I MUST respond to Phil Lloyd's negative piece (LET, April 11) concerning Rovers' match at Molineux.

I and the rest of my family who attended the match thought that both Egil Ostenstad and Ashley Ward had reasonably good games.

Yes, both missed chances, but so did several others -- Matt Jansen, Jason McAteer and Nathan Blake.

If they had taken what were more simple chances, Damien Duff would not have been the only Rovers player on the score sheet.

Phil Lloyd and many others seem to forget Ashley Ward and Egil Ostenstad have earned us valuable points.

Let's remember: Norwich City (away) 2-0, when Ostenstad scored both goals; Charlton (away) 2-1, when Ward scored both goals; Portsmouth (away) 2-1 when Ostenstad scored the winner; Wolverhampton (home) 1-1 when he scored the equaliser and Nottingham Forest 1-0 when Ward scored the only goal. Note that most of these matches were away and the points were even more valuable for Blackburn.

At Molineux, Ward was still on the pitch when Rovers scored and put the pass through to Duff who went on to score. Ashley worked tirelessly at the front, keeping two defenders occupied for most of the match.

You may also reflect on the fact that Wolverhampton scored their winner and went on to win the match after both Ostenstad and Ward had been substituted.

While Phil Lloyd has never hidden his lack of admiration for these players, I am not the only one to believe that both Ostenstad and Ward are both valuable members of the Blackburn Rovers line-up and hope they will be for the next few seasons.

ELIZABETH LANGHORN, Calgary Avenue, Lammack, Blackburn