A FURIOUS Blackburn Rovers boss Gary Bowyer admitted his side got exactly what they deserved after they went down to a 3-1 defeat at Ipswich Town.

“It was not acceptable tonight in terms of the goals that we gave away,” said Bowyer after Rovers suffered their fifth away loss of the season.

Ipswich took the lead in the fourth minute after a Tommy Spurr headed clearance fell to Luke Hyam who was given the time and space to fire in from 20 yards.

Rovers levelled in the 30th minute when former Tractor Boys striker Jordan Rhodes – making his first return to Portman Road – latched on to Grant Hanley’s long ball over the top, skipped past Dean Gerken and slipped the ball into the empty net.

It was Rhodes’ 11th goal of the campaign and his 126th in 214 matches since being controversially sold by then Ipswich manager Roy Keane in July 2009.

But that was as good as it got for Rovers as their encouraging first-half performance was undone by a second-half showing to forget.

Carlos Edwards hammered the hosts back in front in the 48th minute from close range, after the visitors failed to clear their lines, and they made the game safe late on when Frank Nouble tapped in after a horrible error by goalkeeper Jake Kean.

The defeat meant 13th-placed Rovers missed the chance to close the gap on the play-off places to two points.

They will travel to second-placed QPR on Saturday without Todd Kane through a one-match suspension after the right-back picked up his fifth booking of the season.

Bowyer will also have to assess the fitness of centre-back Grant Hanley after he came off injured.

For a full match report see tomorrow’s Lancashire Telegraph.

Ipswich: Gerken, Chambers, Berra, Smith, Cresswell, Edwards, Hyam, Skuse (Tunnicliffe 90), Hunt (Mings 81), McGoldrick (Murphy 81), Nouble. Subs not used: Loach, Tabb, Anderson, Graham.

Booked: Berra, Nouble.

Goals: Hyam 4, Edwards 48, Nouble 86.

Rovers: Kean, Kane, Dann, Hanley (Kilgallon 59), Spurr, Cairney, Williamson, Lowe, King (Marshall 66), Rhodes, Campbell (Gestede 76), Subs not used: Eastwood, Rochina, Judge, Henley.

Booked: Campbell, Kane, Marshall.

Goal: Rhodes 30.

Referee: Frederick Graham.

Attendance: 14,953 (302 away).