Devine intervention sees Blackburn secure victory
Quick-thinking Laurie uses his head to see off Sauchie
Laurie Devine’s first-half header proved to be enough as Blackburn United gave their hopes of avoiding relegation a boost with a home win over Sauchie.
A bumper crowd took advantage of free entry, with the Burnie deciding to open the gates since the last two meetings between the clubs had both been abandoned due to the weather.
From the first whistle both teams set a frantic pace, but the early exchanges were devoid of any clear-cut chances.
In the opening half hour, both United’s Callum Heath and Sam Davidson for the visitors tried their luck from distance, but neither effort looked likely to open the scoring.
However, with nine minutes of the first-half remaining, United found their opening.
Right-back James Mildren showed plenty of determination to keep what seemed like a lost cause in play before his cross from the byline was met by the head of Devine who was able to guide the ball high into the net.
This seemed to give Blackburn the impetus to kick on and they pushed for a another goal early in the second-half, but not before the visitors had a penalty claim turned down as they felt Lyall Cameron’s clearance took more of Connor Kelly than the ball, but officials disagreed.
Devine looked full of confidence following his goal and went close twice in quick succession.
On 65 minutes, he picked up Heath’s cross-field ball and cut inside before forcing Clark into a good save.
He then was played in by Garrad’s skilful work, but saw his effort cleared off the line after
navigating a crowded penalty area.
Garrad and Danny Campbell would then each squander late chances . A fine last ditch tackle
from Will Greenhorn denied Garrad a perfect opportunity to add to the lead before Campbell could only produce a tame shot
after Devine teed him up. In the end, a resounding defensive display meant that those missed chances didn’t matter and Blackburn know victory over the same opponents on April 5 in Clackmannanshire will see them jump out of the bottom four.