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Patrick Bamford's first-half penalty was his first goal since 24 August

Patrick Bamford scored his first goal since August as promotion-chasing Leeds United held out for victory over Blackburn Rovers.

Bamford gave the hosts a deserved lead when he slotted home from the spot after Tosin Adarabioyo had fouled Luke Ayling in the area and then played in Jack Harrison to make it 2-0 with a good finish.

Derrick Williams crashed in a header from Stewart Downing's corner to give the visitors a lifeline before the break.

But Leeds dominated the second half, with Tyler Roberts and Harrison both going close to a third, but ultimately two was enough.

Marcelo Bielsa's men remain third in the Championship after victories for West Brom and Preston, over Hull and Huddersfield respectively.

They were on top throughout against Tony Mowbray's Rovers, whose goal by centre-back Williams came from their only effort on target.

Bamford's penalty to open the scoring ended a run of 10 matches without a goal and the former England Under-21 international was instrumental in the second too, as his neat touch and pass set Harrison up for his second in two games.

Leeds travel to Luton after the international break, while Blackburn, who have slipped to 18th, host lowly Barnsley.

Leeds head coach Marcelo Bielsa:

"This is a player (Bamford) with a big character and a big personality. He took the responsibility (for the penalty), which isn't easy for him."

"At that moment (2-0 up), it was difficult to think the opponent could score. But after they scored, everything changed.

"After we scored twice, we had 10 or 12 chances but in the first and the second half we had a lot of spaces to attack. We didn't take advantage of that as much as we should."

Blackburn manager Tony Mowbray:

"It's always intense when you come to Elland Road, but the referee gives a penalty, which I've seen back a few times on the laptop and it's soft to say the least. It spoiled a little bit of the game.

"Is the standard of refereeing in the Championship dropping, or is it just me? It felt like that game was a bit much for him.

"Leeds didn't have hundreds of shots and when we got back to 2-1 there was a nervousness about them. We wanted to prey on that nervousness but it never materialised."