Stoke boss Alex Neil was disappointed his side allowed Rovers to “make it a game” during the final stages of their 3-2 victory at the bet365 Stadium.

The hosts took a commanding lead, with Ki-Jana Hoever bagging a brace and Tyrese Campbell also on target.

Ben Brereton pulled one back four minutes from time before Sam Gallagher headed home to set up a nervy finish for the Potters.

But Neil’s side held on to secure the three points and end Rovers’ winning streak in the Championship.

He told Sky Sports: “I don’t think we want to put a negative on it because I thought for 80 minutes of the game, we were excellent.

“The last 10 minutes, arguably when we changed it up and started bringing lads on, we seemed to lose our shape a little bit.

“We weren’t stopping crosses coming into our box and both of their goals were crosses. For both of them, we were in place to stop the cross and we didn’t stop it.

“Then what happens is it starts to become a game at that point. To be honest, Blackburn didn’t have any right to make it a game at that stage because we were comfortable.

“But it is food for thought for me. I’m disappointed in the last five or 10 minutes, but until that point I thought we were excellent.

“We scored three goals and it could have been more. Will (Smallbone) had two great opportunities in the game as well, so a lot of positives to take.”

Smallbone felt he should have had a penalty when he went down in the box under Dom Hyam’s challenge.

When asked about the incident, Neil added: “I thought it was at the time. As long as we got the goal and we won the game, that was the most important thing.”

The result sees Rovers miss a chance to climb above third-place Middlesbrough, while Stoke move up to 13th.

Jon Dahl Tomasson’s men are back in action on Wednesday night when they welcome Reading to Ewood Park (7.45pm).

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