Midfielder Sammie Szmodics grabbed his second brace of the season to ensure Blackburn’s 5,000th league game ended in a 2-1 home win against Middlesbrough.
Matt Crooks gave bottom-of-the-table Boro hope with a 55th-minute reply but, including last season’s two-legged play-off final defeat to Coventry, the Teessiders have now gone 11 games without a league win, equalling the club’s longest sequence outside the top flight since January 1925.
The game kicked off amid a mood of celebration as the hosts commemorated the landmark occasion by welcoming a series of club legends onto the pitch.
Among them were Premier League-winning defender Colin Hendry, former PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor and 89-year-old Bryan Douglas, who played for England at the 1958 and 1962 World Cup finals.
Rovers appeared buoyed by that reception and Tyrhys Dolan should have opened the scoring less than two minutes in, but he headed over an empty goal after Callum Brittain’s pinpoint right-wing cross had taken Boro goalkeeper Seny Dieng out of the equation.
The Senegal international was in the right position to parry away from Lewis Travis shortly afterwards.
Jonny Howson went on to fire too high with the visitors’ first attempt of the afternoon at the midway point of the half, before Szmodics fittingly grabbed the game’s opener just after fans had begun clapping on the half-hour mark in memory of PA announcer Matt Sillitoe, who tragically passed away last month at the age of 30.
After Sam Gallagher stepped over a forward pass by Hayden Carter, the ex-Peterborough midfielder swept a strike inside Dieng’s right-hand post from the edge of the box.
Boro rallied, with Marcus Forss forcing a smart near-post save from Aynsley Pears, while Emmanuel Latte Lath should have done better with two great headed chances from Howson dead-ball deliveries, directing the first wastefully wide and the second tamely at the home keeper.
An unchallenged Gallagher also missed the target for Rovers with another aerial opportunity from six yards on the stroke of half-time.
Dieng then had to be alert to deny Dolan just 25 seconds after the restart following a Szmodics right-wing raid, but the latter extended the lead in the 49th minute.
Receiving the ball from Ryan Hedges, Szmodics drilled a 20-yard effort that Dieng could only help into the top corner.
Boro refused to surrender, though, with Crooks cleverly flicking in from six yards from Forss’ cross to reduce the deficit.
After Dieng made a double save to deny Adam Wharton and Dolan, Boro then missed three great chances to level, with Latte Lath ballooning over, Forss prodding wide and Darragh Lenihan heading too high.
As the match continued to swing from end to end, Dieng displayed more sharp reflexes to deny Hedges twice and make a one-on-one stop to prevent Szmodics from claiming the match ball.
The profligate Latte Lath, meanwhile, burst clear on goal at the death, only for his heavy touch to gift Pears the chance to snatch the ball off his feet.
Leicester's Fatawu ruled out for rest of season with ACL injury
Leicester City manager Steve Cooper confirmed Abdul Fatawu will miss the rest of the season.
The 20-year-old sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury (ACL) while playing for Ghana against Angola during the international break.
Fatawu has featured in all 11 of Leicester's Premier League matches so far this season and has registered two assists.
No Leicester player has attempted (61) or completed (29) more dribbles than him, while his 30 crosses is also a team-high in the top-flight this season.
"It's not good, it's a serious injury," said Cooper ahead of their match against Chelsea on Saturday.
"It's a real blow, first and foremost for him, being a young player and having an injury as serious as what an ACL is.
"Albeit, it can be quite common in sport, and in particular football, but it's still a serious injury.
"For it to happen at a young age is a blow for him and a blow for us as well.
"He's obviously a big talent and a young player, as exciting as he can be at his age, with lots to learn.
"It's only a pause, and we will make sure, as difficult as it is at the moment for him, that he comes back being a stronger player and person, which, with the mentality and character that he has, I think will be the case."
Arsenal qualifying for Champions League quarter-finals feels 'surreal', says Slegers
Renee Slegers says it feels "surreal" that Arsenal have secured their place in the Champions League quarter-finals with two games to spare.
The Gunners will finish at least second in Group C after Lina Hurtig's late strike secured a 1-0 win over Juventus on Thursday.
What looked to be a frustrating encounter was turned around by Slegers' substitutions, and after missing a glorious chance, Hurtig was eventually the difference at the Emirates.
Arsenal created 3.69 expected goals (xG) from their nine shots, getting three on target, compared to just 0.5 for Juventus, who tested Daphne van Domselaar the same amount of times.
Slegers was impressed by her side's resilience as they pushed to come away with all three points.
"It's surreal to be honest," Slegers said post-match. "I never felt we would get into this situation. We have done really well.
"I was part of Jonas [Eidevall's] staff and there was so much that was built during his time. I don't want to separate that. There is so much we are still building on. It's surreal in so many ways but we are very happy.
"I'm just happy for the team to win. Obviously, we have amazing depth in the squad, and we know anyone can do it for us - whether it's starting players or finishing players.
"It's the visualisation of how much everyone contributes in the team. I think that's what it means for us."
Slegers took over as interim manager following Jonas Eidevall's departure last month and has gone unbeaten in her first seven games, winning six and drawing one.
They have won each of their last five in all competitions, and have not conceded a goal in their previous four matches.
"It was just a very impressive block of the team," Slegers said. "We conceded only one goal during this whole block, so defensively very solid.
"The players have been stepping up big time, they've been owning this; we tried to relay it back to them all the time, so giving them the ownership.
"I'm just very happy with how the block has been, different challenges along the way, so all games have asked something different from us. We've responded to that really well, sticking to our identity but also playing the game that's ahead of us."
Arsenal qualifying for Champions League quarter-finals feel surreal, says Slegers
Renee Slegers says it feels "surreal" that Arsenal have secured their place in the Champions League quarter-finals with two games to spare.
The Gunners will finish at least second in Group C after Lina Hurtig's late strike secured a 1-0 win over Juventus on Thursday.
What looked to be a frustrating encounter was turned around by Slegers' substitutions, and after missing a glorious chance, Hurtig was eventually the difference at the Emirates.
Arsenal created 3.69 expected goals (xG) from their nine shots, getting three on target, compared to just 0.5 for Juventus, who tested Daphne van Domselaar the same amount of times.
Slegers was impressed by her side's resilience as they pushed to come away with all three points.
"It's surreal to be honest," Slegers said post-match. "I never felt we would get into this situation. We have done really well.
"I was part of Jonas [Eidevall's] staff and there was so much that was built during his time. I don't want to separate that. There is so much we are still building on. It's surreal in so many ways but we are very happy.
"I'm just happy for the team to win. Obviously, we have amazing depth in the squad, and we know anyone can do it for us - whether it's starting players or finishing players.
"It's the visualisation of how much everyone contributes in the team. I think that's what it means for us."
Slegers took over as interim manager following Jonas Eidevall's departure last month and has gone unbeaten in her first seven games, winning six and drawing one.
They have won each of their last five in all competitions, and have not conceded a goal in their previous four matches.
"It was just a very impressive block of the team," Slegers said. "We conceded only one goal during this whole block, so defensively very solid.
"The players have been stepping up big time, they've been owning this; we tried to relay it back to them all the time, so giving them the ownership.
"I'm just very happy with how the block has been, different challenges along the way, so all games have asked something different from us. We've responded to that really well, sticking to our identity but also playing the game that's ahead of us."
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