Blackburn Rovers will be playing Premiership football next season after they
secured the three points they needed with a tense 1-0 win at Preston.
With the race for the final automatic promotion place looking to be going down
to the wire, Matt Jansen headed his 23rd goal of the season to ensure that
Bolton cannot catch Graeme Souness' men in second place.
North End, already guaranteed a play-off spot, had looked set to ruin the
night for Rovers as they continually frustrated their Lancashire neighbours.
Blackburn themselves had shown signs of nervousness as they squandered several
chances in an absorbing derby clash at Deepdale that also saw two goals
disallowed.
Eventually the vital winner fell after 71 minutes, inevitably from top scorer
Jansen, who after PNE had failed to clear from a corner, rose to turn a
point-blank header past David Lucas.
But the jubilant Rovers fans at the final whistle knew they had almost met
their match in vastly improved North End, who had begun the game on the back of
three straight wins.
Souness' men thought they had quelled their tension as early as the 11th
minute, but after Damien Johnson had converted an eight-yard strike the referee
cited offside.
Six minutes later and it was Preston's turn to pressure Rovers, with Jon
Macken's ambitious dribble nearly culminating in a free shot before being
eventually deflected for a corner.
Garry Flitcroft should then have beaten Lilywhites' number two keeper Lucas,
but after Mark Hughes' lay-off, the former Manchester City man shot wastefully
wide into the now demolished Town End.
And with only 23 minutes on the clock, Rovers again narrowly missed the target
with Jansen heading wide from a Jason Gillespie centre.
Two minutes later and Rovers clocked up their fourth clear chance of the night
- and some began to wonder if it was going to be one of those nights.
But the east Lancashire side were slowly beginning to demonstrate their
technical superiority, and after a rapid move involving Jansen and David Dunn,
Hughes' low shot was well blocked by Lucas.
Scottish winger Iain Anderson then provided Preston's best moment of the half,
only just missing Brad Friedel's left-hand post with a well-struck 30-yard free
kick.
And on the stroke of half-time Richard Cresswell's point-blank effort was
disallowed after a Macken handball.
Eight minutes after the interval and skipper Sean Gregan very nearly gifted
Rovers the opener.
The 27-year-old unwisely attempted to play his way out of the penalty box with
the quick Jansen in tow.
A slip from the Preston defender allowed Jansen in on goal, but Gregan
recovered well with a vital saving tackle.
After 57 minutes, Souness decided to freshen up his attack, replacing Hughes
with Marcus Bent.
And within a minute of coming on, Bent had twice troubled North End, firstly
with an acute drive parried by Lucas, and then with a free header the former
Sheffield United striker should have found the target with.
Bent was again at the centre of the action on the hour, but he could not
control the ball when through on goal and his eventual shot flashed harmlessly
across goal.
But just as visiting fans' minds were turning to a final day decider at
Gillingham, Jansen popped up as he has done all season to grab the winner.
Even then, Preston nearly equalised with just minutes on the clock, Macken's
shot ricocheting off Friedel's left-hand post.
But Rovers held on, and Graeme Souness and his impressive side are back in the
top flight.
Teams:
Preston: Lucas, Alexander, Edwards, Gregan, Kidd, Cartwright, Anderson (Gunnlaugsson 73), Rankine (Keene 58), Barry-Murphy, Macken, Cresswell (Healy 78).
Subs Not Used: Lonergan, Eaton.
Booked: Gregan.
Blackburn: Friedel, Curtis, Short, Berg, Johnson (Hignett 62), Gillespie, Flitcroft, Dunn, Duff, Jansen, Hughes (Bent 58).
Subs Not Used: Filan, Taylor, McAteer.
Booked: Dunn, Flitcroft, Jansen.
Goals: Jansen 72.
Att: 16,975
Ref: R Pearson (Peterlee).
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