Crystal Palace 2 Blackburn Rovers 1

BLACKBURN Rovers striker Matt Jansen still retains a lot of affection for Crystal Palace.

But the former England Under 21 international nearly pushed his old club over the precipice and into Division Two after conjuring up images of former Scotland legend, Denis Law.

Wearing the blue of Manchester City, it was Law's impudent back heel against his old team Manchester United which banished the Old Trafford club into the wilderness of the Second Division during the 70s.

And on Saturday, Jansen blushed with embarrassment as he threatened to repeat the trick, slotting home Rovers' opener to set the nerves jangling at Selhurst.

In a bizarre incident, Jansen refused to celebrate after notching his sixth goal of a personally traumatic season, knowing it could be the strike that condemned Palace to relegation.

But the 22-year-old front man didn't have to long to sweat -- in fact, 34 minutes to be precise -- before Rovers reached for the self-destruct button in typical style to ensure Palace's safety.

"It was nice to score but it was a great result for Palace," admitted Jansen, who is still a huge hero in this part of London.

"Some of their fans said to me before the game that if I scored I wasn't allowed to celebrate, so I did that because of them.

"I love the team, I love the fans, they're a great club and they deserve to go places. "And all credit to Steve Coppell, he's had no money to spend but he's kept them up in difficult circumstances this year." Despite Jansen's divided loyalties, he was still clearly committed to the Rovers cause and remained the one bright spark in yet another lethargic display.

Even before skipper Lee Carsley was sent off following a flash of the red mist midway through the second half, the searing heat appeared to have put one or two of the Rovers side in holiday mood.

Missing the energy and invention of David Dunn, the visitors were left trailing after the break as Palace suddenly found an extra gear.

And you've got to take your hat off to Coppell and his backroom staff.

Crippling financial problems have dogged the club all season but they've refused to buckle.

In the likes of Hayden Mullins, Ashley Cole, Clinton Morrison and Leon McKenzie, Coppell has managed to foster an unbreakable will to win.

At 1-0 down, and with Walsall leading by a similar scoreline at home to Portsmouth, Palace were staring the threat of relegation in the face.

But their unquenchable thirst was suitably rewarded with second half goals from Cole and Morrison, prompting Coppell to perform a mini version of the Full Monty on the final whistle as his blazer and tie disappeared into the crowd!

Rovers, in contrast, looked one-paced and appeared to be going through the motions from the moment Jansen fired them ahead. Manager Graeme Souness was away on a scouting mission but perhaps he should have called in at the shop across from Selhurst Park which specialised in 'spare parts for Rover's'.

They may just have had a 20-goal-a-season striker, a dominant centre back with pace, and a right-sided defender on special offer.

But perhaps even more importantly, Souness must somehow re-ignite the fire in this squad's belly over the summer.

Ironically, Rovers looked lively in the early stages as Jansen released Damien Duff but his shot was saved.

Then, from the resulting Per Frandsen's corner, keeper Matt Gregg spectacularly tipped over an Ashley Ward header at full stretch.

Palace nearly cashed in on a mistake, though, when McKenzie nicked the ball off Steve Harkness's toes but Alan Kelly bravely blocked at his feet.

It was Jansen, however, who threatened to be the party-pooper when he drew first blood for Rovers on 26 minutes.

Duff was the architect, racing through the middle before releasing the former Palace man and, steadying his aim, he steered a low drive into the far corner. The silence was deafening.

Undeterred, Palace tried to claw their way back.

Veteran defender Andy Linighan fired wide from a corner and McKenzie missed a hat-trick of golden opportunities in quick succession before Jansen nearly threatened a second for Rovers with a vicious 25-yarder which Gregg somehow palmed to safety.

Palace turned up the heat, though, after the break as McKenzie fired another warning by heading into the side-netting.

And it was no surprise when they finally drew level on 60 minutes.

A static Rovers defence failed to deal with McKenzie's left-wing centre and, as Mikael Forssell tried to jink his way through a posse of players on the edge of the box, the ball broke to Cole who gleefully smashed it past Kelly.

Somehow Craig Foster then blasted over from penalty-spot range as McKenzie -- yet again -- carved open the Rovers defence down the left.

And worse was to come for the visitors as Carsley lost his rag following a strong challenge from Stephen Thomson and the referee had no hesitation in reaching for his red card.

Only a couple of last ditch tackles from Harkness and Christian Dailly prevented the home side from cashing in on their numerical advantage.

But Rovers couldn't stem the tide for long as Palace conjured up a brilliant winner with 17 minutes left. Foster sprayed the ball out to Jamie Smith on the right and Morrison rose to meet his wicked centre with a glancing near-post header which flashed past Kelly.

Even then, Rovers could have snatched a point deep into injury time when David Woozley deflected a Ward centre onto his own post.

But for the second time in a week, the men from Ewood found themselves at someone else's party on the final whistle.

And only a victory against Manchester City next weekend can prevent them from an unwanted hat-trick.