BLACKBURN Rovers players received praise in defeat as they ended the year with a battling 3-2 home loss to Birmingham City yesterday.

Gary Bowyer was disappointed not to finish 2013 with a victory that would have moved his side within one point of the play-offs.

But the Rovers boss was heartened with the fight they showed after going in at half-time three goals down.

A double strike from top scorer Jordan Rhodes set up a grandstand finish.

But Rovers were unable to find an equaliser as their four-game unbeaten run was ended in the last match of the year.

Bowyer said: “Birmingham might have gone in our half three times in the first half and scored three goals.

“The level of performance was decent and we were happy enough with how we were with the ball, although they were poor goals to give away.

“But the second half was absolutely outstanding.

“We could quite easily have collapsed and died but this group of players don’t know how to do that and that’s full credit to them because we turned that mentality around very quickly in a short space of time and on another day we might have got a point.

“But at the same time we could even have won it. It was a crazy game.”