Blackburn Rovers vs Peterborough United. Sky Bet League One.
Ewood ParkAttendance11,679.
Thursday 19 April 2018 22:07, UK
Bradley Dack's double inspired Blackburn to a comeback 3-1 victory over Peterborough that edged them closer to promotion on Thursday night.
Charlie Mulgrew's own goal had given the Posh a half-time lead at Ewood Park, but Dack's second-half strikes, either side of a Danny Graham effort, gave Rovers a much-needed win.
Tony Mowbray's side are now level on points with Wigan at the top of the Sky Bet League One table, although the Latics have a far superior goal difference and have a game in hand. More importantly, Blackburn are eight points clear of Shrewsbury in third and need just five more points to guarantee their Championship return.
For Peterborough it was a frustrating night as they threw away yet more points from a winning position - they've now conceded 27 this campaign in such a way - and they remain ninth in the table and three points off the play-offs.
Blackburn started well and were inches away from taking the lead after just two minutes as Adam Armstrong flashed a ball right across the box for Graham, who couldn't quite reach the ball on the stretch to poke into an empty net.
From there, however, it was the Posh who were better and they fully deserved their lead at the break, although it came in somewhat fortuitous circumstances after 44 minutes. George Cooper whipped a corner right into the heart of Blackburn's box, and Mulgrew managed to glance a header into his own net when attempting to steer the ball wide.
Blackburn rallied at the break and drew themselves level at 54 minutes. The goal was slightly fortuitous, however, as Steven Taylor's poorly-timed slip allowed Dack the freedom of Peterborough's box to power a header past Conor O'Malley.
Both sides pushed hard for a winner but it was Blackburn who got their noses in front seven minutes from time as Graham reacted quickest after Dack's initial header hit the crossbar to nod home.
And those two players combined to seal the win in the fourth minute of added time as Graham stole the ball back off Peterborough's defence before feeding Dack, who coolly slotted the ball into the bottom corner.
Always the man for the big occasion when Rovers are live on Sky Sports, Dack was inspirational in helping Blackburn's comeback. The Sky Bet League One Player of the Season scored two and played a key role in the other.
Tony Mowbray: "When you get to this stage of the season it's always about the result. It was a good game, their [shape] gave us problems in the first half and they managed to play through us, which is credit to them and Steve [Evans], I thought they were really good tonight.
"But the spirit of this team, they will just not get beat and I thought we suffocated them in the second half. Their fluency left them and we asked the qusetions. I also need to mention the Ewood Park fans, they were unbelievable and were almost sucking the ball into the net at the end. They deserve huge credit."
Steve Evans: "It was a game of two halves, we dominated the first and they dominated the second. We knew they'd react after the break and we're really disappointed we didn't get a penalty [from Mulgrew's] handball.
"I can be disappointed with the official but I'm more disappointed with our defending in the second half."
Both sides face away games in Sky Bet League One next Tuesday night. Blackburn head to Doncaster and Peterborough visit Shrewsbury.
