BLACKBURN boss Mark Hughes said he was satisfied with a point after his players shrugged off the effects of a busy week to prove more than a match for Manchester City.

Hughes had approached the game with an air of trepidation, knowing that seven members of his squad had been on international duty in various far-flung corners of the globe in the week prior to this short hop down the M60.

However, those fears ultimately proved unfounded as Rovers dug deep to grind out what could turn out to be a useful draw on opposition soil.

"Given the week we had leading up to it I think we've got to be satisfied with a point," said Hughes.

"We had a lot of guys away on international duty, which made it more difficult for us to prepare for the game than it possibly was for City, because I don't think they had anyone away.

"That was a concern going into the game.

"Because we were missing a couple of guys, that meant we had to re-jig the side that played against Charlton, so there was always a danger that was going to disrupt us.

"But in the first half I thought we were excellent. We bossed the game and had plenty of possession, without creating anything of note in the final third.

"The second half was a little bit more even and they came more into it a bit more.

"But, basically, I thought it was a game where both sets of defenders were on top, and both back fours performed excellently."

Rovers, inspired by the evergreen Tugay, totally dictated the tempo in the opening half hour, stroking the ball around with real confidence.

However, the visitors failed to convert that possession into clear-cut goalscoring chances and City gradually clawed their way back into the contest, once they had worked out how to stop Tugay from bossing the midfield skirmishes.

If anything, the Blues slightly shaded a scrappier second half but, on a day when defences were the dominant force, the two goalkeepers, Brad Friedel and David James, didn't have a meaningful save to make between them.

The two main talking points in a largely incident free second period centred around City duo Danny Mills and Stuart Pearce.

At one point, Mills appeared to catch Morten Gamst Pedersen with a flailing arm but any contact was deemed accidental.

"The guys just said there was a coming together and a tangle of arms as they were trying to run back," said Hughes.

"I think he caught him but whether or not there was any intent, I don't know.

"It's not something we are going to dwell on. There was a coming together, but you'd like to think there wasn't any intent."

As for Pearce, he caused a late titter when he fielded the ball and then ran onto the pitch to plant it by the feet of Robbie Savage, who was stalling over taking a free kick.

That led to a ticking off for the City boss, whose only crime was to try and inject some humour into the closing stages.

"He wanted to get involved, as Stuart does," added Hughes.

"I'm not quite sure what the ruling is when you encroach on the field of play, but I got sent off for kicking a bag (at Chelsea) and he just got a talking to, so I don't know quite what's happening."