Jansen the saviour

When Rovers were gunning for promotion last season it was Jansen who headed the all-important goal which sunk Preston at Deepdale to secure the club's return ticket to the Premiership.

And again in Cardiff last Sunday, it was a Jansen strike which set Rovers on the way to their first major knockout trophy in 74 years.

However, his priceless second half equaliser here at the Reebok could yet turn out to be the most valuable of the lot come judgement day on May 11.

For, reduced to 10-men and trailing to a first half injury time strike from Bolton's Rod Wallace, Graeme Souness's beleaguered troops were heading for a fifth straight defeat which would have had catastrophic consequences for their survival hopes before Jansen intervened in truly spectacular style.

Two touches from his magic wand of a left foot later and Jussi Jaaskelainen was then suddenly picking the ball out of the back of his net.

And that may yet turn out to be the goal which ultimately saves Rovers' Premiership bacon.

"The one at Preston last season was quite important," said Jansen, as he reflected on his point-saving strike.

"But it was vital that we didn't go seven points behind Bolton today.

"If that had happened, the gap would have started to look unbridgeable.

"So it was a vital goal and a very pleasing one for me, too.

"But we then could have gone on to win it because their keeper made a couple of very good saves.

"So we can take a lot of heart from that and, hopefully, we can get a result against Villa on Tuesday.

"It was important we won the Cup final. That has given us a lot of character and confidence and we needed to show that here."

If you like your Lancashire derbies piping hot with plenty spice, then the Reebok was the place to be over the weekend.

With both sides desperate for points in the battle to beat the drop, the tension was unbearable immediately prior to kick-off.

And when Andy Cole then saw red for stamping on Mike Whitlow inside the opening 20 minutes that only served to increase the temperature.

Both players had already been niggling at each other long before Whitlow crudely clattered into Cole from behind with a bone-shuddering challenge in the 18th minute.

There was no excuse for what happened next, however, as the former Manchester United man lost the plot and stamped on the Bolton defender as he lay prostrate on the floor.

Whitlow, sensing the chance to milk the situation for all it was worth, reacted as if he had been shot by a sniper in the crowd, leaving referee Paul Durkin with no option but to brandish the red card.

And Cole was so incensed by the reaction that he then lay in wait for the Bolton man as he entered the tunnel at half-time.

All Hell then broke loose and, allegedly, Cole had to be physically restrained by club doctor Phil Batty and a posse of his team-mates as he attempted to exact revenge on Whitlow as he made his way back to the dressing room.

Thankfully, when order was finally restored, Rovers reorganised when they re-emerged after the break and kept their heads to grind out a point.

But Cole's actions could still have far-reaching effects on his side's survival chances as he now faces up to the prospect of a three game ban, leaving Jansen and new Spanish striker Yordi to shoulder the burden up front during his enforced absence.

"There was some niggling between them before that as well and it was a bad foul on Coley," said Jansen, with an element of sympathy for his strike-partner.

"So in the heat of the moment, it was one of those things.

"But retaliation is a red-card offence now and no common sense seems to come into it in the heat of the game.

"So he had to go and the big blow for us is the fact he's now going to miss three vital games.

"But at least we've got Yordi who puts himself about. He's a good target man and I can feed off his bits so, hopefully, we'll still be okay."

With Bolton boasting a four point cushion at the foot of the table, Rovers simply couldn't contemplate another defeat at the hands of their nearest relegation rivals.

However, Souness surprised everyone when he named his starting line-up ahead of what was such a crucial six-pointer.

Flying wingers Damien Duff and Keith Gillespie were both dropped to the sub's bench after feeling the effects of their exertions against Tottenham last week.

So that meant a debut for new-boy Hakan Unsal on the left, with David Dunn asked to fill in on the right, leaving Garry Flitcroft and Mark Hughes to patrol the centre.

As a result, Rovers lacked the cutting edge they demonstrated in Cardiff and it was only when Duff and Gillespie were finally introduced in the final half hour that they began to get behind a shaky Wanderers defence as the game became stretched.

Earlier, both sides had showed signs of nerves in a tense opening quarter of an hour.

But the game then exploded into life in the 18th minute when Cole saw red, leaving Souness's pre-match gameplan in tatters.

Wanderers' numerical advantage inevitably began to count as Ricardo Gardner lifted a shot over the bar after an almighty scramble following a Youri Djorkaeff corner.

But they did break the deadlock in first half injury time as a result of a dreadful mistake from the usually dependable Henning Berg.

Fredi Bobic flicked on Stig Tofting's lofted clearance and Berg made a complete hash of an attempted backpass, leaving Rod Wallace to run clear and slot home the opener.

After the break, Brad Friedel then saved brilliantly from both Djorkaeff and Kevin Nolan as Wanderers turned the screw.

But, as the tension increased, Jansen then handed Rovers a lifeline when he received a pass from Duff before flicking the ball up in the air and smashing a brilliant volley past Jaaskelainen into the far corner.

In a frantic finale, both sides had chances to win it.

Bolton sub Michael Ricketts fired straight at Friedel and Damien Duff then had a volley palmed to safety at the opposite end.

In the end, though, a point apiece was about right, meaning it's as you were in the scramble for safety.

BOLTON...1

Scorer: Wallace 45

ROVERS...1

Scorer: Jansen 68

Attendance...27,203