Blackburn Rovers boss Gary Bowyer has described his side's first-half showing against Brighton & Hove Albion as the "worst" since he took charge of the club two years ago.
The Lancashire outfit failed to truly trouble their lowly opponents at Ewood Park as Matt Kilgallon's own goal with a quarter of the game gone proved to be the decisive moment in yesterday's 1-0 reverse.
A second home defeat in the space of four days leaves Blackburn 13 points off a place in the playoffs, with Bowyer admitting that his side will be left to rue their poor recent results during the two-week break.
"I thought the first 45 minutes was the worst since we've been in charge," he told the club's official website. "The game wasn't a classic - you look at the standard of the goal that we conceded, it was shocking. The standard that we expect and the standard that we have set was not met today.
"In the second half I thought we had a bit more of a go, but you can't expect just to turn up and beat teams. I thought their goalkeeper has made two outstanding saves - Jordan [Rhodes]'s header that hits the post and Marcus [Olsson]'s strike from the edge of the box.
"It is a disappointing end and it is even more disappointing when it is in front of your home fans as well. I totally understand the fans frustration. We now go into the break with this result hanging over us, so it is going to hurt before we play Leeds."
Rovers follow up that match against Leeds with a trip to Reading at the start of next month.
Daniel Lewis
