Stoke City Fight Back to Earn Draw Against Blackburn

Adam Forshaw scored his first goal since February 2025, giving Blackburn a 1-1 draw against 10-man Stoke City. Forshaw's 21st-minute goal, his third in a decade, was cancelled out by Jesurun Rak-Sakyi's 56th-minute equalizer for Stoke. The home side finished with 10 men after Ash Phillips was sent off for a second bookable offense. Blackburn boss Michael O'Neill, who managed Stoke from 2016 to 2019, saw his side take a deserved lead but was denied all three points. Forshaw's goal was a rare highlight in his goalscoring record, and it came after Ryoya Morishita and Yuki Ohashi carved open the Stoke defense. Stoke responded well to going behind, with Sam Gallagher seeing a goal-bound effort cleared off the line by Eiran Cashin. The home side started the second half positively and were rewarded with their equalizer, which came after good work by Eric Bocat and Million Manhoef. Rak-Sakyi almost doubled his tally but curled his shot wide, while Moussa Baradji and Todd Cantwell also tried their luck for Blackburn. Substitute Lamine Cisse should have won it for Stoke late on but hit his shot straight at goalkeeper Balazs Toth. Stoke manager Mark Robins reflected on the fans' disappointment, saying the team needs Championship-ready players to achieve promotion. Blackburn boss Michael O'Neill, meanwhile, believes his side must take their unbeaten form into the remaining four games to ensure survival.