Dunn's relief for Burnley game

THE smile was as broad as it was long.

But David Dunn wasn't beaming with smug satisfaction after his 10th goal of an increasingly prolific season earned Rovers another valuable point in their march towards the play-offs.

It was more a grin of relief as the England Under 21 international could finally contemplate the prospect of appearing in the one game he's been waiting for for most of his adult life.

After the agony of being sent off for the first time in his career last week, the prospect of missing out on the first derby clash with Burnley in 17 years would have been a bitter pill to swallow.

But Dunn came through this spat with the First Division's bullyboys without picking up the caution which would have resulted in another ban.

And that ultimately turned out to be just as satisfying as the explosive left foot finish which took his goals tally for the season into double figures.

"It's a big relief," admitted Dunn.

"I gave the ref a shout before the game and said 'You best not book me otherwise I'll miss the derby.'

"So we had a bit of a laugh with him.

"I could have got booked at one point for standing on the ball but he told me about that and let me off.

"But the Burnley game was the one I looked for when the fixtures first came out.

"And, especially with it being before Christmas, I really think it's going to be some occasion."

The way Graeme Souness's men are playing at the minute, they'll certainly need their star man firing on all cylinders at Turf Moor in two weeks' time.

Everything was set up here for a Rovers victory which would have provided the ideal tonic after last Saturday's shenanigans against Gillingham.

Tranmere, woefully short of confidence at present, had taken just six points from their previous 12 league games.

And their main weapon -- Dave Challinor -- was not on hand to bombard the Blackburn goal with his exorcet-like long throw.

But, for all Rovers' perspiration, there was a desperate lack of inspiration until Dunn popped up with a quite magnificent finish.

By the end, however, Souness was still left tearing his hair out.

"I don't want to talk about the first half it was that poor," said the Ewood chief.

"There wasn't much football played, especially by us. "But we knew what were going to get when we came here.

"Tranmere went with one up front, they loaded the midfield, they were determined to stop us from getting it down and passing it, and they did that in the first half.

"In the second half, after scoring so early, it maybe made them change their system a little bit, and that enabled us to start passing it more, which caused them problems.

"But we certainly feel it was two points dropped."

Fearing a physical scrap, Souness plumped for the aggression of Marcus Bent upfront rather than the silky skills of Matt Jansen.

But the £2.1 million signing from Sheffield United will not want reminding of his full Rovers debut in a hurry.

Aside from missing two golden chances, his partnership with Mark Hughes didn't exactly set the world alight as both players tended to make identical runs.

Bent -- in particular -- was too easily ambushed by the Tranmere offside trap.

But, let's remember, he's still finding his feet at a new club and, on the plus side, he got himself into some excellent positions.

Whether Hughes and Bent hit off or not, however, a regular place still has to be found for Jansen.

And, regardless of the opposition, he still possesses the ability to conjure up that one bit of magic which can turn a game.

There were few magical moments in an instantly forgettable first half which had to be delayed by15 minutes after an electrical problem at the turnstiles.

Rovers' one real chance fell to Bent inside the opening two minutes but he somehow failed to hit the target with a free header from five yards after a wicked cross from Dunn.

After that, the game died on its feet until Dunn suddenly brought things to life with a stunning strike on 47 minutes.

Jeff Kenna sprayed a ball out to the England Under 21 skipper on the right flank who then cut in from the touchline and wrong-footed a defender before slamming a low left-footer past Thomas Myhre via the inside of his near post.

Tranmere should have hit back within a minute.

Dangerman Andy Parkinson burst down the right before crossing for Paul Rideout but the former Everton striker completely miskicked with the goal at his mercy.

Rovers' reprieve only lasted 11 more minutes, though, before an equaliser finally did arrive.

Right-back Richard Hinds was the instigator, clipping a clever ball down the right flank and, as Kenna lost his footing, Parkinson was on it like a flash before cutting in and sliding a right-foot shot beyond Brad Friedel into the far corner.

That spurred the visitors into life and, playing with a new sense of urgency, they carved out two golden chances in the last 20 minutes.

First, Henning Berg's lofted through ball released Bent but his attempted chip looped tamely into the grateful arms of Myhre.

Then, Friedel's monster throw was turned into the path of Jansen by Damien Duff but the England Under 21 international opted to find Bent instead of shooting himself and the chance went begging.

By that stage, Rovers had shot their bolt but they nearly paid a heavy price for those missed chances deep into injury time when Sean Flynn's blockbuster looked destined for the top corner but Friedel saved the day with a stunning stop.