Blackburn Rovers 3 Leeds United 4 - Peter White's big match verdict

MARTIN Dahlin could have been a hero to Blackburn Rovers supporters today, as the man who inspired a remarkable victory over Leeds United in another goal riot at Ewood Park.

Instead, the Swedish international striker was seen as the villain of the piece by the Leeds fans who celebrated the end of Rovers' unbeaten record on a crazy, sunny afternoon.

And he was clearly singled out as a fall guy by the real villain referee Steve Dunn.

In truth, it's Mr Dunn who should be reflecting more deeply than most on his contribution to another sensational Ewood game which, for Rovers, had everything but the right result.

The post-match debates raged about just how many penalties should have been given by a referee who, in my opinion, was intimidated by the depth of the Leeds protests following his early spot-kick award to Rovers which put them back in the game.

So there was really only one man to ask - Dahlin himself and he was brutally honest.

"The first one was not a penalty. I wasn't even looking for that, I just slipped," said the Swede.

"But the next two were definite penalties."

Even without the aid of TV replays, the vast majority of fans inside Ewood were in full agreement about the two that got away.

And there was more. Just on half time, Chris Sutton seemed to be clearly fouled by Robert Molenaar, yet once again Mr Dunn would have none of it. To support Dahlin's and Rovers' case, Leeds boss George Graham admitted: "We didn't think the first one was a penalty, but there were a few more after that."

Graham also felt his team should have had a spot kick too, when Colin Hendry pulled off what looked to me a fair tackle.

But there was no doubt that, in the penalty stakes, Rovers came off worst and it cost them dearly in the end.

It should be said, however, that the way they defended as a unit in the first half, being pulled apart by the pace and clever running of Rod Wallace and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink who both contributed to a couple of superb goals, wasn't good enough.

After the break, it was something more like normal service but the damage had already been done and, with Mr Dunn turning a Nelsonian eye in the box after his initial generous award, Rovers just had too much to do.

It was the reverse of the last home game against Sheffield Wednesday, with another early goal riot but Rovers on the receiving end. True they were lucky with the penalty award but how could the referee fail to spot the two blatant fouls on Dahlin?

Leeds, understandably in a sense, protested about the late dismissal of Harry Kewell for two yellow cards.

The first looked harsh, the second stemmed from the youngster's own foolishness. Besides, when you play the game as aggressively as Leeds did - conceding around 30 free kicks! - with a real mean streak, you have to accept the consequences.

If Dahlin's experiences summed up the afternoon's mayhem, Molenaar's were even more pertinent.

The giant defender was a liability for Leeds and how he wasn't sent off before being substituted at half time was a mystery. Rovers must have been sorry to see him go for he was in all sorts of trouble and could easily have conceded three penalties on his own.

Looking for a good start, Rovers were stunned by Leeds' tactics as they employed a mainly defensive platform of eight players and looked to feed off the pace of Wallace and Hasselbaink. In the third minute, Tim Flowers could only parry Hasselbaink's header and Wallace scrambled the ball home via the keeper.

Three minutes later Molenaar, whose day went from the sublime to the ridiculous, struck an unstoppable first-time shot high into the net from Gary Kelly's corner.

Rovers showed they've got some bottle as Kevin Gallacher (eight mins) picked up Molenaar's half clearance and hit a great goal from around 30 yards.

It was 2-2 on 16 minutes when Dahlin turned quickly past Molenaar, went down and the referee gave a penalty. Sutton crashed it high into the net.

Just a minute later and Leeds were in front again with a gem, as Wallace cut in from the left, across the box. He teased defenders reluctant to dive in before curling a great shot into the far top corner.

Incredibly, with only 23 minutes on the clock, it was 4-2 for Leeds. Hasselbaink made a great run to open up Rovers, everyone got sucked in and he found David Hopkin in acres of space on the right.

The finish was cool and clinical into the far corner. Dahlin, who had already been blatantly pushed by Gunnar Halle, was then mugged by Molenaar but no penalty. Still, the Swede had his revenge in the 33rd minute when he took a pass from Lars Bohinen, shrugged off Molenaar and finished lethally in off the far post from a tight angle.

Right on half time, Sutton had a case for yet another penalty claim when - who else? - Molenaar man-handled him.

Let's just say it was no surprise when Graham decided to replace the defender at half time.

The second half saw Rovers dominate and play more football, with Dahlin showing real class at times to set up his team-mates. There were some near things but, when Gallacher's well-struck shot whistled fractionally past a post with 10 minutes left from Garry Flitcroft's excellent cross, you sensed it was a lost cause. Roy Hodgson clearly still has some work to do to weld the back line into an effective unit against such pacy attackers but let's hope it's not at the expense of the attack, because they look so capable of scoring goals - given an even break by the officials.

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