Irish star is smiling

ARGENTINIAN bad-boy Mauricio Taricco may have found himself at the centre of a storm after a bitter war of words with Rovers boss Graeme Souness.

But it was Ewood whirlwind Damien Duff who ultimately left behind him a trail of devastation after sinking sorry Spurs with a sumptuous wonder-goal which conjured up images of Michael Owen's famous strike for England against the Argies in the 1998 World Cup.

Rampant Rovers -- inspired by the clever promptings of Duff and Matt Jansen -- had already done more than enough in the previous 71 minutes to suggest they are going to be a real force to be reckoned with in the Premiership this season.

But when the irresistible Irishman then suddenly embarked on a dazzling 40 yard run past a posse of defenders before sliding the coolest of finishes beyond Neil Sullivan with his right foot Ewood erupted to acclaim a moment of pure genius from one of it's favourite sons.

"It was a sensational goal," purred a delighted Souness.

"Damien's a young man who wants to do well and, as I've said before, I really think this is going to be his year.

"Providing he stays clear of injury, I think he will show people that he's going to be a top talent in this league.

"But it's wrong for me to pick individuals out after a performance like this because I thought we did very well collectively. "Everyone worked their socks off against a team who were quite pretty on the ball and I felt we made more chances and thoroughly deserved to win."

Oozing confidence after Wednesday night's battling display against Manchester United, Rovers again underlined their top-flight potential with another power-packed performance which blew Spurs off the park.

And, if they can keep this form going, then no team in the country will look forward to a trip to Ewood with much relish over the next nine months.

The spirit and determination which formed the backbone of last season's promotion drive is once again evident for all to see.

And no-one epitomised that more here than skipper Garry Flitcroft who must have covered every blade of grass on Ewood in a towering midfield display.

I can't recall the former Manchester City man having a finer game in a Rovers shirt and on this evidence he could yet play his way into Sven Goran Eriksson's thinking in time for next summer's World Cup.

But Flitcroft's energy aside, Rovers have also managed to add a little extra attacking zest to their play as witnessed in the quality of the two goals.

Eager to sign off with a victory before a two-week break due to international fixtures, Rovers made a flying start to a fast-paced battle loaded with high-octane action.

Spurs boss Glenn Hoddle had barely taken his seat in the Jack Walker stand before his side suddenly found themselves behind.

The energetic Jansen pressured the Spurs defence into conceding possession and from Duff's quick throw, the former England Under 21 international threaded a peach of a pass through to Alan Mahon who darted into the box before thumping a left-foot shot beyond Neil Sullivan into the far corner.

To make matters worse, midfielder Stephen Clemence then limped out of the action after feeling the full force of a Flitcroft challenge. And Rovers subsequently missed two further chances to double their advantage but Martin Taylor headed wide and a Flitcroft blockbuster drew a fine save from Sullivan.

Spurs, in contrast, rarely threatened to get out of first gear as Teddy Sheringham and Steffen Iversen failed to hit it off upfront.

But, on one of the few occasions when they did link up, keeper Brad Friedel came to the rescue with a reflex stop to keep out Iversen's low drive.

All hell then broke loose midway through the half as Chris Perry scythed down Jansen with a crunching challenge infront of the dug outs, prompting a nose-to-nose confrontation between Souness and Taricco.

Amazingly, when the dust finally settled, Perry escaped Scot free as referee Steve Bennett booked the Argentinian instead.

But that failed to knock Rovers out of their stride and they very nearly manufactured a second before the break when Keith Gillespie struck the base of a post after beating his marker to a raking Duff cross.

After the interval, Sheringham nearly grabbed a lifeline but his shot from eight yards was brilliantly tipped over by Friedel after clever prompting from Gus Poyet.

But it was Rovers who continued to make most of the running and Jansen should have done better from a glorious opening.

However, when the second goal finally arrived in the 71st minute, it was worth the wait.

There appeared to be little danger when Duff chested down a pass from Flitcroft in the centre circle but he then glided past three challenges in a mesmerising run before sliding a daisycutter past Sullivan from 20 yards.

Two minutes later a poor header from Henning Berg left Iversen one-on-one with Friedel but the big American stood tall to save the day. And that turned out to be crucial as Christian Ziege then slammed home a left-foot volley from 20 yards deep into injury time. But that proved to be little more than a consolation strike as Rovers wrapped up their first victory of the new campaign.

"It's been a great week, we've played some good stuff and we've shown we are well suited for this league," said a delighted Jansen. "So we'd certainly settle for the start we've made but I think we probably deserve more out of it than we've actually got, to be honest. I thought we were robbed against Derby, then against United the quick free kick was pretty debatable. So we could be sitting here now with a few more points but we can't really complain."