Tony Mowbray accepts Blackburn’s performance was below par against Blackpool

Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray accepted his team’s performance fell “below our normal standard” after their play-off hopes suffered a setback in a 1-1 draw with Blackpool.

Rovers looked on course to go level on points with two teams in the top six after Sam Gallagher’s deft finish in the 10th minute – his eighth of the season – set them on their way.

But Blackpool equalised three minutes into the second half when Marvin Ekpiteta reacted quickest to slot home after Rovers failed to clear a corner and it secured a deserved point that would have been more had CJ Hamilton converted a glorious early chance for the Tangerines, who also hit the woodwork in injury time through Josh Bowler.

Blackburn remain in a decent position, two points off sixth-placed Sheffield United, with favourable remaining fixtures. But it was a deflating result that means they’ve won just three of their last 13, and Mowbray conceded his team were below par.

He said: “I think we fell below our normal standard today. I think the dressing room is disappointed. I’m not talking out of turn, I’ve just told them, I think our back three have been our best players this year.

“Strong, powerful and resilient, and yet I think we didn’t give them a tough day today. The ball stuck around our box too long. We didn’t win enough first contacts.

“From basic play, long throws, wide free-kicks, didn’t get headed out of our box. We talked about it at half-time and yet they scored a goal because the ball bounced around in our six-yard box.

“I can’t sit here and complain. We take the point and move on. Five more games, every game is different, every game stands on its own two feet. They’re a team that have all season, against every team, have given a good account of themselves really. They work really hard and are difficult to play against.”

Blackpool halted a two-game losing run, but they are the only games they have lost in seven, and Neil Critchley was proud of his team’s “deserved” point after a tough week.

He said: “It was a hard-fought game, two committed teams, I’m so proud of the players and the way they played the game.

“To concede the goal we did, the type of goal and to show the response we did shows the type of players and people we’ve got in our dressing room.

“We’ve had a tough week and to come to a club like Blackburn who are pushing to get into the play-offs, and the quality of player they’ve got, to go toe-to-toe with them and take the game to them the best we can, I felt that we deserved a point.

“I’ve got to say, over the course of the 90-odd minutes, they’ve not really created a clear-cut opportunity. There were some crosses, long-range shots and set pieces but for us, after the week we’ve had, how much energy we’ve put into the games, and for us to come here and play like we did, I’m so proud of the players.”