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Blackburn Rovers player ratings as Khadra strike ensures Birmingham defeat

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Blackburn Rovers' hopes of a top-six finish were dealt a blow as Reda Khadra scored against his former club to secure a 1-0 win for Birmingham City.

It was a third defeat in four matches in all competitions for Jon Dahl Tomasson's side as the Brighton & Hove Albion loanee returned to haunt Rovers. The forward fired in low from the edge of the box after a corner had been half-cleared.

Rovers had started the second half the better side after controlling large portions of the opening 45. Ryan Hedges thought he'd put the visitors ahead with a shot that was destined for the top corner until an intervention from John Ruddy.

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Ruddy had denied Hedges in the first half too with a much more routine stop. That was the best Rovers had fashioned despite largely dominating the match.

Birmingham had created opportunities themselves with Aynsely Pears twice called into action. He clawed Lewis Travis goal-bound shot away before denying a swift strike from Lukas Jutkiewicz.

Rovers created two good openings to take a point but spurned them both. Dom Hyam should've headed them level before a nice interchange between Ben Brereton Diaz and Bradley Dack saw the latter's shot squirm through Ruddy's legs but to safety.

Here's how Lancs Live scored the players' performances, with a six representing par for the course.

Blackburn Rovers (4-2-3-1):

Aynsley Pears

Pulled off a few smart saves in the first half to keep the score level. Came for crosses and got good distance on his punches. Khadra's strike came through bodies and may have left him slightly unsighted. 7

Joe Rankin-Costello

Enjoyed a really good first half where everything was flowing through him as he moved central. Birmingham changed their tactics slightly and managed to stifle him out of the game. 7

Hayden Carter

Rock-solid. Gave nothing away and dealt with Jutkiewicz's physical threat. Nothing more he could've done. 8

Dom Hyam

Didn't put a foot wrong either. The two centre-backs were probably Rovers' best players. Should've scored an equaliser after getting ahead of his man from a corner. 8

Harry Pickering

Solid if unspectacular at left-back. A few momenbts where he could've got tighter to his man, whether that be Chong or Jutkiewicz in the box. 6

Lewis Travis

Hard-working performance. Often ran into the right channel to exploit the space left by Rankin-Costello. 6

Tyler Morton

A frustrating performance from the Liverpool loanee. Wasn't on the same wavelength as some of his team-mates and was guilty of giving it away. 5

Ryan Hedges

Hedges is frustrating. He shows nice touches but leaves you wanting more. He came closest to scoring with a rasping strike that was well-saved by Ruddy. 6

Sam Szmodics

Looked the most likely to make something happen in the first half. Picked up some nice pockets of space and linked up with Dolan. Drifted out of the game. 7

Tyrhys Dolan

Showed some nice touches but they didn't amount to enough. Taken off just after the hour. 6

Sam Gallagher

Pretty anonymous for the 90 minutes. Barely touched the ball and was outmuscled by Long and Roberts. 5

Substitutes:

Sorba Thomas, (Hedges, 64')

Came on but didn't really grab the game by the scruff of the neck. 5

Ben Brereton Diaz (Dolan, 64')

Created a good opening with a reverse pass for Dack that was well saved by Ruddy. 6

Callum Brittain (Rankin-Costello, 81')

Came on to offer width down the right. N/A

Bradley Dack (Szmodics, 81')

Almost got the leveller with a good shot that went through Ruddy's legs but stayed out. Good to see him back. N/A

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