Blackburn Rovers 1-0 Preston North End: Ohashi snatches winner on O´Neill´s home bow

Yuki Ohashi clinched Blackburn Rovers a dramatic last-gasp 1-0 win over Preston North End to boost their Championship survival hopes.

In Michael O’Neill’s first match in charge at Ewood Park, it took until the closing seconds to clinch all three points, with Preston missing the chance to move into the play-off places.

The visitors started on the front foot, with heavy winds almost catching out Blackburn’s defence when Alfie Devine’s corner got caught in it, but it looped onto the crossbar two minutes in.

Lewis Dobbin then saw a low effort pushed away by Balazs Toth before Blackburn upped the pressure without testing David Cornell, with Ryoya Morishita blazing over their best opening.

Both sides continued to push in the second half without testing the goalkeepers, though Toth had another nervy moment as Devine’s left-sided free-kick missed everyone in the middle before clipping the far post just after the hour.

Mathias Jorgensen and Ohashi forced smart saves out of Cornell as Blackburn pushed for a late winner.

And the Japan international eventually got it in the 95th minute as he ghosted away from his defender to thump Eiran Cashin’s looping cross past the wrong-footed Cornell to snatch all three points.

Full-time: #Rovers 1-0 #pnefc

Victory right at the death!!! #ROVvPNE pic.twitter.com/DmXLlFs6nt

— Blackburn Rovers (@Rovers) February 20, 2026

Data Debrief: O’Neill continues perfect start

O’Neill made it two wins from two since taking over for the rest of the season, while it is the first time Blackburn have won consecutive Championship games since early November.

On the balance of the game, the hosts deserved the win, having 13 shots worth 1.06 expected goals (xG) to Preston’s three, despite Paul Heckingbottom’s side dominating possession.

But while Preston missed the chance to move up to sixth, Blackburn got another vital three points that moved them six points clear of the relegation zone.