Blackburn manager Steve Kean was disappointed with his side's 2-1 defeat to Stoke on Monday, and feels his team have missed an opportunity to get out of the relegation zone.

A Peter Crouch double gave The Potters a 2-0 advantage, before David Goodwillie pulled one back for the hosts, but the game ended in defeat for Rovers at Ewood Park.

Kean has praised his players for their attitude, and feels that a poor refereeing decision may well have cost them a point.

“I felt the commitment was there," the Scottish coach told Sky Sports.

"I felt the second goal was a bit of a killer because we were pushing for the equaliser. We didn't deal with the counter attack. The ball has come in too easily.

"Peter Crouch, if he can get that type of service, then it's going to be tough. Having said that, we tried to get the line higher in the second half and pressurise their full-backs.

"As a result of that we dictated the second half, I expected when we got the first to get another and maybe even nick it at the end.

"We're disappointed with the goal that's been disallowed from Chris (Samba). The ref has said he's given it against Yakubu which was surprising because I've seen it again and he's stood there minding his own business. I thought it was a perfectly good goal.

"To get that wrong and then you've got Chris hitting the bar as well, we feel as though it's a missed opportunity today. We could have found ourselves out of the bottom three with a positive result.

"If we can keep performing we can soon find ourselves in a better position. I'm disappointed we've not at least got a draw," he concluded.

Blackburn stay in 19th place, whilst Stoke are up in 8th place after the victory.

By Gareth McKnight

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