BLACKBURN Rovers midfielder Morten Gamst Pedersen said he and his team-mates felt like they had been punched in the face' following Saturday's heartbreaking defeat at the hands of Newcastle United.

Trailing 2-0 at the break and down to 10 men following the controversial sending off of Stephane Henchoz, Rovers then mounted a brilliant second half comeback, which was sparked by a stunning Pedersen strike.

But just when it looked like Rovers might rescue a point during a rousing finale, Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins then broke away and scored a killer third to condemn Mark Hughes' side to a sixth defeat in eight Premiership games.

An emotional Pedersen said: "After the game, it felt like we'd been punched in the face.

"We gave so much in the second half, we felt we deserved to take a point from it.

"We controlled the game for 45 minutes with 10 men and gave everything, so to lose felt like a big smack in the face."

After a promising start, Rovers then shipped two goals in four minutes during a nightmare period in the first half.

Any prospect of a comeback then looked remote when Henchoz saw red for denying Martins an obvious goalscoring opportunity' - a decision which the club plan to appeal against.

However, a spirited second half fightback, triggered by that remarkable Pedersen strike, almost led to a point.

Pedersen said: "It was a great goal, but I would gladly let someone take it away from me if it meant we could have got something out of the game.

"We deserved more than what we ended up with, but that's just the way it is going for us at the moment.

"Even the sending off was harsh. A yellow wouldn't have been a problem, but the red card was really hard.

"At least we showed that we are a good side, though, with our performance in the second half and we must take confidence from that.

"We are in a bad run, but small things are going against us.

"It is a long season, though, so we have to hope that Santa will come early for us and give us some luck next week!"

Saturday's result leaves Rovers in a precarious position in the Premier League table, just two points and two places above the relegation zone.

However, Pedersen insists he is not unduly concerned by the present league position, even though Rovers have some tough games coming for.

"We aren't concerned when we see the league table because we have only played 16 games and there is such a long way to go.

"We are only two points or so behind where we were at this stage last season.

"Big players are missing through injury, but while they are out, the rest of us have to be brave.

"We play Reading next week, then Arsenal and then Liverpool, so we can't say that we have easy games coming up.

"But if we go on and win all three of those games, just think where we will be in the table."