THE boy's a bit special, admitted Rovers boss Ray Harford about matchwinner Graham Fenton as the spirit of '95 was recreated at Ewood Park last night.

Geordie Fenton produced the equivalent of two exocet missiles aimed directly at the Tyne Bridge and then, understandably, admitted to mixed feelings as Newcastle United's championship challenge was blown apart.

It was a night when Rovers were clearly determined to show Newcastle that they must prove themselves worthy of wearing the crown that has been sitting somewhat uncomfortably at Ewood throughout the winter.

But it was also a night when we were not only given a peek into the past -- remember that May night just under 12 months ago? -- but also perhaps permitted a glimpse of the future.

Harford revealed: "Graham has been very patient. When he came here, he had a couple of hamstring problems but he has staked a claim now and that's what you want from your subs.

"You want them to go on and prove a point.

"I have liked him for 18 months and I think he's got a chance to be a real player and it was a great finish for the second goal."

If ever there was an inspired substitution this was the one.

Mike Newell had worked tremendously hard for the cause but something different was needed.

That was doubly true five minutes later. Rovers had coped really well with Les Ferdinand and the disappointing Colombian Faustino Asprilla thanks to some marvellous work by Chris Coleman and, in particular, Colin Hendry, only to find themselves a goal down -- to David Batty's left foot!

But Fenton was waiting in the wings to make his mark and, in a fantastic finale, he did it twice to snatch the game out of the fire and claim a victory which probably had them dancing in the streets of Manchester, never mind in the Ewood stands.

TV evidence suggested that the officials got it right with two tight offside decisions, despite Newcastle protests.

But, in any case, the visitors had seen plenty go their way before that with the referee being booed from the field at half time.

By the end, as triumph was within touching distance for Newcastle only to turn to tears among their fans, the only sound was tumultuous applause for a team who refused to acknowledge what had seemed a lost cause.

Rovers have played better than they did last night, many times on home ground this season.

But it was as though there was an extra sense of pride urging them on to show the nationwide TV audience just what being champions meant.

They defended well enough against a team who have terrorised most defences this season.

So too did Newcastle and that, really, led to the first-half stalemate.

When the visitors finally chiselled out a lead, from the unlikliest of sources, I wonder what odds Ladbrokes would have been offering on a Rovers victory.

Name your own, I suspect.

But the Geordie boys were in tandem up front by then and, fittingly, it was Alan Shearer who had an important role to play in both goals.

There were a lot of passes going astray, particularly in the first half, as the fans produced a tremendous atmosphere.

Tim Sherwood, for example, conceded possession too easily but he never hides and that was typical of a night when effort, a little bit of luck and the emergence of a new goal hero tipped the balance.

It was also Sherwood who had come closest to breaking the deadlock, before his former partner actually did so.

Likewise Jason Wilcox. He was often marked out of it but still played an important part in both goals.

Rovers know from experience that it takes all sorts of things to win a championship and, maybe, Newcastle are still missing one or two of them.

The first half was most notable for a couple of early penalty claims by Rovers against John Beresford for handling.

And they seemed to have a case on both occasions.

As for goalmouth action, a Stuart Ripley cross skimmed the crossbar but Newcastle had the better chances.

Tim Flowers showed bravery and brilliance to foil Peter Beardsley, Colin Hendry made some crucial contributions and Asprilla missed a great chance after a poor defensive header. With Newcastle's need for all three points, we waited for the game to take off and were not disappointed.

Batty and Garry Flitcroft were having a tremendous tussle in the middle of the park, both doing well, and, while Newcastle started to look much more menacing, it was Rovers who held their heads in hands.

Sherwood was put through by Wilcox only to shoot agonisingly wide. Then, with the balance of power definitely looking black, rather than blue, and white, the skipper was desperately unlucky.

Set up by Shearer, he measured a shot from around 25 yards only to see it cannon off the crossbar with Shaka Hislop well beaten.

Newcastle sent on Keith Gillespie for Asprilla and, almost immediately, were ahead with a goal that just could not have been scripted.

Some smooth passing saw Steve Watson play the ball inside to Batty. It was, perhaps, a little quick for him and he had to advance on his left foot towards unusual territory - the opposition penalty area.

Suddenly the midfielder unleashed a terrific low shot from 22 yards into the far corner and the champagne was being uncorked on Tyneside.

But that was almost that from Newcastle as an attacking force and you can't give Rovers - at home - such licence to attack you.

They took time to recover but then a similar passing move ended with Wilcox flicking the ball through to Shearer, who had found space.

He turned and saw his shot deflected off Darren Peacock towards the far post where Beresford had allowed Fenton to free himself. The instinctive volley was too much for Hislop.

All square and yet there was still more drama to come.

With the watch showing just a few seconds of normal time, Flowers made an extraordinary save from Gillespie and Wilcox produced just what was needed - a 60-yard slam over the halfway line where Shearer and Fenton were lurking.

Two Newcastle defenders got themselves in a mess and, though the chance seemed to have been lost when Fenton conceded possession, they allowed the ball to run to Shearer.

Unselfishly, he played in Fenton and a classy dink over the diving Hislop possibly consigned the present title race to history.

Sky TV won't be pleased but, somehow, I found it appropriate that the champions should have what could well be the crucial influence on the outcome.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.