RELIEVED Blackburn boss Graeme Souness today saluted Craig Hignett after the veteran midfielder rescued Rovers from an embarrassing cup exit with a last-gasp equaliser against Barnsley on Saturday.

Rovers were heading for a fourth straight defeat when Hignett saved the day with a timely header in a dramatic finale to keep the club's FA Cup dreams alive.

It was Rovers' first goal in over five hours of action during an otherwise dismal festive period and the 31-year-old could now be in line to keep his place for tomorrow's crucial Worthington Cup semi-final first leg clash against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.

"It was great for Higgy to come back to one of his old stomping grounds and get a goal," said Souness.

"That's something that's been missing from our game for a while -- someone to stick a half chance away -- and fortunately he did that for us on Saturday."

After six defeats in their last seven Premiership outings, an FA Cup exit at the hands of the Tykes would have come as another massive body-blow to Souness and his players.

But that looked on the cards when Darren Barnard suddenly fired the home side ahead with a stunning strike in the 77th minute.

However, Rovers dug deep and, thanks to Hignett's timely intervention, they managed to earn a replay -- a result Souness felt his side ultimately deserved on the day.

"We always knew this was going to be a difficult game," said Souness.

"The pitch was lively, Barnsley are a team who are playing with confidence, and it was always going to be a typical FA Cup tie which is how it turned out.

"This was a banana skin for any Premier League team, given the fact they had gone seven or eight games undefeated prior to Saturday's game.

"So their tails were up and they played like that. They were in our face all the time, they played with spirit and confidence, and it was always going to be a tough test for us.

"Neither keeper had very much to do and I feel we were worth a draw.

"In the first half, we didn't get clued into the conditions which was a concern.

"But in the second half, I felt we improved and we got our just rewards in the end and it should be a very different game when we play them again at Ewood.

"However, that's for the future. In the mean time, we've got a very hard game tomorrow night in Yorkshire again against Sheffield Wednesday.

"And we then have a tough Premier League game against Charlton on Saturday.

"So we've got two very hard games to think about before we even contemplate the replay and that's what we'll be focusing on.

"But we're still in the draw and we've got to be happy about that."

The winners of the replay -- which is due to be played on Wednesday week -- then face a daunting trip to face Millwall at The New Den in round four following yesterday's draw.

Mark McGhee's men are currently flying high in Division One following promotion from the Second Division last season.

And should Rovers get through, it would mean an emotional return for Aussie international Lucas Neill who came to Ewood from the Lions in a £600,000 deal earlier in the season.

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