Blackburn 2 – 1 Millwall

Adam Armstrong’s late deflected shot snatched Blackburn a 2-1 win over Millwall.

It seemed almost certain that these two well-matched teams would cancel each other out after Harvey Elliott’s lavish curling shot provided to the Rovers in the 25th minute was blown away by Scott Malone’s lightning bolt nine minutes later.

The Lions thought they had done enough for what would be a hard-fought point, but Armstrong popped in to take his championship tally for the season to 14 after his shot found the net in the first minute of injury time.

The rovers have scored three wins in the round for the first time since November 2019 and remain close behind the top six, while Millwall’s five-game unbeaten run has come to an end, though they remained seven winless.

The injury deprived Tony Mowbray of Scott Wharton and Barry Douglas, although Daniel Ayala is back in shape. A shoulder injury ruled out Jake Cooper for Lions.

Fit Armstrong caused chaos with a penetrating run early before the ball landed on Elliott, who prepared for a nice low volley that goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski did well to save.

The match was tight in the first quarter, but something special broke the deadlock after 25 minutes when Armstrong’s perfectly weighted ball found Elliott on the right and the 17-year-old opened his body before deftly cornering a shot that flew over the Millwall goalkeeper and in the top corner.

Millwall recovered and Jed Wallace saw an agonizing effort deflect. He was involved 11 minutes into the second half when the Lions deservedly drew. His rushing run found Malone on the left and he hammered a side foot shot into the top corner.

Elliott came close before half-time but failed to touch Armstrong’s inviting ball and shortly after Jon Dadi Bodvarsson got the better of Ayala but his turn and shot were blocked by Thomas Kaminski’s legs.

Chances fell like the Rovers as the game went on. Substitute Tyrhys Dolan should have done better when he found himself over the Millwall defense, but he docilely threw Bialkowski, and Armstrong created space for a shot moments later, but was charged.

Just as it looked like the spoils would be shared, the Rovers broke Millwall’s hearts in the first minute of added time.

Stewart Downing was the architect, trying to design the space, and when his shot was blocked, the league’s top marksman Armstrong reacted faster, smashing a 12-yard shot past Bialkowski with a deflection.

There was still time for Tom Bradshaw to see a blocked shot and in the closing seconds Millwall was convinced that a Rovers handball should have given them a penalty, but the referee disagreed.