BLACKBURN boss Graeme Souness and his players celebrated Christmas early at The Valley in the most traditional way possible -- with an extra large helping of plum Duff!

Desperate for goals up front, Ewood chief Souness decided it was time to gamble by pressing Damien Duff into action as an emergency striker.

And the inspirational Irishman responded magnificently as he made puddings of the Charlton defence with a priceless strike to ease the pressure on his team-mates going into the holiday period.

England Under 21 international then climbed off the bench to add the trimmings with a killer second deep into injury time as Rovers wrapped up an early Christmas present.

But Souness was in no doubt as to who deserved the plaudits after Duff's magic brought some much-needed festive cheer at the end of a difficult week.

"I thought Damien did very, very well," purred Souness.

"That's not his normal position even though he's played there a few times with Ireland.

"But he's such a good footballer, we feel we can use him anywhere across the front.

"And it paid handsome dividends because he took it well, especially considering it was on his right foot."

After three straight defeats and all the hoo-ha surrounding events following the club's Christmas party, Souness was desperate for a show of strength from his players.

And he got it here by the sackful as Rovers dug deep to grind out their most important result of the season so far.

With both Derby and Ipswich winning, a fourth straight defeat would have been catastrophic.

But thanks to the clinical finishing of twin destroyers Duff and Dunn, the gloom has now lifted ahead of back-to-back six pointers against Sunderland and Derby.

Ironically, in terms of performances, Rovers actually played better in each of the previous three defeats against Middlesbrough, Leeds and Newcastle.

But this was all about character and matching the Addicks for effort -- something the visitors did magnificently to a man.

And, of course, this time they also had the necessary cutting edge required to make maximum use of the chances created.

"You don't get any easy games here and if you want to get anything then you're going to have to battle and scrap and fight for every ball.

"And I think we did that," said Souness.

"But we also finished clinically which is something we haven't been doing recently and that was the difference."

In a throw back to last season, this felt more like a Nationwide League clash than a Premiership fixture in many respects, as both sides struggled to knock the ball about effectively on a lively surface.

Charlton work tremendously hard to close people down quickly and when they do attack, they like to lump the ball forward quickly, hoping to play their football in the final third.

It's an abrasive style which is desperately difficult to play against but Rovers have players who relish a scrap and it was those fighting qualities which ultimately came to the fore.

Henning Berg and Craig Short in particular were outstanding at the back as they soaked up everything the Addicks could throw at them, so much so that Brad Friedel hardly had a meaningful shot to save.

But Garry Flitcroft and Alan Mahon also ran themselves to a standstill in midfield.

And Keith Gillespie weighed in with two moments of inspiration from the wing, creating both goals courtesy of two electric runs.

But, despite the result, let's not be fooled. If Rovers plan to stay out of trouble during the second half of the season then the recruitment of a target man with physical presence is still absolutely essential.

Ciccio Grabbi looked lightweight to say the least when asked to play that role here and the sooner Souness can add some more muscle up front the better.

In the mean time, though, it's a case of make do and mend, particularly while Matt Jansen recuperates from an ankle injury.

The first half was something of a slow burner to say the least with little to set the pulse racing.

Jason Euell headed over following a neat move between Scott Parker and Chris Powell before Dean Kiely then reacted brilliantly to push aside a rasping drive from Tugay.

However, Rovers survived a real scare six minutes before the break when another cross from Powell found Graham Stuart totally unmarked eight yards out but he completely fluffed his header and put the chance wide.

Euell then needlessly clattered Friedel as he came out to gather a flick on which incensed Berg and that suddenly seemed to stoke the visitors into life.

Within 13 minutes of the restart, Rovers were in front.

Gillespie cut inside following a quickly-taken free kick and slipped a clever ball through to Duff who raced in to expertly flick it past Dean Kiely with his right foot.

Clearly stunned, Charlton bombarded Rovers' box in search of an equaliser and it nearly arrived seven minutes from time when the ball dropped invitingly for Euell six yards out but he snatched at the chance and fired over.

It was then left to Dunn to ease the pressure deep into injury time.

Gillespie was again the provider, accelerating past a defender before cutting a great ball back for the young midfielder on the edge of the box who pulled the trigger in clinical style with a sweetly-struck finish.

CHARLTON...0 ROVERS...2

Scorers: Duff 58, Dunn 90

Attendance...25,857