Daniel Farke admitted the killer instinct of Blackburn’s Sammie Szmodics was lacking from his Leeds side after Saturday’s 1-0 defeat dealt a blow to their automatic promotion hopes.

Leeds dominated the Championship encounter at Elland Road but could not turn possession into goals.

Farke’s side remain third in the table when a win would have seen them seize the initiative from top two Leicester and Ipswich.

Farke said: “When you face a side like Blackburn with a player like Szmodics, he showed the quality which we didn’t show today and he needed just one chance to score.

“So many balls went through the box, but you also need to show the quality to put the ball in the net.

“If you don’t score you have so much more risk. There is also a danger there will be one moment for your opponent and they can score. It’s pretty disappointing and frustrating for us.

“We didn’t put the ball into the net. If you don’t score, you can’t win the game.”

Despite his players missing the chance to steal a march on their rivals, Farke refused to put the blame on them.

He said: “It’s up to me if we don’t score – to find solutions. I have to work with them so that in the next game we create more chances.

“It’s up to us in training to work on our efficiency and create more chances. Today we have created more than enough chances to score. I’m not the guy to point the finger at the players when we don’t score.

“If a team fights to survive and fights against relegation, if they try to annoy us with time wasting and whatever, it’s nothing that I can influence.”

Szmodics dealt the killer blow with a cool finish eight minutes from time as the visitors went route one.

Sam Gallagher headed on a long ball from Aynsley Pears before Tyrhys Dolan turned and fed Szmodics and he did the rest with a composed finish past Illan Meslier.

The Leeds goalkeeper had saved from Szmodics with Blackburn’s only effort of the first period, while Pears had saved from Crysencio Summerville, Wilfried Gnonto and Connor Roberts as the home side failed to make their dominance pay.

Blackburn head coach John Eustace was full of praise for his side.

He said: “I was very proud of the effort the boys have given me since I came in, it has been outstanding.

“To come here and play like we did was great. We had a game plan without the ball. I am delighted with the effort and very proud of them.”

Blackburn bounced back from a 5-0 defeat at Bristol City in midweek and that resilience was what pleased Eustace the most.

He added: “Wednesday was a bit of a blip. That certainly wasn’t a team that I have been a part of. We have been very difficult to beat.

“It’s very important that we keep working hard, sticking together. We have three games left and we still need points.”

Eustace praised Szmodics, adding: “Sammie, without his goals this season, we really would have been in trouble. The rest of the group have created those chances for him.

“Since I’ve been here he has been magnificent. To score 30 goals in the Championship is a fantastic effort.”

John Eustace says Blackburn have shown they are “ready for the fight” in the Sky Bet Championship relegation battle after a hard-earned goalless draw at Middlesbrough.

It was a sixth draw in eight games for Rovers, who are still waiting for their first win since Eustace took charge – but the manager was delighted with the display at the Riverside and felt his side deserved more.

“I thought we were outstanding,” said Eustace, whose team are three points above the drop zone.

“With and without the ball we were very good, we’ve had a really good week on the training field and I’m really disappointed we didn’t win the game.

“Again, we showed great character in difficult moments. I’m disappointed we didn’t win but delighted we didn’t lose.

“It’s another draw. I want more wins, of course, but you can see the commitment and character in the group.

“The games we’ve had so far, every game we’ve been fully committed and we’ve been unfortunate not to win more games. The fans can see the commitment week in, week out and with a bit of luck we’d have won this game but it just didn’t drop for us at the right times.

“There is pressure on everyone. We have to keep our head, keep positive, don’t get sucked into the negativity. We’ve been in the bottom five or six but it’s important we keep focused and keep believing.

“I haven’t looked at the other scores, I’m just focused on Blackburn and the commitment today was outstanding. We showed we’ll roll our sleeves up and we’re ready for the fight.”

Both sides had their moments at the Riverside, with Sammie Szmodics and Sam Gallagher going close for Blackburn but it was Middlesbrough who went closest when Isaiah Jones hit the bar in the last minute.

Boro are now unbeaten in four and have kept three clean sheets on the bounce but lost ground in the race for the play-offs and are now seven points adrift of the top six.

Head coach Michael Carrick said: “I’m frustrated, really, I think it was one of those games where we needed a moment and couldn’t quite find it, whether it was the pass or the finish.

“There was some alright football in between the boxes and we defended the box alright, but couldn’t quite find the moment.

“I thought we started alright and looked bright and dangerous and had a couple of opportunities that didn’t quite go in for us, then we lacked quality after that and didn’t have the moment to make a difference.

“There’s always a positive. The clean sheet, Seny (Dieng) has had to make a couple of saves but nothing extra special.

“We defended the box pretty well. Of course the clean sheet is important but we hope for more and the point doesn’t do an awful lot. It’s a little one to add to the tally but really it’s winning games that matters.”

New Blackburn boss John Eustace was left with plenty of positives from their derby draw at Preston despite seeing the home side fight back from 2-0 down at Deepdale.

After tasting defeat on his return to Birmingham in midweek, Eustace must have felt his maiden Rovers win was on the way after first-half strikes from Sammie Szmodics and Sam Gallagher put them in charge against their Lancashire rivals.

Rovers were unable to hold on, with play-off chasing Preston hitting back just before the break to level through goals from Robbie Brady and Emil Riis, but Eustace was nevertheless heartened by his team’s performance.

“I’m very proud of the effort of the group,” he said. “The way they dug in with a few difficult moments was very rewarding.

“We wanted three points with the way we started, it was exceptional. We executed the game plan and the first half an hour was very good.

“There were a few tired bodies, you could see that and the decision-making a couple of times towards the end of the half cost us.

“It’s disappointing, but there are a lot of positives to take from the game. The way we dug in, the way we stuck together, the way we defended a very physical team. I think this group of players have been questioned for that level of commitment to keep the ball out of the net and I think they did that.

“It’s a good point against a good team.

“There’s no feeling of what might have been because you don’t have any divine right to win any games.

“You have to battle and keep the ball out for 95 minutes.

“We were always going to be under bits of pressure. It was really disappointing to concede two set-pieces. We need to get better at that.

“We’ve got quality players and quality going forward and we showed that. Overall, I’m very happy with the effort of the players.”

Szmodics overtook Plymouth’s Morgan Whittaker at the top of the Championship scoring charts as he gave Rovers an early lead and Gallagher sent the visiting fans into scenes of jubilation with a neat flick in the 23rd minute.

But a four-minute burst scuppered their victory charge with Brady’s stunning strike opening his account for the season and Riis scrambling home his third goal in as many games to draw the hosts level.

“It’s a good point in a local derby,” said Preston boss Ryan Lowe.

“It’s frustrating. When we were in the ascendency and got two goals back, there only looked to be one winner and that was us.

“We were camped out in their half. When you’re two goals down and get back to 2-2, you’ve got to be pleased with the point.

“I was disappointed with the two goals.

“Both sets of teams were out on their feet at the end.

“It wasn’t for a lack of trying. I thought the lads were fantastic in sticking to it.

“It ends up being a bit of a dogged performance in the end. We played a lot of football to try and get our way in. It’s a point in the right direction at the end.

“They were mistakes and individual errors really. I’m not going to fault the players.

“When you’ve got one of the best players in the league through on goal he’s going to score. You can’t give those types of goals away.

“We had to deal with the ball down the side for the second as well. We need to find solutions for next time.”

John Eustace’s wait for a first win at Blackburn goes on after Preston battled back to claim a 2-2 draw in an entertaining Lancashire derby clash at Deepdale.

Eustace, whose first game in charge of Rovers ended in defeat at former club Birmingham, saw his side let a 2-0 lead slip but still dented Preston’s play-off aspirations.

All four goals came in the first half as Sammie Szmodics regained his place as the Championship’s top scorer before Sam Gallagher doubled the visitors’ lead.

But Robbie Brady’s 39th-minute strike and Emil Riis’ effort four minutes later secured Ryan Lowe’s hosts a point.

Eustace made two changes from the side which lost at St Andrew’s as John Fleck made his debut and Scott Wharton returned to the starting line-up, while North End remained unchanged from the side that beat Middlesbrough to earn a third successive win.

Blackburn arrived at Deepdale off the back of a turbulent few weeks but they quickly hit the front as star man Szmodics, who had already lashed an effort wide, opened the scoring after just seven minutes.

The 28-year-old overtook Plymouth’s Morgan Whittaker at the top of the second-tier scoring charts as he raced on to Gallagher’s flick on and coolly slotted beyond Freddie Woodman.

Down the other end, Liam Millar cut onto his left foot but could only tamely hit straight at Aynsley Pears.

Fleck’s debut lasted just 17 minutes before he was forced of with injury but Rovers were soon celebrating a second goal.

Gallagher sent the visiting fans into scenes of jubilation when he got in behind from Callum Brittain’s defence-splitting pass and converted with a neat flick in the 23rd minute.

It could have been three when Szmodics forced Woodman into a decent save after Brittain’s free-kick was cleared into his path.

But a four-minute burst saw the Lilywhites level before the break.

The first goal was a fine curling first-time finish from Brady, a stunning strike to open his account for the season.

And Riis scrambled home his third goal in as many games to draw the hosts level on the stroke of half-time.

Referee David Webb was jeered with chants of “you’re not fit to referee” from both sets of supporters after a break in play with an injury.

The momentum was all with the hosts after a scintillating end to the first half and Riis fashioned a chance for Brady with a cheeky backheel, but a pivotal Blackburn block kept the scores level.

Mads Frokjaer then smashed a 20-yard volley over as Preston continued to press.

Dangerous Danish striker Riis nodded an Alan Browne cross straight at Pears, who then produced an important stoppage-time save to keep out Browne’s header and help earn a point for his side.

Blackburn boss Jon Dahl Tomasson is relishing the prospect of his side hosting his old club Newcastle after Rovers came from behind to beat Wrexham 4-1 at Ewood Park in the FA Cup fourth round.

The League Two visitors were on for an upset when Andy Cannon put them in front in the 19th minute, bringing a huge roar from the 7,000-plus away fans in the ground.

But Blackburn responded in ruthless fashion with goals in quick succession just past the half-hour mark from Sammie Szmodics and then Sam Gallagher as goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo was punished for racing out of his area.

Szmodics, the Championship’s leading scorer this term with 16 goals who had bagged a hat-trick in the 5-2 third-round victory over Cambridge, then netted his second of the night just prior to the interval before Sondre Tronstad wrapped things up in the second half.

Former striker Tomasson – a Newcastle player in 1997-98 – said in his post-match press conference when asked about the fifth-round clash with the Magpies that had been set up: “It’s special.

“When I saw the draw, I was thinking about the Champions League game against Barcelona where we won it 3-2, I thought that could be nice if we were able to win against Wrexham, to see my former club here.

“We know how well Newcastle has performed. So I’m really pleased to see my old club coming here.”

On his team’s display against Wrexham, Tomasson said: “It was a good performance, and when you play the FA Cup it’s about winning.

“A game like this could be extremely dangerous, Wrexham are bringing on a Monday night more than 7,000 fans, they had a great run last season, beating Coventry, almost beating Sheffield United as well. The team have done a very good performance and we are pleased to be through to the next round.”