Valerien Ismael frustrated as Blackburn Rovers hit sticky spell

Blackburn Rovers have lost their past three matches and are five points adrift of the Championship play-offs after their latest 2-1 defeat against Cardiff City.

Rovers have endured a disappointing run of results as of late, the last three defeats all coming against teams threatened with relegation.

Yousef Salech netted the opener for the visitors before Yuki Ohashi quickly replied for Blackburn.

However, Yakou Meite restored the Bluebirds’ lead in the second half as they held on for the victory at Ewood Park.

Disappointed

Blackburn boss Valerien Ismael was left disappointed with the goals conceded, and an offside call that ruled out a first-half Tyrhys Dolan strike.

He said: “I think this one is the most disappointing because it’s a better game we had.

“We played well with belief and conviction on the pitch to do the right thing.

“Especially in the first half, we scored a goal, chances, the offside call was not offside from what I saw, then another situation, you’re losing players.

“(Emmanuel) Dennis will be out now for a couple of weeks.

“This one is tough to take.

“I think the first one we defended badly on the left side, we should do better.

“The second one, we had the ball in a transition situation and gave the ball easily away and in the end, you get punished.

“As always in football, the details make the difference.

“We invested a lot in that game but in the end, it didn’t drop on our side.

“I think the break is coming at the right time.

“The players need to breathe and we need to get some players back because it has an impact on the game.”