Fulham manager Martin Jol was left to rue a missed opportunity to claim three points against 10-men Blackburn as Fulham went down 3-1 at Ewood Park.
Yakubu was dismissed after just 23 minutes for the home side but the Cottagers failed to make the most of their numerical advantage, much to Jol's frustration.
Morten Gamst Pedersen scored with a free-kick just before the interval, which was swiftly doubled after the break by David Dunn's strike.
Damien Duff pulled one back but Fulham failed to contain a Rovers side that played with real fight, despite being down to ten men.
Substitute Mauro Formica eventually settled the game late on but for Jol it was a missed opportunity.
Jol said "I'm very unhappy because everything went for us, even the sending off went for us but we could not take advantage.
"They scored just before half-time and just after half-time, so you always make it difficult for yourself, if you concede two goals in that sort of situation.
"But I thought first half we were the better team. We could have played at a higher tempo but we did well."
Fulham shaded the opening 45 minutes and that display gave Jol the belief they would press home their superiority after the break.
He added: "I was surprised because in the first half I really thought that it was our day because we were the better team.
"The only thing is we forced the issue a bit, we should have been more patient. Then they scored but our intentions were good because we wanted to repair the damage.
"But after 2-0, we had a lot of offensive players but we couldn't make a defensive substitute because that would have been silly - we had to score goals.
"You can't say that they had a lot of chances, but all credit to them they tried to break us all the time, and had a lot of energy and pace."
The match aside, rumours continue to circle Fulham striking duo Bobby Zamora and Andy Johnson, with the arrival of former manager Mark Hughes at QPR in particular prompting questions.
Jol insisted that there had been "no contact" from QPR over Zamora, but confirmed that, with regards to Johnson and a possible move to Steve Kean's side, said: "There is an interest but I would like to keep him."
Belgian forward Moussa Dembele, one of Fulham's standout performers this season, had been forced off the pitch through injury in the first half, with Jol revealing that the problem is a familiar one.
"He felt something in his hip, not the first time," said the Dutchman. "I wanted him to play on but he couldn't."