Sven's food for thought

Four months ago, David Thompson was the man being touted as a certainty for England honours after some stunning performances for Rovers following his cut-price move from Coventry City.

The 'spikey scouser', as Graeme Souness memorably labelled him, set the Premiership alight with some all-action displays in the Ewood engine-room.

And it wasn't long before Eriksson sat up and took notice of the former Liverpool man as he called him up for the Euro 2004 qualifiers against Slovakia and Macedonia.

It was a rags to riches story of a player who had battled his way back from the abyss of the Nationwide League and the media were quick to hail him as a possible solution to England's left-sided problems.

But a subsequent dip in form has meant that Thompson's name has hardly been mentioned in dispatches ever since.

It was somewhat ironic, therefore, that on a day when Beattie got the call after one of his most ineffective performances of the season, the international axe fell on Thompson after his 27th minute strike had proved the difference between these two sides.

Understandably, the 25-year-old was a mix of emotions afterwards but if he can repeat the kind of performance which slayed the Saints on a more consistent basis then his England exile maybe only temporary.

"I think Thommo would be honest and say that in the last few weeks he's been a little bit jaded but he scored the kind of goal we encourage our wide players to get," said a delighted Souness.

"That's how Freddie Ljungberg gets all his goals as a wide player coming inside the full-back in the middle of the goal.

"So it's something that we are looking for all the time because you're always looking for a contribution in terms of goals being scored by your wide players.

"As for the game itself, I thought it was a gritty performance. We weren't at our silky, passing best but there was a number of reasons for that.

"We've looked a wee bit tired in the last few weeks but that's understandable given the programme we've had in recent weeks."

One of the key factors in Rovers' first victory for over a month was the return of Craig Short, who was paired alongside Henning Berg for the first time since September.

Short might be in the veteran bracket these days but no-one relishes a scrap more than the former Everton defender.

Much of Southampton's success this season has been based on getting the ball up to Beattie and then playing off the 6ft 1in striker but the Saints' leading scorer barely had a sniff as Short diligently stuck to his task, although the Rovers man still believes his opponent is worthy of an England call-up. "I think he's the best around at what he does," said Short.

"In a standing jump, I think he'd beat me every time because he's got such a good spring so I was just trying to stand next to him and block him at times.

"I think the referee was a bit kind to me and gave me a few free kicks which maybe could have gone the other way. But it was just nice to keep a clean sheet because we haven't had too many."

With images of Wednesday night's FA Cup defeat at the hands of Sunderland fresh in the memory, Rovers made a tentative start and could so easily have paid a heavy price but for the brilliance of Brad Friedel.

Chris Marsden played a clever one-two with Jo Tessem only to see his shot brilliantly clawed away by Friedel in the fifth minute. Then the United States international repeated the trick a minute later when Fabrice Fernandes capitalised on some sloppy play from Thompson.

But after surviving those two early scares, it was Rovers who then went from strength to strength, with skipper Garry Flitcroft leading the fight in midfield.

Andy Cole saw his shot blocked, Antii Niemi made two wonderful saves from Thompson and Berg, and referee Mike Riley waved away the home side's penalty appeals when Lucas Neill and Flitcroft both appeared to be fouled in the box.

As it turned, though, the Blackburn End didn't have much longer to wait for something to celebrate as Rovers' incessant pressure finally paid off in the 27th minute.

Dwight Yorke, an otherwise anonymous figure up front, sprayed a clever ball out to Keith Gillespie on the right and the mercurial winger delivered a cross to the far post where Thompson arrived to dispatch a sweet half-volley inside Niemi's right-hand post.

Suddenly, the tension was lifted and hopes were raised of a first home win since January 1 but Michael Svensson then fired a warning with a looping header which brushed the top of the bar.

With Thompson in determined mood, however, Rovers nearly added a second in first half stoppage time.

A lung-busting run from the gritty midfielder carried him half the length of the field and when he finally laid the ball off, Tugay's stinging snapshot brought another fine save from the overworked Niemi.

Sadly, the second half failed to live up to the first in terms of entertainment value.

The defining moment came in the 61st minute.

A rare mistake from Flitcroft resulted in Beattie bearing down on goal but as the home fans held their breath the England striker ballooned his shot high into the stand from where he used to watch his home-town club.

Cue chants of 'Beattie is a Rover.' Curiously, Souness then decided to introduce Martin Taylor in attack, instead of Egil Ostenstad.

In the closing stages, Cole twice went close to putting the result beyond doubt only for Niemi to deny him on each occasion. But in the end, Rovers were good value for the points, even if one or two fingernails were slightly frayed around the edges by the final whistle.

ROVERS 1

Thompson 27

SOUTHAMPTON 0

ENGLAND new-boy James Beattie celebrated his first ever international call-up on Saturday night but it was a man discarded by Sven Goran Eriksson who stole the Southampton striker's thunder.

Four months ago, David Thompson was the man being touted as a certainty for England honours after some stunning performances for Rovers following his cut-price move from Coventry City.

The 'spikey scouser', as Graeme Souness memorably labelled him, set the Premiership alight with some all-action displays in the Ewood engine-room.

And it wasn't long before Eriksson sat up and took notice of the former Liverpool man as he called him up for the Euro 2004 qualifiers against Slovakia and Macedonia.

It was a rags to riches story of a player who had battled his way back from the abyss of the Nationwide League and the media were quick to hail him as a possible solution to England's left-sided problems.

But a subsequent dip in form has meant that Thompson's name has hardly been mentioned in dispatches ever since.

It was somewhat ironic, therefore, that on a day when Beattie got the call after one of his most ineffective performances of the season, the international axe fell on Thompson after his 27th minute strike had proved the difference between these two sides.

Understandably, the 25-year-old was a mix of emotions afterwards but if he can repeat the kind of performance which slayed the Saints on a more consistent basis then his England exile maybe only temporary.

"I think Thommo would be honest and say that in the last few weeks he's been a little bit jaded but he scored the kind of goal we encourage our wide players to get," said a delighted Souness.

"That's how Freddie Ljungberg gets all his goals as a wide player coming inside the full-back in the middle of the goal.

"So it's something that we are looking for all the time because you're always looking for a contribution in terms of goals being scored by your wide players.

"As for the game itself, I thought it was a gritty performance. We weren't at our silky, passing best but there was a number of reasons for that.

"We've looked a wee bit tired in the last few weeks but that's understandable given the programme we've had in recent weeks."

One of the key factors in Rovers' first victory for over a month was the return of Craig Short, who was paired alongside Henning Berg for the first time since September.

Short might be in the veteran bracket these days but no-one relishes a scrap more than the former Everton defender.