Rovers return stings Wanderers

The storm of controversy over the Mike Whitlow-Andy Cole incident has probably changed the flavour of these so-called Lancashire "hot-pots" for the foreseeable future - and not for the better.

Unfortunately the 17th minute flashpoint had less of an impact on the immediate survival prospects of these two oldest of footballing neighbours, who are scrapping to stay in the Premiership.

When it came to the result, Souness was clearly and understandably the happier of the two managers. Seeing his Rovers - a man short for 73 minutes and a goal down at half time - fight back to rescue a point must have been heart-warming to say the least.

But the Worthington Cup winners remain in the bottom three with a tough run-in and - thanks to Cole's folly - without their star striker for three of their 11 remaining games.

In contrast, Sam Allardyce saw a golden opportunity go begging. Wanderers remain four points above Rovers and, although moving another tentative step nearer the finish line, they know the margin today should have been seven.

If, in the next ten nerve-jangling games, they get a better chance to bank maximum points, they will count themselves the luckiest team alive.

And chillingly, they know from the way they performed with ten men, that Rovers are not going to make it easy for them. They have the survival instinct as well as the talent.

Wherever Wanderers go and however hard they fight they can bet their last penny Souness and his boys will be battling as if their lives depend on it.

The relegation dog-fight is destined to go the distance but it should have been oh so different. This could have been the "victory of all victories" for Big Sam and he knows it.

Ahead of the game the manager conceded that Wanderers would not deserve to stay up if they failed to take advantage of games against fellow strugglers. Well ... they could not have asked for a more favourable scenario after Cole had quite rightly been given his marching orders and Rod Wallace had cashed in on Henning Berg's howler just before the break to score against Rovers for the second time this season.

But they were just not good enough. They had the upper hand and they should have taken the initiative but they allowed themselves to be pushed onto the back foot.

Matt Jansen's superbly-struck equaliser was hardly a bolt from the blue either. Jussi Jaaskelainen had already gone full length to keep out a screaming drive from Hakan Unsal and was lucky Rovers' sub Yordi lost his bearings after he dropped David Dunn's corner at his feet.

And Wanderers' might not even have had a point to console them if the keeper had not gone full length to save Jansen's free kick as it speared through the wall, low and hard.

Souness had a case for claiming Rovers were the better side in the second half - certainly after Wallace had missed the target by inches and seen Brad Friedel deflect his tightly-angled drive to safety, seconds after the big American keeper had fisted away Kevin Nolan's powerful drive.

But Wanderers were less of a force after Michael Ricketts - a surprise omission from the starting line-up - replaced Fredi Bobic while Rovers grew in stature and confidence with the introduction of wingers Damien Duff and Keith Gillespie.

At his best and with a little more luck, Ricketts might have snatched victory but he was baulked by Gillespie as he leapt to try and convert a Wallace cross then Lucas Neill did just enough to force him into a tame shot in a race for Stig Tofting's through ball.

"I thought the lad needed a rest," Allardyce said, explaining his decision to relegate his top scorer to the subs' bench.

"He's looked a little bit weary and the goals haven't been going in for him recently so the bench was the best place for him.

"There were a couple of opportunities, particularly the header (I don't think he quite got it clean), where he could have won it for us. But he's fought a long and hard battle up front for us at times this year and then the England call-up ... there's been an awful lot of pressure on him."

Apart from Jaaskelainen's saves and another quality performance from Bruno N'Gotty in the back three, the most encouraging sign for Wanderers was seeing Youri Djorkaeff look more like a World Cup winner after finding his Premiership feet at Southampton.

Allardyce changed his playing pattern and, instead of the lone striker, operated with Bobic and Wallace as a front two with the Frenchman in "the hole" - seemingly his most effective position.

One flash of magic would have conjured up a 2-0 lead had his chip over Friedel not sailed narrowly off target - a chance he created for himself out of nothing.

"I said after the Southampton game that in every match I would be better and better and better and I was very happy with my performance," Djorkaeff said promisingly.

"I think I played a good game and the supporters made me welcome. But that is not important. It is important for the team to win and win and win. It's not about me it's about the team.

"I thought the team played well and there is a good spirit but we needed to kill the game after scoring a nice goal.

"It is not easy to win a game in the Premiership and we need to continue to improve every week for Bolton to stay in the first league. Obviously that is our objective and we are all doing our best."

Allardyce was not wrong when he suggested before the game that strong refereeing would be important and he got the performance he wanted from Paul Durkin.

The ref from Dorset judged the Whitlow-Cole flare-up perfectly - booking the Bolton man for a reckless challenge and red-carding the wild Rover for stamping on Whitlow in retaliation. He was also on the ball to let off young firebrands Nolan and Dunn with just a lecture when they "eyeballed" each other after a niggling collision.

And Durkin was spot on again, waving away penalty appeals on the hour when the ball hit Gudni Bergsson's arm as he challenged Berg for Dunn's corner. Funnily enough Souness did not see it that way!