Championship: Blackburn 1 Brighton 1

23 January 2013 00:36

Blackburn manager Michael Appleton was denied his first win in charge as a late Brighton penalty earned them a 1-1 draw at Ewood Park.

David Lopez went down in the box with a minute to play and scored the resulting penalty to earn a point for Brighton, following Jordan Rhodes' opener for Blackburn from the spot.

Rhodes made no mistake on 45 minutes after Morten Gamst Pedersen was fouled by Adam El-Abd, and Rovers continued to dominate much of the match but could not find the crucial second goal.

Blackburn made by far the better start with Justin Lowe denied by Brighton keeper Tomasz Kuszczak.

Brighton's best chance in the first half came when Liam Bridcutt found space at the back post but could not make enough contact.

Rhodes was denied a second goal in the second half when his looping header was superbly stopped by Kuszczak.

And just as Appleton looked to be on his way to a first win since taking charge earlier this month, David Goodwillie bundled over Lopez in the box.