Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Blackburn Rovers and Cardiff City at Ewood Park as Bradley Dack's goal sealed victory for Jon Dahl Tomasson's side in their first game of 2023.
Sunday 1 January 2023 17:29, UK
Bradley Dack's deflected strike just after half-time was enough to give Blackburn a 1-0 win over Cardiff in a game of few chances at Ewood Park.
Jack Simpson's attempted block wrong-footed goalkeeper Ryan Allsop and nestled Dack's 20-yard effort in the bottom corner two minutes after half-time to earn Blackburn only a second win in their last six games.
Mark Harris could have given low scorers Cardiff the opener and twice went close shortly before the break, but the Bluebirds' timid attack was again apparent with only three shots on target across the 90 minutes.
In the end, Blackburn's victory could have been more comfortable but Ben Brereton-Diaz shot straight at Allsop from a tight angle, with the hosts made to sit out a nervy ending before moving back within eight points of second-placed Sheffield United, who travel to QPR on Monday evening.
Inside the opening minutes Sam Gallagher should have handed out-of-form Blackburn a confidence boost when catching Allsop off his line, but instead of attempting a chip went low and was denied by the goalkeeper's recovery.
A sodden pitch did little to help, with both sides unable to build up significant momentum after that opening spark.
Even so, Callum O'Dowda's quick thinking after a lax Blackburn pass gave Gavin Whyte a clear route to goal, before a heavy touch allowed Jake Garrett time to slide in and deny him.
Garrett was lucky not to be badly injured soon after when Simpson's late, high challenge struck him in the thigh, and the Cardiff defender was lucky his punishment was not more severe than a yellow card.
Blackburn may feel there was some justice in the part he played in their winner, diving in to block Dack's tame effort from distance and turning it past Allsop barely a minute after half-time.
Cardiff had sat back before then but dominated the ball after the goal, without the cutting edge to ever trouble Thomas Kaminski.
If there was to be a second goal, it still looked like Blackburn would be the more likely to get it. Brereton-Diaz was played in well by Harry Pickering, but needed better composure to beat Allsop from wide.
His miss proved immaterial in the end, with Cardiff's pressure too easy for Blackburn to handle and provide them with a welcome three points to see in the New Year.
Blackburn's Jon Dahl Tomasson: "Very pleased to get the win. It was a difficult game against a Cardiff team who came with a game-plan, 5-4-1, a bit of a wall to play through. I think we started the game really well, a lot of energy, good football, in the first half. At half-time, we spoke about solutions to get even more dangerous, and scored immediately afterwards so it was great that the boys took that on board.
"We could have scored more goals, and in the end, it was a typical game in the Championship at this time. It was a great win and it was great to hear our fans towards the end. Overall, great to start the new year with three points, a clean sheet and a good performance, so a big compliment to the lads. You can see we've been stretched and the boys really needed to dig in. I think it was a well deserved victory."
Cardiff's Mark Hudson: "We were resilient in the first half. We didn't start the second half as we wanted and then we are chasing the game and it is difficult to break down a good side. The shape change maybe didn't suit us. We had a couple of moments but didn't have cutting edge or belief around the box. I'm extremely frustrated. I thought by changing shape we'd get more attacking threat in the game but that didn't seem to be the case.
"They scored, we tried to change it up but didn't really pose any threat on their goal. We started the second half the way we did and then we're chasing the game. We've just got to keep working. We've got to keep believing in front of goal, believe that we can create and have faith in our ability."
Both sides are in FA Cup third-round action next Sunday at 2pm. Blackburn head to Norwich, while Cardiff host Premier League Leeds United.
Blackburn are live on Sky Sports Football again in their next Championship game as they visit Rotherham on Saturday, January 14. Kick-off is at 12.30pm. Cardiff host Wigan at 3pm on the same day.
