JUSTICE was eventually done at Ewood Park. Although, from the Southampton viewpoint, maybe not seen to be done.

At the end of an explosive and dramatic week, Blackburn Rovers can truly say they have been initiated into the nerve-jangling hell that is the Premiership relegation battle.

And the sooner such a situation is consigned to the memory banks as a bad dream, the better for everyone.

As caretaker-boss Tony Parkes readily confessed afterwards: "It was exciting stuff, but the wrong kind of exciting!"

Rovers' second victory of the season was deserved and right - but for the wrong reasons.

There were two distinct episodes. The first was the terrific first-half performance by Rovers, who demonstrated the beautiful game at its best, and it should have seen them in a position to emulate Everton's recent 7-1 thrashing of Saints.

And the second? The mysterious 80th-minute dismissal of Southampton's Ulrich Van Gobbel - known to his team-mates as 'The Beast' - for a second yellow card.

It was, perhaps, a tale of Beauty and the Beast. For the visitors, the dismissal was a technical hitch to match the one which halted the National Lottery later in the evening.

There was certainly more good than bad in a cracking game and top-class football flowed from Rovers before the break.

But then the anxiety returned as Saints rubbed out Tim Sherwood's opener, with an equaliser from Egil Ostenstad, who proved a very awkward customer all afternoon.

In fact, Saints looked as though they might even win it. But the harsh dismissal of Van Gobbel saw them lose the composure they had rediscovered.

And who, apart from an understandably frustrated Graeme Souness, could deny that Chris Sutton's late winner was not - overall - deserved.

For, the one thing Rovers did all afternoon was create chances against a Southampton defence which had more holes than there are DFS sales ending at the weekend.

Yet the game finished on a note that had as much relief as celebration in it, largely because of Rovers' wastefulness in front of goal.

Having said that, the first job when Parkes took control was to stop the rot, the second step to create more chances and the third is to cash in on them. Three steps to heaven, so to speak, and we're two-thirds of the way there.

And, as he promised, Parkes isn't afraid of adding the flair of Lars Bohinen and George Donis to his stormtroopers when the occasion demands.

Both were sent on as substitutes and Donis made a crucial contribution to a winner which was fitting reward for the way Sutton led the Rovers attack.

It was a pity that more of the first-half chances didn't fall to Sutton, although he himself did contrive to make a real mess of one of them. If there was a fear that the team would still be suffering a hangover from Nottingham Forest's stoppage-time equaliser, it was soon banished.

The scoreline could have been 4-1 to Rovers after a dozen minutes!

Colin Hendry, Sherwood, Garry Flitcroft and Kevin Gallacher - set free by an exquisite pass from Graeme Le Saux - could easily all have scored.

But so too could the mobile and energetic Ostenstad, who was thwarted by Tim Flowers after wriggling, not for the last time, through the heart of Rovers' defence.

The sad sight of Saints keeper Chris Woods being stretchered off with a fractured leg in the 16th minute - a pure accident - proved only a temporary distraction and his deputy Dave Beasant turned out to be a real stumbling block.

But he could do nothing as the lead finally arrived in the 27th minute.

A Rovers attack seemed to be running out of steam but Jason Wilcox did well to put over a telling cross from the left, Sutton skilfully headed back across goal and a clinical close-range volley from skipper Sherwood did the rest. It should have been more, much more, but Southampton hinted that they were quite capable of taking advantage of Rovers' generosity, as Matt Oakley should have equalised and Eyal Berkovic would have done but for the agility of Flowers.

If only Gallacher's finishing had been equal to the rest of his play, Rovers would have been home and dry.

But the door was opened for the visitors as Ostenstad won a penalty area duel with Colin Hendry - despite claims for handling - and went on to score from the tightest of angles.

At that moment, you feared the worst.

Nerves came to the fore and Saints were an ever-increasing threat.

But, after 77 minutes, Van Gobbel became entangled in an off-the-ball spot of bother with Wilcox and both were booked.

Three minutes later, the defender was involved in another scuffle with Sutton and, while it was difficult to see what he did wrong, he got his marching orders.

Still Rovers wasted their chances but, with Southampton on the back foot and time running out, Donis played the ball into Sutton's stride, the striker surged through another gap and cracked a low drive into the bottom corner.

A class finish that brought the house down, even though it was a long time coming.

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