AFTER three games in the space of a week, Blackburn fans have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly side of Graeme Souness's multi-faceted team.

So much so that it's becoming increasingly impossible to predict exactly what they are going to do next.

One minute, they can excite and enthral as a dazzling run from Duff or a thumping shot from Thompson wreaks havoc in an opposing penalty area.

But if that's the charming side of Rovers' game, then they also possess an amazing ability to infuriate supporters in equal measure.

At the Hawthorns a week ago, for instance, we saw the Dr Jekyll side of their personality shine through as a thoroughly professional performance resulted in a superb 2-0 away win.

Then, in the second half in Sofia on Thursday, the hunched, mischievous figure of Mr Hyde reared his ugly head as Rovers somehow contrived to throw away a 3-0 lead in a game which very nearly ended in disaster.

Here, against Spurs, both sides of that split personality were in evidence before Jamie Redknapp finally left his own indelible mark on proceedings with a last-gasp winner for the Londoners which went some way towards easing the pain of their Worthington Cup final defeat eight months ago.

Ironically, had things panned out differently in Cardiff, it would have been Glenn Hoddle's men nursing a European hangover rather than Rovers.

But, as Souness's side struggled to shake-off the effects of their midweek exertions in Bulgaria, Spurs took full advantage in the cruelest way possible to leave Souness scratching his head in search of an explanation.

"We thought we'd get some sort of reaction from Thursday in terms of the type of game we played and the fact it was quite a long way away and that's exactly how it turned out," reflected Souness, as he looked back on Rovers' second home defeat of the season.

"We started slowly, we weren't at the races in the first half but in the second half, I thought we did enough, certainly to get a point and I think this illustrates just how cruel this game can be.

"What can you say about the type of goal they got to win it other than it was a complete fluke?"

Fluke or not, Rovers' inability to go the distance is a problem which won't go away at the moment, much to the annoyance of Souness and the fans.

Middlesbrough were the first to take advantage as Joesph Desire-Job grabbed a last minute winner in a dramatic climax to a game Rovers had dominated from start to finish.

Then Manchester City's 10-men scored twice in a frantic finale at Maine Road to come back from the dead to snatch an unlikely point.

On Thursday night, the curse struck again as CSKA Sofia somehow clawed back a 3-0 deficit to come within an ace of dumping Rovers out of the UEFA Cup.

So it was almost too much to take when it happened again here, especially after a revitalised Egil Ostenstad had helped to inspire such a spirited second half fightback.

As far as I'm concerned, two common factors have contributed to their downfall on each occasion -- a lack of team shape and concentration at the back at a time in the game when limbs and legs become vulnerable to fatigue.

Having said that, the home side had looked distinctly leaden-footed in a lacklustre first half in which Robbie Keane had fired Spurs into a sixth minute lead with a clinical strike.

With Tugay and fit-again skipper Garry Flitcroft struggling to exert their authority in midfield, Rovers lacked their usual cohesion going forward and the experiment of playing Damien Duff alongside Andy Cole up front failed to have the desired effect.

It took Ostenstad's arrival from the bench as a half-time replacement for Cole - who was still feeling the groin he injured in Sofia - to raise the tempo, culminating in the Norwegian grabbing his first Premiership goal since 1999.

From then on, only one side looked capable of fashioning a winner as the irrepressible David Thompson pulled the strings from the centre of midfield.

But, just as both sides appeared content to shake hands on a draw, fate somehow contrived to deal Rovers a cruel hand as Redknapp pounced to snatch the points with probably the luckiest strike of his professional career.

There was certainly nothing flukey about Keane's opener, though.

Tugay lost possession in midfield, Milenko Acimovic's cross-field ball was intercepted by Henning Berg, but as Rovers hesitated, Irish World Cup star Keane was onto the loose ball in a flash, accelerating past two defenders before slamming a ferocious shot high into the top right hand corner of Brad Friedel's goal.

Spurs had further chances to extend their advantage as Teddy Sheringham missed two gilt-edged opportunities after neat approach play.

But Rovers gradually woke from their slumber and, as the half wore on, David Dunn, Damien Duff and Thompson all went close before the break.

Souness decided he needed to freshen things up at half-time and threw on Ostenstad as part of a double substitution which seemed to pep things up, although it took a last-ditch block from Friedel to deny Redknapp after great vision from Sheringham.

However, the equaliser they deserved duly arrived in the 59th minute following a slick counter-attack.

Tugay slipped a clever ball into Dunn whose flick found Ostenstad and the Norwegian expertly dinked a clever shot over the on-rushing Kasey Keller to restore parity.

After that, Rovers pressed for a winner as Ciccio Grabbi volleyed wide from a Ostenstad knock-down then Thompson had a late effort ruled out for offside after a Grabbi shot had been deflected to the far post.

But, just as both sides seemed content with a point, Spurs pinched all three in the dying seconds.

Keane's raking cross-field pass found Steffen Iversen on the right whose touch took him past a static Nissa Johansson and from his cross, Redknapp somehow beat Friedel with a mis-hit shot which looped into the top corner -- a cruel blow at the end of a rollercoaster week.

ROVERS 1 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 2

Ostenstad 59 Keane 6, Redknapp 89

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