ROVERS 1 WIMBLEDON 1 DURING his 12 month tenure at Ewood, canny Scot Graeme Souness has often shied away from talking up his players to the Press in a bid to keep their feet firmly on terra firma.

So when the Rovers boss does decide to heap praise on one of his proteges, his words often carry extra gravity as a result.

David Dunn, Matt Jansen and Marcus Bent have all received glowing tributes from the boss during Rovers' march up the First Division table.

But here it was Brad Friedel's turn to lap up the plaudits after the giant American saved his side's bacon with a string of impressive stops to light up an otherwise instantly forgettable contest.

Souness ruffled a few feathers when he swooped to sign the United States international on a free transfer from Liverpool back in November.

With two international keepers in John Filan and Alan Kelly already on the books, fans questioned the need to swell the goalkeeping ranks even further with a guy who hadn't played in nine months at Anfield.

But Friedel has been simply sensational since he became Ewood's undisputed number one.

And, after almost single-handedly denying the Dons a shock win, Souness was unequivocal in his assessment of the impact the American has had in Rovers' revival.

"Brad's a top keeper, there's no doubt about it, and I believe he's in the top three in this country," said Souness.

"I worked with him for a year in Turkey so I know what we've got and if there's three better keepers around then I don't know who they are.

"I used to work with the very best in Ray Clemence.

"And, though I'm not saying Brad is another Ray, he's certainly not far away.

"That save he made to his left in the first half was top class.

"And he pulled off two or three others in the second half which kept us in the game."

A stunning reflex save from Friedel at St Andrew's last Wednesday ensured Rovers avoided a nailbiting finale in their top-of-the-table clash with Birmingham.

But he eclipsed even that with an acrobatic effort to palm over a Michael Hughes blockbuster inside the opening 11 minutes against the Dons.

The Crazy Gang might not be quite so crazy these days under Terry Burton but they have retained their ability to be perennial party-poopers.

And but for the sharp reflexes of Friedel they could have had all three points wrapped up long before Matt Jansen pulled a point out of the fire with his 16th goal of the season.

"We were disappointing and, for the best part of the game, they looked a lot sharper than us," said Souness.

"We had a very demanding game on Wednesday night -- both physically and mentally -- which we came through with flying colours.

"But we were at least a yard off the pace here and, if you're not getting tackles in or making your passes quickly enough, then you're going to play second fiddle.

"So we were happy with a point in the end."

Looking lethargic after last week's exertions, Rovers rarely got out of first gear in front of an expectant Ewood crowd.

Wimbledon looked sharper in midfield, forcing Souness to abandon his pre-match gameplan after just 30 minutes when he sacrificed Stig Bjornebye in order to switch to a 3-5-2 system.

But even with the extra man, Rovers allowed the visitors too much space in midfield, with skipper Garry Flitcroft often left isolated whenever an attack broke down.

There was precious little for the home fans to cheer in a dire first half as the industrious Dons looked a yard quicker in all departments.

Thankfully, Friedel was on fire, and he somehow tipped over a vicious volley from Hughes after 11 minutes.

Yet despite playing second fiddle for most of the half, Rovers nearly struck a crucial psychological blow a minute before the break but Jansen's 18 yard thunderbolt bounced down off the bar.

It was Wimbledon, though, who raised the tempo after the interval.

And they silenced the home fans in spectacular style on 50 minutes when Hughes picked out Euell in acres of space with a right-wing cross and the Dons' leading scorer expertly flicked the ball over Friedel for his 19th of the season.

That stunned Rovers into life and Jansen nearly conjured up an instant equaliser but his shot on the turn from a Keith Gillespie cross was brilliantly clawed away by Kelvin Davis diving low to his right.

Wimbledon were far from finished, however, as Patrick Agyemang wreaked havoc up front.

Friedel came to the rescue after the lanky striker gave Henning Berg the slip.

And a ponderous Rovers defence was indebted to the American again when he denied Andy Roberts after Euell had burst past Craig Short.

In one last throw of the dice, Souness threw on Mark Hughes and Craig Hignett in a bid to pep things up.

And the switch paid dividends with 17 minutes left.

Hignett ran at the Dons defence before slipping a clever ball into Hughes on the left-hand side of the box and the veteran striker's cross-shot fell kindly for Jansen to steer home from six yards at the far post.

After that, Rovers belatedly went for the jugular as Flitcroft twice went close to grabbing a late winner.

But they had to settle for a point before they disappear to Dubai tomorrow for some much-needed rest and recuperation. Brad's a top keeper, there's no doubt about it, and I believe he's in the top three in this country