minutes of the match, confirming their derby day victory and their first points of the new season.