FABRIZIO Ravanelli might have been full of apologies but Graeme Souness was in no mood to forgive after Rovers were poleaxed by a devastating double-whammy from the fiery Italian.

Souness left Pride Park seething after a first half challenge from Ravanelli put David Dunn out of the game for at least a month with ligament damage.

Then, barely 60 seconds later, the former Lazio hit-man supplied the ultimate kick in the teeth when he stepped up to bend home a brilliant 25 yard free kick which set Derby on course for this nerve-jangling win -- their first at home on the opening day since 1993.

"Everyone in the stadium could see that was a foul except the linesman who was only two yards away," rapped a furious Souness.

"But instead of a free kick for us they go straight up the other end and score and we could now be without Dunny for weeks.

"I'm a professional and I have to wonder about things like that.

"I don't want to carp but what am I to think when all the talk is about professional referees? "I feel aggrieved not to have got something from the game because we controlled it.

"We made the better chances and deserved much more."

The fact Rovers took nothing out of this game must surely rank as the biggest injustice since the false imprisonment of Deidre Rashid.

Souness's promotion heroes proved more than a match for a Derby side who look destined for another season of struggle.

And even Ravanelli afterwards admitted he breathed a sigh of relief at the final whistle as the Rams overworked defence somehow survived a late onslaught.

"I thought Blackburn were a good team because they tried to play football so this was a very important three points for us," said Ravanelli.

"Once they got it back to 2-1 every time they got the ball in the box they looked dangerous.

"But we showed the necessary attitude and mentality to get the result and I was very happy to score because the goal was very important, not only for me but for the team, the club and the supporters."

Ravanelli's contribution might not have been quite so spectacular as the hat-trick he scored on his Middlesbrough debut five years ago.

But it was nevertheless devastating and ultimately proved the difference between the two teams.

Yet despite the crushing nature of the result, there was still plenty from which Souness could take heart as Rovers did enough to suggest they are more than capable of holding their own at this level.

They came to Pride Park with a definite gameplan and for the opening 44 minutes it worked a treat as the home side struggled to make any kind of impression as an attacking force.

With skipper Garry Flitcroft again a colossus in the centre of the park, it was Rovers who called all the shots as Damien Duff and Keith Gillespie both caused problems on the break.

And central defenders Craig Short and Henning Berg both looked calm and assured at the back, despite Ravanelli's best attempts to rattle them.

Rovers raced out of the blocks and could have taken a shock lead inside the opening 20 seconds when Duff whipped over a cross from the left but Mart Poom palmed away Gillespie's downward header.

As the half wore on, however, the Rams grew in confidence and Ravanelli set the alarm bells ringing when he fired over after latching onto a Malcolm Christie through ball following a rare slip from Henning Berg.

Rovers then suffered a body blow a minute before the break when Dunn collapsed in agony after being caught in a sandwich with Ravanelli.

After lengthy treatment, the England Under 21 international eventually limped off to be replaced by Craig Hignett and while Rovers reorganised, Derby took full advantage.

Short suddenly had a rush of blood, sything down Craig Burley on the edge of the box, and up stepped Ravanelli to bend home an exquisite free kick with his left foot, high into Brad Friedel's top left-hand corner.

That was a hammer blow after such a promising opening 45 minutes but Rovers continued to call all the shots after the break.

Short headed over, Hignett just failed to connect with another Duff cross and a flowing move involving Berg and Ciccio Grabbi nearly produced an equaliser for Flitcroft.

But just as the Rams appeared ready to cave in, they then conjured a second completely out of the blue.

Pocket genius Georgi Kinkladze raced half the length of the pitch before slipping a ball out to Burley who in-turn found Christie and the former shelf-stacker steered a low shot into the bottom right-hand corner.

Game over, or so we thought.

Nathan Blake's introduction from the bench suddenly provided more cutting edge and Jansen should have pulled one back when he rose to meet a Flitcroft cross but his flicked header flashed wide of the post.

Then Marcus Bent somehow scooped another effort over the bar after the inventive Hignett prized open the Derby defence with a clever free kick.

Rovers finally halved the deficit with 18 minutes left when Hignett found Blake with a peach of a pass and the Welsh international striker turned to fire past Poom from 12 yards.

That prompted a frantic finale in which Short was denied an equaliser following an almighty goal-mouth scramble.

And in one last twist, Jansen looked to have pulled a point out of the fire deep into injury time when he pounced to convert a cross from Blake only to be denied his moment of glory by an offside flag.

RESULT:

DERBY COUNTY 2... ROVERS 1...

Ravanelli 45, Christie 65... Blake 73