Tony Mowbray frustrated by West Brom defending in defeat and outlines key miss

The Baggies collapsed by conceding two second-half goals to Rovers striker Makhtar Gueye as the visitors, whose head coach John Eustace is about to depart, claimed the important victory.

Mowbray was unhappy with the manner of the way Blackburn broke the deadlock from two contacts from a corner as defender Dom Hyam headed across for Gueye to volley in through Joe Wildsmith's grasp. Mowbray added that Albion desperately missed the aerial dominance of suspended defender Kyle Bartley and lacked a stronger desire to keep the opposition at bay.

Bartley served the first of a three-game ban for his post-match red card against Sheffield Wednesday last time out.

Mowbray said: "They scored the first from a set-play which is frustrating for us.

"Bartley is a huge miss for the team, because he's a centre-half who can dominate aerially.

"I spent my career trying to make first contact on set-plays against, you have to make first contact, even a flick or a glance, you don't have to bullet head everything over the halfway line. You can't let them have a free header across the six-yard box for the boy to volley in.

"Bartley brings that naturally to our team, obviously he's unavailable.

"You see crazy scenarios, everybody holding at set-plays, blocking, two arms around the waist, yet Adam Armstrong's goal that wasn't is ruled off for two arms on a defender while everyone else is body wrestling.

"They came, they frustrated. Forest scored seven with 35 per cent possession the other week. What is possession of the ball if a lot is in your own half? Blackburn play like that and are pretty good at what they do. Congratulations to them and we have to get better at what we do."

Mowbray had not seen a replay of Gueye's first goal so could not comment further on the part Wildsmith played. The keeper, starting his second league game, initially looked to come for the cross that led to the visitors' second before retreating. Gueye was allowed an easy finish from Andi Weimann's assist.

But the head coach again reiterated the desire his side must show to defend.

He said: "I haven't seen it back, my recollection was a free header and they volleyed in, I haven't seen whether the goalie could've done better so I won't criticise, because I haven't seen it.

"My first thought is, as in my (playing) career, is to find a way. You can't accept because somebody is bigger than you they can head it inside the box. Stop them, block them, let the referee make a decision, don't let them have a free header."

Albion lacked in the final third throughout, with a first-half Torbjorn Heggem header against the woodwork the closest the hosts came.

He said of that:  "We're left disappointed. I've seen Blackburn live twice this season and they won 1-0 at the Riverside both times. They are very well organised defensively. They go man-for-man and don't give you a second, they're good at what they do.

"We have to keep working on what we do, braver to get the ball through the lines, more individual bravery to get the strikers in.

"The wide players didn't really eliminate anybody tonight. They (Blackburn) worked really hard in the wide areas to get two men against our wingers, which is why we took them both off, to try to find different spaces. We couldn't find a way to score."