Wanderers 1 ROVERS 1

WANDERERS (3-4-1-2)

JUSSI JAASKELAINEN ... 8

Great saves second half from Unsal and Jansen

BRUNO N'GOTTY ... 8

Another quality performance from the big Frenchman

.

GUDNI BERGSSON ... 7

'Not guilty' said referee Durkin as Rovers appealed for handball

MIKE WHITLOW ... 7

"Play-acting" claims but his only offence was a reckless tackle

.

NICKY SOUTHALL ... 6

Useful going forward but found Duff hard to handle

.

STIG TOFTING ... 6

Struggled again to repeat the impressive form of his debut appearance

.

KEVIN NOLAN ... 6

Forced a marvellous save from Friedel but rarely looked comfortable

RICARDO GARDNER ... 7

Did well in the wing-back role and was the mainspring for many attacks

YOURI DJORKAEFF ... 8

Some lovely touches in a promising home debut

.

FREDI BOBIC ... 7

Looks much more at home in the striker's role - good in the air

.

ROD WALLACE ... 7

Took his goal well; always lively and always looking to produce something

.

Subs: Michael Ricketts (5) for Bobic 54 mins, Anthony Barness for Southall 79 mins, Dean Holdsworth for Wallace 85 mins. Not used: Mario Espartero, Kevin Poole.

ROVERS (4-4-2)

BRAD FRIEDEL ... 7

Excellent saves to deny Nolan and Wallace

.

LUCAS NEILL ... 7

Enjoyed his freedom after escaping an FA ban

.

HENNING BERG ... 6

What a howler! He will have nightmares about that backpass

.

NILS JOHANSSON ... 7

Escaped a blunder; otherwise stubborn and hard to beat

.

STIG BYORNEBYE ... 5

Sacrificed at half-time in Souness' tactical shake-up

.

DAVID DUNN ... 7

Tough to handle and posed a threat with every set-piece

.

MARK HUGHES ... 6

Only managed 62 minutes but still made his presence felt

.

GARRY FLITCROFT ... 8

An impressive all-round show in the role he plays so well

.

HAKAN UNSAL ... 7

A promising debut by the Turk, just 24 hours after being cleared to play

.

ANDY COLE ... 5

A shameful retaliation made even worse by the events that followed

.

MATT JANSEN ... 8

An excellent strike capped an excellent performance

.

Subs: Yordi (6) for Byornebye (h-t), Keith Gillespie (7) for Hughes 62 mins, Damien Duff (6) for Unsall 62 mins. Not used: Martin Taylor, Alan Miller

Referee: Paul Durkin (Portland).

Attendance: 27,203.

Goals: Wanderers - Wallace 45 mins; Rovers - Jansen 68 mins.

Shots/headers on target: Wanderers 7, Rovers 5.

Corners: Wanderers 7, Rovers 4.

Offsides: Wanderers 3, Rovers 1.

Fouls committed: Wanderers 22, Rovers 10.

Booking: Whitlow 17 mins (foul on Cole).

Red card: Cole 17 mins (violent conduct, retaliating on Whitlow).

Man of the Match

BRUNO N'GOTTY

ANOTHER quality performance by the big Frenchman who always looked in control of events at the back. The Reebok fans are growing to admire the man from Marseille.

Moan of the Match

SOUNESS' astonishing attack on Mike Whitlow was unjustified. The Wanderers' man was rightly booked, Cole was rightly sent off. Referee Durkin was spot-on. End of story.

Magic Moment

GARDNER, who loves nothing more than to run at defences, got the pulses racing with a second half dash that took him past Dunn and Neill - only for his cross to to get under Ricketts' feet.

KICK BY KICK

5 mins: Nolan's quick free kick puts Bobic clear but Johansson gets back to make the block.

7 mins: Flitcroft's break causes problems but Dunn's snapshot flies wide.

17 mins: Cole is sent off for retaliating violently after being fouled by Whitlow.

24 mins: Nolan gets back and does enough to force Neill to shoot tamely after good work by Jansen.

31 mins: Gardner shoots over from six yards in a scramble after Bobic gets his head to Djorkaeff's corner - the first of the match.

GOAL!

45 mins: Tofting clears from his own box, Bobic heads on ... then it's a nightmare for Berg who under-hits a backpass leaving Wallace to draw Friedel and finish with ease.

Half-time: Wanderers 1, Rovers 0.

49 mins: Wallace fires wide of the angle after Southall cashes in on Johansson's poor clearance.

50 mins: Friedel denies Wanderers twice, beating away Nolan's shot then making a smart, reflex save from Wallace's angled, back-post effort.

60 mins: Jaaskelainen goes full-length to save Unsal's long-range shot; Bergsson heads Dunn's corner away leaving Berg appealing in vain for a penalty for handball.

63 mins: Jaaskelainen drops Dunn's corner but Yordi fails to take advantage.

64 mins: Djorkaeff shows superb skills creating something almost out of nothing, trying to chip Friedel.

GOAL!

68 mins: Jansen works wonders, receiving Duff's pass and turning Nolan ad teeing himself up for a volley well out of Jaaskelainen's reach.

72 mins: Jaaskelainen pulls out a cracker to save Jansen's fierce free kick.

79 mins: Ricketts looks sure to score, going for Wallace's cross, but Gillespie makes a nuisance of himself and the chance is gone.

Full-time: Wanderers 1, Rovers 1.