Souness cuts down 'executioner'

But it was far from a pleasureable experience for the Ewood chief after he was put through the mill by his players following one of the most extraordinary night's of football you are ever likely to witness.

The last time Souness visited these parts back in 1982 his CSKA counterpart Stoicho Mladenov emerged the victor after his two goals for the Bulgarians sent Liverpool crashing out of the European Cup to earn him the nickname 'the executioner' in the process.

However, there was to be no such shocks this time around as Souness settled an old score which had been festering for 20 years - although you never would have thought it judging by the look on his face as he left the Bulgarska Armia Stadium.

Tickets for Rovers games these days should carry an obligatory health warning because this team certainly knows how to make life difficult for itself.

The 500-or-so visiting fans who had made the trip from East Lancashire had already started to plan where they wanted to go in the next round after goals from David Thompson, Egil Ostenstad and Damien Duff appeared to have extinguished the fire in the Bulgarians' bellies.

But headers from substitutes Emil Gargorov and the Brazilian Agnaldo suddenly revived CSKA's hopes to leave Souness pacing anxiously in the technical area.

Then the comeback of all comebacks looked a very real possibility when Gargorov amazingly made it 3-3 on the night -- and 4-4 on aggregate -- from the penalty spot with two minutes remaining.

Panic set in Captain Mainwaring-style as memories of the recent debacle at Maine Road came flooding back, so much so that the Rovers bench had become so engrossed in the drama that they had to clarify the rule on away goals with the fourth official as they desperately clung on to their slender advantage in an unbearable finale.

Somehow, like a punch-drunk boxer gasping for air, they managed to haul themselves off the ropes to avoid a fourth and fatal knockout blow.

But it was mighty close in the end, and had the game gone on another five or 10 minutes, you got the distinct impression they perhaps wouldn't have survived.

Souness, no doubt bewildered by the way his side had capitulated, declined to attend the post-match press conference, presumably because he was busy peeling paint off the dressing room walls .

But when he eventually caught his breath and had time to reflect on the incredible events which had unfolded before him, he chose to adopt a more philosophical approach by admitting the whole experience had been another important part of the learning process for some of his young players.

In terms of incident and sheer entertainment, it's virtually impossible to find the words to do this game justice.

Great goals, shocking defending, controversial decisions and a sending off tell only half the story.

But it was the hostile atmosphere generated by 20,000 fanatical Bulgarians which really heightened the drama and made the end result all the more satisfying when it was finally achieved.

CSKA's notorious Ultras tried every trick in the book to psyche out Rovers and their fans, including showering the pitch with a hail of flares and bottles at various intervals, in what was the most intimidating environment I've ever witnessed.

But the younger generation like Martin Taylor and Nissa Johansson had the character to survive where lesser men wouldn't and that can only stand them in good stead for the future.

As for the game itself, where do you start?

For 65 minutes, Rovers were everything you would want them to be -- solid, well organised at the back and, with Duff an ever-willing outlet going forward, they posed the home side plenty of problems on the break.

They had performed superbly to open up a 3-0 lead and appeared to be cantering to victory only for the wheels to then fall off in quite spectacular fashion.

The problems started when Tugay went off in the 62nd minute.

Suddenly, the visitors completely lost all shape, they started conceding possession with alarming regularity, and instead of sitting back and defending what they had with two banks of four, they began pressing the ball too high up the pitch.

And that was just the invitation CSKA needed to get a foothold back in the game, sparked by the arrival of Gargorov and Agnaldo who injected more urgency following their introduction from the bench.

Rovers' defence, which had previously looked rock solid, got an attack of the jitters shipping three soft goals in the space of 22 minutes to give the Bulgarians a ray of hope they should never have been allowed to have.

Sadly, that took the shine off what had been such a vibrant team performance for the previous hour.

Todor Yanchev had the game's first chance when his snapshot flew just wide of Brad Friedel's upright.

But Thompson then demonstrated his shooting prowess from distance with an arcing free kick which curled just wide of the post.

The home side failed to heed that warning, however, as the former Liverpool man conjured up another moment of pure genius in the 31st minute to give Rovers the boost of a vital away goal.

Ostenstad's cushioned header dropped invitingly 30 yards out but what happened next was simply inspired as the 25-year-old chested the ball down before executing the perfect volley which flew in off the far post.

Duff then missed a great chance to make it two before the break but Rovers did grab a second with another slick counter in the 56th minute.

Tugay's cute pass released Andy Cole who unselfishly squared for Ostenstad to tap home his first goal in two seasons from close range.

A minute later the game appeared to be over when David Dunn dissected the CSKA defence again for Duff to race through and tuck away number three with aplomb -- but how little did we know.

On 66 minutes, Gargorov grabbed what seemed like a consolation when he pounced on hesitant defending to head home a Petrov cross from the right.

Then, in almost carbon-copy fashion, Agnaldo made it 3-2 with an equally clinical finish.

Even then, Rovers had the chance to kill things off when Dunn, Duff and Cole all raced in on goal with only Kolev to beat but somehow contrived to make a complete hash of it.

Panic really did set in when Lucas Neill fouled Velizar Dimitrov with two minutes left which allowed Gargorov to level the scores from the spot.

But, as CSKA pressed for a winner, Dimitrov lost his cool and saw red in the dying seconds for shoving Thompson in the chest and with that went their chances of victory - much to Souness's relief.

CSKA 3 ROVERS 3 (Agg: 4-4) Rovers go through on away goals

Gargorov 66, 88 (p) Agnaldo 72 Thompson 31, Ostenstad 56, Duff 57