Rovers have it all to do

Genclerbirligi, inspired by the majestic Souleymane Youla, may have extended the hand of friendship off the pitch in a charm offensive designed to smooth Anglo-Turkish relations ahead of next month's Euro 2004 qualifier in Istanbul.

But on it they were merciless in the way they put Rovers to the sword, emerging from this UEFA Cup first round first leg tie clutching a vital two-goal cushion.

It remains to be seen whether the wounds inflicted here turn out to be fatal as Rovers contemplate the prospect of yet another desperately disappointing Euro exit.

But on this evidence, they will need to make a comeback of Lazarus's proportions in order to extend their UEFA Cup odyssey beyond the middle of October.

Quite simply, this was a night Souness will want to forget in a hurry.

Impotent up front, ineffective in midfield, and, most crucially, inept at the back, Rovers were consistently out-fought and out-thought by opponents who would struggle to hold their own in the Premiership.

Rovers had been greeted in Ankara by Turks bearing gifts, but it was the visitors' jittery back four who ended up handing out the presents.

Some of the defending needed to be seen to be believed as Genclerbirligi's Guinea international striker Youla was made to look like a world-beater.

Two goals in as many minutes in the lead up to half-time, the second scored by Youla, effectively knocked the stuffing out of the Premiership side.

Brett Emerton offered a brief flicker of hope when he pulled one back in the 57th minute.

But that man Youla then ripped the Rovers defence to shreds once again with his second of the game three minutes later to leave the Turks occupying the box seat going into next month's second leg.

"I think we've come abroad, the sun's shining, and some of us have been sloppy in our first half play," said Souness, who was clearly infuriated by his side's lethargy.

"Maybe some of our players approached the game thinking it was going to be easy and we just didn't perform on the night.

"Defensively, we conceded three very poor goals. We got ourselves back into the game at 2-1 and at that point I thought we would go on to make it 2-2, but then we conceded a very, very poor third goal again.

"It's disappointing, but it's happened, we've got a chance to put it right in the second game, and it's not impossible for us to win 2-0 at Ewood."

Impossible, no, improbable, yes, if they produce another defensive performance like this again.

All the talk in the pre-match build up had centred around the two sets of supporters and how they would inter-mingle given the recent hostilities between English and Turkish fans.

But happily the Turks could not have been more hospitable towards the 300 or so visiting Rovers followers who had made the pilgrimage to Ankara.

A troupe of dancing girls lay in wait at the airport to greet one group of Roverites, showering them with gifts of flowers and Turkish delight.

Then a team of Genclerbirligi fans took on their Ewood counterparts in a friendly seven-a-side game which the Turks won 4-2.

The carnival atmosphere also extended to the stadium itself with a traditional Turkish folk band providing the pre-match entertainment.

But once the game itself kicked off, that's where the hospitality ended.

Two-goal hero Youla and his strike partner Mustafa Ozden caused Rovers' suspect rearguard all kinds of problems during the 90 minutes with an intoxicating blend of pace and power.

Lorenzo Amoruso, in particular, had a nightmare at the back, his evening summed up when Youla left him for dead for the killer third goal.

The former Rangers man has shown at times that he can be a commanding presence in the air but he looks uncomfortable against anyone with pace and his tendency to stray out of position creates panic amongst his colleagues.

Souness's philosophy of trying to out-score the opposition rather than focusing on keeping things tight at the back is to be applauded given that fans pay good money to be entertained.

But seven games, 15 goals conceded, and no clean sheets tells its own story. Rovers have suddenly developed an unhealthy habit for leaking soft goals.

The problems were not just confined to the back four here, either.

With Barry Ferguson and Garry Flitcroft missing from the engine room, there was a distinct lack of bite in the centre of the park, where Tugay and the totally anonymous Dino Baggio provided precious little cover for the men behind them.

On top of that, they also gave the ball away with alarming regularity - a cardinal sin in European football.

It was only when Andy Cole entered the fray in the second half that the visitors finally showed some urgency but by then the damage had been done.

Rovers were on the back foot from the start. Ozkan and the towering Deniz Baris should have done better with two very presentable headers then Serkan Balci struck the bar.

It was only a matter of time before the home side scored and they duly did in the 42nd minute.

A straightforward punt over the top sprung Rovers' leaky defence, forcing Brad Friedel to venture out of his area and head clear, but the ball dropped kindly for Josip Skoko,whose exquisite 30-yard chip sailed into the unguarded net.

Barely 60 seconds later, it was 2-0. More generous defending allowed Baris to pick out Youla and the striker squeezed home a shot from a suspiciously offside position.

Cole provided some much-needed spark in the second half and he brilliantly engineered what could yet turn out to be a crucial away goal in the 57th minute, turning a defender inside out before providing Emerton with a tap-in.

Within three minutes, however, Youla had restored his side's two-goal advantage, ghosting past Amoruso as if he wasn't there to stroke an assured finish beyond Friedel.

Rovers had strong claims for a penalty turned down in the closing stages. First, Ciccio Grabbi appeared to be wrestled to the floor in the area then Steven Reid was felled by Balci, but both incidents went unpunished.

Only time will tell how significant that turns out to be.

GENCLERBIRLIGI 3

Skoko 42, Youla 44, 60

BLACKBURN ROVERS 1

Emerton 57