Stead a head of the rest

Right now, Graeme Souness wouldn't swap his former Huddersfield striker for all the tea in China.

And who could blame him as Blackburn Rovers' hero of the hour worked his famous magic once again to seal the victory that surely banishes all thoughts of relegation once and for all.

When Souness agreed to pay £1 million for Stead's services in January, not even he could have foreseen the huge impact the 21-year-old was about to make in the Premiership.

At the time, Rovers were deep in trouble near the bottom of the table and heading towards the Nationwide League.

But Stead wasn't fazed by the prospect of stepping up three divisions and coming face to face with players who had been his heroes just a matter of months earlier.

From the moment he pulled on a Blackburn shirt for the first time at Middlesbrough in early February, the unassuming Yorkshireman has looked at home in the Premiership.

And that's exactly where he and Rovers will surely be residing for the foreseeable future thanks to Stead's latest goal for his new employers.

The recently-capped England Under 21 international has now scored five goals in 10 games for Rovers.

That, on its own, is an impressive statistic but closer analysis reveals the true extent of the impact Stead has made on Blackburn's season.

Three of his five goals have been match-winners and a fourth was the vital late equaliser against Newcastle.

Of the five games in which Stead has scored, Rovers are unbeaten, having accrued 13 points from a possible 15.

It's therefore fair to say the spindly forward has already paid for himself.

And there's already a feeling around Brockhall that his scintillating form could carry him into the full England squad one day.

If Sven Goran Eriksson was looking for a barometer to measure his emerging talent then it came here at Goodison, where Stead managed to upstage Rooney with yet another goal of sublime quality.

Andy Cole engineered the opening, shrugging off Alessandro Pistone before delivering a pin-point cross which Stead nonchalantly flicked past Nigel Marytn with his head in the 81st minute.

It was the one moment of quality in an otherwise scrappy encounter and Rooney, a forlorn figure at the opposite end of the pitch, could only cast an envious glance in his rival's direction as Rovers took another huge step towards safety.

"It was one of Wayne's quieter days but Jonathan stole the limelight today," said an inspired Craig Short.

"The one thing about being a defender in this division is even though you are playing against the Henrys, the Rooneys and the Hasselbainks, you know what they're all about.

"With Jon you don't because he's got these little tricks and you're thinking 'this kid's from the Third Division and he shouldn't be doing that to me'.

"So he surprises a few people. He's scored some important goals for us and given the whole team a lift."

Although Stead rightly stole the headlines, the real heroes of this victory were Short and his defensive partner, Lorenzo Amoruso.

Souness first threw the pair together against Leeds a fortnight ago and it's no coincidence that Rovers have since won three on the bounce.

Amoruso, in particular, has been an immense presence at the back during the last two games.

Earlier in the season, the colourful Italian looked a liability as Rovers haemorrhaged goals like they'd gone out of fashion.

The critics - myself included - were quick to say he wasn't up to the demands of the Premiership.

He appeared to lack pace and concentration but perhaps most alarming of all was the ease with which he got pulled out of position.

At one point, even the fans started turning on him and his Rovers career was in danger of ending before it had begun.

But the former Rangers star has returned from a five-month injury lay-off to inject some much-needed steel into the back four in the club's greatest hour of need.

Whatever you think about Amoruso, he's the type of character who'll put his neck on the block for the sake of the team.

There are times when he still goes walkabout but he appears to have curtailed that wandering streak now he's got someone of Short's experience alongside him to tighten the leash.

Both were giants in snuffing out the threat of Tomasz Radzinski and Rooney, two sprightly forwards with the ability to cause any defence problems on their day.

In fact, the longer the game went on, the deeper Rooney seemed to drop.

But for all the teenager's darting runs and boundless energy, he couldn't influence the game in the way his manager would have wanted, which hardly augurs well for England's prospects at Euro 2004.

In fairness, this was hardly the type of game where individuals could stand out.

Rovers came with the specific intention of turning it into a battle and Souness's team-sheet reflected that.

Everton, meanwhile, were woefully short of craft and guile and their chance of victory all but disappeared once Thomas Gravesen limped off with a knee injury in the 23rd minute -- a statement which says much about the match!

Rival keepers Brad Friedel and Nigel Martyn were both required to make sharp saves in a first half that was slow to catch fire, but as it wore on the goal-mouth action intensified.

A sweeping move involving Michael Gray and Jonathon Douglas led to a chance for Stead but his volley lacked power and Martyn tipped it over.

Then when Amoruso finally found a way past the Everton stopper with a stooping header from Tugay's corner, Tobias Linderoth was on hand to boot his effort off the line.

Right on half-time, it was Friedel's turn to perform the heroics when an instinctive effort from Radzinski looked destined for the far corner.

Chances were few and far between in the second half.

Pistone volleyed wide for Everton and Martyn made another outstanding save to thwart Cole.

But just as both sides seemed ready to settle for a point, up popped Stead to grab a stunning winner, timing his run to perfection to flick home Cole's cross with a brilliant glancing header.

Now everyone can start to breathe more easily.

EVERTON 0

ROVERS 1

Stead 81

At Goodison Park Att: 38,884