ONLY Premiership leaders Newcastle United have won more home games this season than Blackburn Rovers.

And not a single top-flight team has scored more goals in front of their own fans.

Most of them, of course, have come from the boots or head of Alan Shearer.

Last night's re-arranged clash with Coca-Cola Cup finalists Leeds United produced a second successive Ewood blank for the man who had scored in every home League game until a couple of weeks ago.

But, not to worry, for, while "Wor Alan" was contributing in different directions, there was another Geordie ready, willing and, to use his own word, "eager" to take the accolades.

Graham Fenton got his chance through an unfortunate injury to Paul Warhurst on the stroke of half time and took it in a manner of which the man himself would have been proud.

His first goal for the club was enough to put Rovers back on the winning track after four matches - albeit three of them away and that's another story - which had produced just one point.

They had to battle to hold onto it and, perhaps, had a little bit of luck when it was needed.

But Leeds generally give little away, as you would expect from a team which has already reached Wembley in one competition and still has a quarter-final replay to anticipate in the FA Cup. A narrow-minded view might have been that the visitors deserved to take something from a game in which they certainly had the chances to score a goal or two.

But the Ewood regular would reflect with a great deal of satisfaction that his team had registered an important victory in circumstances which would have tested the biggest and best in the land.

Imagine putting on a State banquet and suddenly finding that the fillet steak and several bottles of the finest wines have gone missing from the kitchen.

Rovers boss Ray Harford never complains about the size of the problems which have confronted him over recent months, but I make no excuse for stating facts.

Missing from last night's menu were: Ian Pearce, Graeme Le Saux, Stuart Ripley, Jason Wilcox, Lars Bohinen, Tim Sherwood, Chris Sutton, Mike Newell and, after 45 minutes, Paul Warhurst.

That is not to belittle in any way the men who played. Thankfully, Rovers have invested over the months to recruit players, international players in some cases, and it pays off at times like last night.

But the list of absentees does give some idea - at least to the realist - of the perspective of last night's achievement.

The likes of Fenton, Nicky Marker, Matty Holmes and Warhurst have had their first-team chances limited. So too, in some respects for an established international, has Billy McKinlay.

It would be impossible to expect them to go out on the pitch and click straight into gear.

Yet, they did the job that was required and that was a tribute to their professionalism.

To sum up Rovers' performance, two of the "new boys" combined to clinch victory, yet it was three of the "old guard" who provided the foundations.

When Marker's glorious through ball found Fenton and his exquisite finish punished Leeds, it underlined that Rovers do have quality in reserve.

And when the heat was on, they also had a trio of players who produce quality week in, week out. We saw a different Shearer in some ways last night. It was as though he was acutely aware that a much-changed team needed all-round leadership from the front and he provided it.

His contribution has never been an unselfish effort but, last night, he was significantly more a maker than potential taker of chances and it was only a pity that he couldn't have got on the end of some of his own promptings!

In the heart of defence when Leeds several times threatened an equaliser, you could always count on the blond head of Colin Hendry being in the thick of the action.

And, behind him, Tim Flowers produced two of the finest saves you could wish to see.

Well, as far as I am concerned he did. For, one of them didn't even count as far as the referee was concerned. He gave a goal kick!

But match official Steve Dunn's contribution was, in any case, the poorest of the night.

Shearer, in particular, had much cause for deserved complaint about the referee's performance.

Leeds too could well have made a greater fuss about the yellow card given to Jeff Kenna for his alleged foul on Andy Gray.

Not everyone was convinced it was an offence. But if the referee was sure the Rovers defender had committed a foul, then he should have sent him off as the winger would have been clear on goal.

Unfortunately, refereeing standards are a burden we have to shoulder - not to mention those of their "assistants", as linesmen are to be termed in future.

Changing their title, sadly, won't improve them.

The match action itself promised much but often failed to deliver. Both teams had excellent early chances, none better than the one which fell for Paul Beesley from a corner, or McKinlay from Shearer.

Both failed to hit the target.

Shearer, as either creator or scorer, looked Rovers' best first-half bet while Leeds, with Gary McAllister too deep for my money, lacked penetration.

Just on half time, Shearer's superb pass freed Warhurst but John Lukic saved well and the subsequent collision saw the end of the Rovers man.

But it was the opening that Fenton wanted. Just three minutes after the break, Marker won a midfield battle and released the former Aston Villa player to stride convincingly past Beesley. Into the penalty area he went before firing precisely into the far bottom corner.

That livened things up no end and Leeds, who have had one or two problems of their own, responded by sending on Tomas Brolin.

At one end, Shearer put a header against a post, while still creating openings for others, and, at the other, Flowers came into his own.

I'm sure the keeper got fingertips to a Brolin header and then definitely made the save of the game from McAllister's cunningly flighted free kick. England class!

Leeds pressed hard for an equaliser and the fans became frustrated at the way Rovers, too often for comfort, carelessly conceded possession.

Cohesion wasn't easy to find with so many changes, but there was no shortage of commitment and, despite a few scares, they survived.

The result was heart-warming on a night when the bitter cold, not to mention the injury list, had caused a few shivers of apprehension.

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