Grabbi is the saviour - again

Two weeks after his last-gasp heroics against Liverpool, the 26-year-old master of escapology was at it again after he responded to an SOS from Graeme Souness with the goal which saved Rovers from another embarrassing UEFA Cup defeat.

But whether or not his first half equaliser proves significant or simply prolongs the agony remains to be seen as Rovers must scale a mountain in Sofia a fortnight from now if they plan to extend their European adventure beyond the first week in October.

Europe has been a graveyard for Blackburn in the past and fans are still haunted by memories of Trelleborg after they were dumped out of this competition by the Swedish part-timers at the same stage eight years ago.

So they must have feared the worst when CSKA midfielder Velizar Dimitrov stunned Ewood into silence by grabbing a vital away goal for the Bulgarians after just 22 minutes of this first round first leg tie.

Suddenly, all the painful memories started flooding back and the home supporters in a crowd of 18,300 started to think the unthinkable -- could history be about to repeat itself?

Enter Grabbi, however, who saved the day with what was only his fourth goal since a £6.75 million move from Ternana a year ago.

It was a sharp piece of finishing from a man who was only handed his first start of the season because of injuries to Matt Jansen and Andy Cole.

But that rare flash of quality from an unlikely hero did little to paper over the cracks of what was another disappointing night as Souness's patched-up team failed to make maximum use of home advantage against a CSKA side who should have been dispatched comfortably.

"I know we were affected by injuries but the eleven of us who started have got to perform better than we did tonight," groaned Lucas Neill, who described his own performance in a lack-lustre first half as 'terrible.'

"We made one or two silly errors and we gave them a lot more hope than they should have had.

"When they scored I thought this is only going to be a blip. But then they had another chance a couple of minutes later and I thought 'we are going to be in trouble here' because we've struggled to beat teams lately.

"So it's going to be an uphill battle now. I imagine from the way their support was tonight it's going to be pretty hostile when we go over there."

Souness made it clear from the outset that his team selection would be influenced by Sunday's Premiership encounter against Leeds.

But a spate of late injuries to the likes of Cole, David Thompson and Craig Short -- who complained of a back problem -- meant he was forced into wholesale changes.

As a result, just five of the team who started Sunday's game against Manchester City kept their places and that meant senior debuts for Neil Danns and Andy Todd.

Danns -- a 19-year-old product from the Academy -- certainly wasn't overawed by the occasion and his performance suggested he could well have a future at this level.

The standing ovation he received after running himself to a standstill was a fitting reward for an industrious midfield performance.

But, sadly, his youthful exuberance failed to inspire those around him.

The Bulgarians' game-plan was predictable. Whenever Rovers were in possession they got nine men behind the ball.

Then, when they had the chance to press forward themselves, they broke in numbers looking to utilise the pace of the lively Makdonald Mukasi who spearheaded their attack.

Rovers, in contrast, lacked the kind of cutting edge Damien Duff normally provides from the flanks.

David Dunn looked the one man capable of opening up a stubborn CSKA defence but he was guilty of over-doing it on occasions as he tried to unlock the door.

The cause wasn't helped, however, by an early injury to Dwight Yorke who trudged off with a hamstring injury after just 12 minutes.

With Jansen and Cole already sidelined, the last thing Souness wanted to see was another striker heading for the treatment room.

But at least in Grabbi he appears to have a man with more of a spring in his step than the dejected figure who bundled his way through last season.

"Ciccio has come back with a greater mental toughness," observed Neill.

"Everyone in the team realises he doesn't want to come here and be a failure, he wants to come here and be a winner -- and it's good that he scored.

"From a striker's point of view, goals like that give you confidence.

"Just look at Andy Cole. He's going through a bit of a rough patch at the moment but when he scored on Sunday you could see the expression on his face change."

Rovers started brightly enough as Craig Hignett engineered an opening for Yorke in the fifth minute but the striker drilled his shot wide of the far post.

That was his last meaningful contribution before Souness was then forced to replace him with Keith Gillespie.

And, as Rovers readjusted, the visitors took full advantage, grabbing what could turn out to be a vital away goal in the 22nd minute.

Aleksander Tomovski drifted inside before slipping a clever pass out to Dimitrov on the left who flicked the ball beyond Neill and raced in on goal to slide a cool finish under Brad Friedel.

Shockwaves reverberated around Ewood. Surely, not again?

However, within five minutes Rovers were back on level terms when Nissa Johansson shrugged off a challenge on the left, Yordav Varbanov made a hash of clearing the cross, and the ball dropped invitingly for Grabbi to steer home an assured right-foot finish from 12 yards out.

The visitors were undaunted by that set-back and only a super save from Friedel prevented the speedy Mukasi from restoring their lead moments later following a slip by Todd.

After the break, Rovers started to pose more questions of the Sofia defence.

Neill pulled a shot wide of the near post after latching onto Gillespie's cushioned header. Then Stoyan Petrov denied the Aussie again with a point-blank save to keep out his header at the far-post.

Rovers' cause was helped in the 75th minute when Tomovski -- one of the Bulgarian's most effective performers on the night -- saw red for a lunge at Neill which resulted in a second booking.

But, for all their huffing and puffing in the closing stages, the home side failed to conjure up a winner.

So it's over to Sofia where Rovers now have it all to do.

ROVERS...1

Grabbi 27

CSKA SOFIA...1

Dimitrov 22