ROVERS: Dahlin repaying what's Owen!

THE fraught life of a football manager is full of sharply contrasting emotions, with Roy Hodgson admitting in a pre-match interview that he's never far away from having a laugh or, for that matter, displaying a flash of anger.

And the Blackburn Rovers boss revealed that TV programmes such as "Only Fools and Horses" and "Rab C Nesbitt" have been known to prompt a chuckle or two in the Hodgson household.

On Saturday afternoon, his temper may have been aroused by the goal Rovers gave away but, shortly before 4.45pm, a suave Swede called Martin Dahlin probably produced a broader grin than either Del Boy - a reminder of Hodgson's London roots - or the unsavoury Scot could have prompted in a dozen episodes.

The clinical finishing, for both goals, certainly didn't fall off the back of a lorry. It was the genuine article - 'Luvly Jubbly', as Del might have said.

Young Michael Owen - what a star in the making -deserves every credit for the manner in which he took his chance.

Though Rovers will be distraught at the way it came about, from one of their own 15 corners in the game.

Yet the way they fought back, Dahlin's quickfire opportunism for the equaliser and the use of substitutes suggested there is a strong heart beating inside the squad. That would give Hodgson the biggest smile of all.

Little things highlight significant features.

When substitutions have been made, there has been no sulking - quite the contrary. Players coming off have been quick to encourage the men replacing them. And, when Jason Wilcox blundered to give Owen his goal chance, at least two Rovers players made a point of having a word of consolation with him.

They don't make mistakes on purpose and the fans, giving Wilcox a generous ovation as he was taken off, clearly recognised it too.

From what I have gleaned so far, such spirit is a major principle of Hodgson's team building.

In a league as close as the Premiership, it can also be an invaluable factor in winning games that would normally be drawn, and saving matches that could have been lost as we saw on Saturday.

It was an eventful affair, not least for Stephane Henchoz, the young Swiss defender in the wars with blood streaming from a head wound and ending his afternoon early.

There were a couple of occasions when clever runs by Owen and Karlheinz Riedle put them in threatening positions on the wrong side of the central defender.

But his powers of recovery and coolness where others might panic seem quite remarkable.

Ian Pearce substituted admirably alongside the - again - excellent Colin Hendry, and, until they lost Henchoz and let the impetus drift away in the spell before half-time, Rovers' pressing game and pressure on the visitors' defence had been admirable. Liverpool have made a very ordinary start but they counter-attack so well, making them most dangerous when Rovers were going forward, as the opening goal so clearly demonstrated.

It was probably a fair result in the end, because Liverpool had three or four great chances but Rovers had more of the pressure and with a bit of luck could have had opportunities equally as good.

There were, in particular, some top-quality crosses from Stuart Ripley which went unrewarded.

The first half belonged to Rovers and there were signs of panic in the Liverpool ranks.

But they had enough about them to survive.

A Wilcox shot deflected off Bjorn Kvarme and cleared off the line by Steve McManaman and a super save from Pearce's fierce drive were concrete evidence of the threat from Rovers.

And, with Garry Flitcroft again a driving force in midfield, there were other near things, stemming from both flanks, which left you wondering if it was to be Rovers' day.

But it certainly wasn't one-sided.

Riedle should have done better as he got clear but John Filan somehow touched his shot round, the German hit the bar with a flashing header and McManaman was off target from a good position.

The nature of the game changed with the Liverpool goal on 53 minutes. Rovers won yet another corner and the ball was cleared to Wilcox just inside the Liverpool half. Unfortunately, he dallied while Owen dashed in to charge down the winger's attempted pass.

With so many Rovers players committed forward, the way was left clear for Owen to race half the length of the field and produce a composed finish.

It came initially from a blunder but spoke volumes for Owen's pace, ability and temperament.

The goal knocked Rovers out of their stride and only a fine save by Filan as McManaman seemed to have too much time and too many options at the end of one of the game's best moves kept them in it.

But they switched things around and the introduction of Lars Bohinen in particular gave them more variety. James made super saves from both Bohinen and Dahlin before the subs struck decisively with six minutes left.

Charging into the penalty area, Bohinen played a one-two with Chris Sutton, then, deliberately or not, steered it into the path of Dahlin who placed his shot perfectly past James from 10 yards.

The Swede was immediately buried beneath a pile of celebrating Rovers players as that collective spirit was evident again.

Overall, 1-1 was just about right and there were no plonkers in this episode, just two teams who provided value for money.

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