“Oxford United got lucky, they should be grateful that I didn’t…”- Blackburn Rovers boss outlines reason why Oxford United got a ‘lucky’ draw

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Byadmin
December 10, 2025

“Oxford United got lucky, they should be grateful that I didn’t…”- Blackburn Rovers boss outlines reason why Oxford United got a ‘lucky’ draw

Valerien Ismael conceded Blackburn Rovers should’ve beaten Oxford United but was keen to focus on the positives.

Rovers drew 1-1 on Tuesday night against the Yellows. Todd Cantwell netted an equaliser from the spot to cancel out Ciaran Brown’s opener on the stroke of half-time.

It means Blackburn have won one of their first 10 league games at Ewood Park which is a big frustration. Ismael believes injuries have been a key reason behind their slow starts at home.

“Yes (it’s two points dropped), when you play at home, you want to win,” he told BBC Radio Lancashire.

“For 90 minutes, I think we were just the additional time, one minute, we concede that goal and it’s enough not to win the game. If you stay 0-0 in the game, in the second half we knew Todd would come on and we’d be better.

“Nonetheless, I want to keep the positivity. Second half, I wanted to see clearly that when our players come back from injury, it looks completely different.

“More control, more composure on the ball, more creativity. Todd is clearly our technical leader and you see when he’s on the pitch, he gives that confidence to everyone.

“I think Moussa came on and was very strong. Dion gave good energy. We’re doing the right things, we’re still unbeaten, a lot of positives we can take from the game.

“On the other hand, we are seeing some players are getting tired now after a lot of games. We’ve got Saturday and then a week to recover properly for the Millwall home games.

“If you see the week, it’s been a bit complicated again. Ipswich game, missing 30 seconds for the win, Saturday we had the win and we know what happens. Today we come back so good mentality from the boys.

“The preparation was not easy but nonetheless, they came back and showed great mentality. It’s an honest group and they give everything on the pitch.

“When we do that and we get players back, we will start to win games at home and get some consistency to create momentum.”

“The opponent wasn’t that dangerous,” he added.

“We had to just get through the first half with the game plan to bring Todd on and that brings something different. The game plan was there but we conceded the goal in a bad situation.

“I’d rather concede in the last minute of the first half than the second. I think when we’ve played teams at home who gives us the ball, you need a profile of player who can take responsibility.

“At the minute, we’re missing Sonny and Todd from the start. I think this is the main problem. We look completely different with them and my job in the next few weeks is to try and get the players back and start games better at home.

“Other players are trying their best but they’re not the right type. We have to deal with the injuries and the squad we have.”