‘It was a poor game’ – Mowbray keen to move on after draw with Birmingham

Tony Mowbray admitted Blackburn’s 1-1 draw with Birmingham was a “poor game”.

In a largely forgettable match, both sides toiled for fluency and exchanged penalties early in the second half.

Adam Armstrong punished Wes Harding’s mis-timed challenge in the 55th minute, while Kerim Mrabti’s first of the season came from the spot eight minutes later after Amari’i Bell’s clumsy tackle on Jacques Maghoma.

Although Rovers have lost just once in the last 12 home games, this was another opportunity missed after the stalemate against Wigan, and Mowbray said the game was a “poor” one.

He said: “Let’s not beat about the bush, it wasn’t a very good football match, I’d have to say.

“But when we got 1-0 up from the penalty, I was struggling to see how they were going to score an equaliser.

“Whether we say it was a poor decision from Amari’i or a poor decision from the officials, it doesn’t really matter now. We’re stood here after two dropped points in a game that was always going to be difficult for us.

“Their selection suggested they were coming here to make sure they didn’t take another 3-0 beating like they did in their last away game.

“I don’t know what else to say. It was a poor game, I didn’t enjoy watching it. I don’t know what their manager thought, but goodness me.

“We just have to move on. We’ll be better as we move forward, so let’s see how we go.”

The Blues have won just one of their last 10 and haven’t kept a clean sheet since October – when they defeated Blackburn.

But Pep Clotet hailed the “resilience” of his side to come back from giving a penalty away.

He said: “I haven’t seen it back and I don’t know if it’s a penalty or not, but the linesman saw it very clear. I thought Wes had the position, but unfortunately this happened and he lost the position and was forced into a tackle.

“But the good thing it showed the resilience the squad had because I thought we created clearer chances.

“We had the 1v1 with Kerim, Maghoma had a couple of chances in the first half, and Jukey (Lukas Jutkiewicz) when he was grabbed on the corner and could not put a good header on it.

“That was only the first half, but in the second half as well, the side showed resilience. Despite being a goal down, I saw a stronger Birmingham. We kept attacking to the end, the last shot at the end was from Kristian Pedersen.

“We had a more solid display today but attacks quicker than usual.”