Blackburn Rovers vs Coventry City. Sky Bet Championship.
Ewood ParkAttendance14,728.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Blackburn Rovers and Coventry City at Ewood Park as goalkeeper Ben Wilson scored deep into stoppage-time to earn a point for the Sky Blues.
Wednesday 19 April 2023 23:32, UK
Coventry goalkeeper Ben Wilson scored a controversial equaliser five minutes into added time to snatch a dramatic 1-1 draw at fellow Championship play-off chasers Blackburn.
The Sky Blues, who had been lacklustre for much of the game, looked to be heading for a damaging defeat in their hopes of reaching the top six after deservedly falling behind to a guided header by Sam Gallagher six minutes before the break.
But Mark Robins' men, who failed to have a shot in anger in the first half, sprung into life in the final minutes of the game and Wilson, up for the last attack of the game, bundled a Gustavo Hamer corner over the line to snatch a remarkable point that could prove decisive at the end of the season.
Coventry remain a point behind sixth-placed Blackburn after stretching their unbeaten away run to eight.
Rovers moved back into the play-off spots but this will feel like a defeat after controlling much of the game.
The hosts were without the injured Harry Pickering from the draw with Hull. He was replaced by Callum Brittain as one of three changes.
Blackburn made the brighter start and should have taken a 10th-minute lead but Gallagher planted a free header straight at Wilson.
Unchanged Coventry looked nervous, misplacing a string of passes, and an assured Blackburn carved out another opening 10 minutes before the break when neat play set Joe Rankin-Costello on his way into the area but his low shot was blocked.
There was no escape in the 39th minute though as Blackburn once again sliced the visitors open with a slick counter that ended with Rankin-Costello whipping a wonderful ball into the box that Gallagher stooped to head emphatically into the right corner.
Despite their poor first half, the Sky Blues should have equalised three minutes after the restart when Hamer was able to run 30 yards forward with the ball under no pressure before hammering just over the crossbar.
He combined well with Viktor Gyokeres a minute later to set up another shooting opportunity but Aynsley Pears got down to his left to save.
At the other end, a well-worked free-kick saw Dominic Hyam play the ball into Gallagher's path but his powerful shot was blocked, saving a certain second.
A frantic finale saw a vicious Hamer free-kick tipped behind by Pears, who did even better in the 90th minute to pluck Hamer's corner from under his crossbar to save his team again.
But with their final attack, Hamer's set-pieces paid dividends, as his near-post corner was deflected into the path of the onrushing Wilson who touched the ball home to send the 2,818 visiting fans wild, although replays showed the ball may have hit his hand.
Blackburn's Jon Dahl Tomasson:
"We are disappointed to draw the game, especially the way we did it, conceding probably the last kick of the game, a situation we should have dealt better with. I don't want to talk about the goal they scored. Coventry are a good side, but I think we controlled a big part of the game. First half, we were in good control without creating the biggest chances, but we had the most dangerous moments.
"We scored a brilliant goal and to make this game safe, we should have scored a second goal to win it. But we can look at the results from yesterday and today to see we have plenty to play for. We were too deep in some parts of the game. But at the end of the day, using the hand with the goal is a tough one. The referee was in a perfect position to see it aswell."
Coventry's Mark Robins:
"I've just seen it close up. There's a melee and what it does do, it hits his knee. I've seen it hit his knee and go in. Why moan? They should have seen the game out. They didn't. We got a little bit of luck but you make your own don't you? Aled (Williams, goalkeeping coach) said to me do you want him up? And split second, I thought yeah we've got to do it because it might just cause a little bit of mayhem and it did.
"Credit to Aled, credit to Ben, being in the position he did. He actually went between the sticks, went in where the striker should be and he's ended up getting a goal. Funny, that. I think we deserved it for the second-half performance. First half, we deserved nothing from it. I didn't like the first half at all but the second half was a lot better."
