CHESTER City centre back Matt Woods fell flat on his face after stepping on a bar of soap climbing out of the bath in the build up to the biggest day of his life.

And Rovers could have suffered a similar fate here after this cup tie threatened to become a real banana skin until loan star Alan Mahon suddenly waved his magic wand to devastating effect.

The former Tranmere midfielder capped an impressive full debut with a brilliant curling cross for Martin Taylor to glance home a near post header which ultimately shattered City's brave resistance.

And Marcus Bent then sealed Rovers place in round four with a bullet header six minutes from time.

But it was the performance of Mahon which really caught the eye on a day when Graham Barrow's plucky non-League minnows proved to be a real pain in the Axa.

"That was Alan's first 90 minutes in a long time and he really impressed me," purred Souness.

"He still must have another yard or two in his locker because he can't be match fit yet.

"And, if he adds that to his game, then he'll be some player.

"But, as for the match, this was always going to be a tricky tie for us.

"This was their cup final and they were always going to raise their game accordingly.

"And, though we weren't at our best, at least we're through to the next round."

Roared on by their 3,500-strong travelling army, City belied their Nationwide Conference status with a tigerish performance packed with guts and determination.

And no-one epitomised their fighting spirit more than Woods -- a former pupil at Our Lady and St John's who still lives barely a goalkick away from Queen's Park Hospital.

The 24-year-old defender fractured his eye socket as a result of his freak accident three weeks ago.

But no-one was going to stand between him and his big moment as he ignored medical advice and bravely entered the fray for the final quarter of an hour.

"I only got 15 minutes but it was different class just to be involved," said Woods, who once turned down apprentice forms with Rovers.

"We weren't expecting to come here and win but I thought we did ourselves justice and played some decent stuff.

"It was disappointing to concede both goals off set-pieces but, as I said to the manager, it was a bit hard to mark the lad for the first because he's 6ft 5."

With one eye on Wednesday night's big derby with Preston, Souness made five changes from the side which drew with Norwich on New Year's Day.

And the experimenting didn't just stop at personnel with Rovers' usual 4-4-2 formation ditched in favour of a 3-5-2 line-up.

City adopted a similar system, however, which meant the midfield became too congested in the first half as the likes of David Dunn and Craig Hignett struggled to find space.

With terriers like Paul Carden and Chris Blackburn constantly snapping at heels, the visitors strained every sinew in an effort to hussle Rovers out of their stride.

And, whenever they won possession, the industrious Andy Porter sprayed the ball around effectively.

Missing a natural holding player in midfield, Rovers' defensive trio of John Curtis, Stig Bjornebye and the impressive Taylor were left exposed on occasions.

And, had veteran striker Steve Whitehall brought his shooting boots, Souness's troops could have found themselves on the receiving end of a sucker punch.

The former Rochdale hitman issued an early warning when he fired narrowly over inside the opening 10 minutes.

Rovers best chance of an uninspiring first half fell to Hignett but his right-foot daisy-cutter rattled the base of the post.

A half-time dressing down from Souness injected some much-needed urgency after the break.

But it was the introduction of Bent for the ineffective Egil Ostenstad which really pepped up Rovers with half an hour remaining.

The former Sheffield United striker's direct style caused ructions in City's well-drilled defence.

And he nearly broke the deadlock with a fizzing left-foot drive which flashed inches wide of the far post.

City were far from finished, however, and Whitehall nearly sent shockwaves reverberating around Ewood when he stabbed home Carl Ruffer's headed knock down only for an offside flag to save the day.

But, just as the home fans started to ponder the prospect of a replay, Mahon suddenly conjured up a piece of magic on 72 minutes.

Academy starlet Jonathan Douglas played his part, returning the ball out to Mahon on the left after his corner had been half cleared, and the Irishman's wicked left-foot cross found Taylor who flicked a header inside the far post.

That should have been that but that man Whitehall twice came close to a late leveller in a nervy finale, scorching the fingertips of Brad Friedel with one fierce drive before blazing over sixty seconds later with the goal at his mercy.

In the end, it was Bent who had the final say as he out-jumped the City defence to meet Dunn's 84th minute free kick with a powerful header.

So no slip-ups. Now bring on the Rams.