Preston North End came out on top in the Lancashire derby against Blackburn Rovers.

Greg Cunningham opened the scoring with a fantastic left-footed drive after 19 minutes, and Liam Lindsay doubled the away side's advantage with a header two minutes before first-half stoppage time. 

Blackburn pulled a goal back deep into added time in the first period, but they couldn't find an equaliser despite huffing and puffing after the interval.

Blackburn Rovers

Goalkeeper

Thomas Kaminski 5 - Couldn't have prevented the opener, but he should have commanded his area better for the second. He looked like a rabbit in the headlights at times, making some dangerous decisions to rush off his goalline which he was lucky to get away with.

Defence

Ryan Nyambe 5.5 - Struggled to get into the game from an attacking point of view, and Greg Cunningham had plenty of joy down his side for Preston.

Darragh Lenihan 6.5 - A fairly solid from the Irishman who certainly wasn't at fault for the goals. 

Jarrad Branthwaite 5 - Not the youngster's best evening. Some of his passing was quite wayward, and he made some rash decisions defensively. Didn't manage to prevent Lindsay from heading in the second goal, and he was lucky not to give a penalty away after he caught Emil Riis in the box.

Barry Douglas 7.5 - By far Blackburn's most progressive performer in the first half. The Scot played some lovely passes down the line, and his crossing caused problems at times. He could have claimed an assist in the first half but Daniel Iverson kept out Adam Armstrong's near post flick.

Midfield

Jacob Davenport 5.5 - Struggled to find space in the middle of the park, partly down to Preston's effective pressing. Taken off at half time after failing to make an impact.

Lewis Travis 6 - Like his midfield colleague, Travis struggled to make an impact on the clash.

Bradley Dack 6.5 - Cut a frustrated figure in the first period as he didn't manage to get on the ball between the lines as much as he'd have liked. He did play a nice through ball to Armstrong in the first half though, and after the break he became more involved as he dropped deeper.

Attack

Sam Gallagher 6.5 - Plenty of effort and endeavour but Gallagher didn't make a huge impact in the final third. He did go on a couple of promising runs with the ball though.

Joe Rothwell 5.5 - Rovers struggled to get their wide players into the game before the interval. Rothwell tried to get on the ball centrally but he failed to influence the game and was taken off at half time.

Adam Armstrong 6.5 - The former Newcastle United man cut a frustrated figure at times as he certainly wasn't involved as much as he'd have liked. Armstrong did show flashes of his excellent movement though as he sniffed out a couple of chances in the area. 

Substitues 

Stewart Downing 7 - Got on the ball and played some decent forward passes from deeper areas, which was the kind of impact that Rovers needed.

Tyrhys Dolan 7 - Gave Rovers an extra dimension with his pace and trickery around the area.

Harvey Elliott 6.5 - Overall the Liverpool loanee had a positive impact and got on the ball in decent areas.

Taylor Harwood Bellis N/A

Ben Brereton N/A

Preston North End

Goalkeeper

Daniel Iverson 7 - Solid when called upon, and he made a great reaction save to deny Armstrong's front post effort in the first half.

Defence

Jordan Storey 7.5 - Defended the right channel very well as Alan Browne pushed up from right wing-back. Showed good mobility and solidity throughout. The game became a bit harder for him when he had to defend against the trickery of Tyrhys Dolan.

Liam Lindsay 8.5 (MOTM) - A rock solid display from the on-loan Stoke City man. He won everything in the air and he marshalled the backline superbly. Lindsay showed his prowess from set pieces.

Andrew Hughes 6.5 - Apart from giving the penalty away, Hughes generally put in a steady performance, although he did struggle with the pace of the game at times.

Midfield

Alan Browne 7.5 - Industrious display from the Irishman who looked to press high up the pitch. Browne got into advanced areas well and he provided a sensational cross field pass to his opposite wing-back Cunningham for the opener.

Ben Whiteman 6.5 - The game bypassed him a little bit from an attacking point of view, as Preston looked to go from back to front quickly. Although he didn't get on the ball as much as he'd have liked, Whiteman was on hand to make an important last ditch tackle and a few important interceptions.

Ryan Ledson 7.5 - A combative display from the former Everton man, who broke up play very well. Gave away a few silly free kicks though as he likes to play on the edge.

Daniel Johnson 6.5 - Wasn't involved a great deal from an attacking point of view, but Johnson's work off the ball was a vital component in the Lilywhite's pressing.

Greg Cunningham 8 - Produced the game's best moment as he scored a terrific opener from the left corner of the penalty area. The former Cardiff City man was aggressive in his pressing and he managed to shut off Preston's left flank very well.

Attack

Tom Barkhuizen 7 - Had a half-chance in the second half but he dragged the shot wide. Barkhuizen doesn't look confident in front of goal but his tenacity and pressing was vital to Alex Neil's side.

Ched Evans 7.5 - Like Barkhuizen, Evans defended very well from the front. He also held the ball up and linked play well in the final third.

Substitutes 

Brad Potts 6 - Added fresh legs and power off the bench but he had a great chance to pick out a teammate whilst leading a counter-attack, and he decided to shoot instead.

Emil Riis 6.5 - Should have been awarded a penalty after being fouled by Branthwaite. He nutmegged the Everton loanee superbly in the build-up to it.

Jayson Molumby N/A

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