GRAEME Souness never took any prisoners during a playing career in which his fearsome reputation often went before him.

The former Liverpool enforcer was one of the original breed of football hardmen in an era when men were men.

The mere presence of his name on a team-sheet was enough to send shivers through opposition dressing rooms the length and breadth of the country.

Vinnie Jones once famously feted him as one of the most ferocious players the game has ever seen in that controversial 'Soccer's Hardmen' video which earned the former Wimbledon star an FA fine.

And scores of midfielders who dared to stand in his path have no doubt still got the bumps and bruises to show from those skirmishes.

But even Souness believes there's a line which shouldn't be crossed when it comes to dishing out the rough stuff and the Rovers boss angrily accused Leeds of overstepping it here as their pursuit of Premiership survival reached desperate proportions.

Two challenges in particular in the second half left Souness fuming as United's frustrations boiled over.

First Alan Smith, himself no stranger to controversy, left his boot in on Lucas Neill as the Rovers defender attempted to clear a ball down the line.

Then, after Andy Todd had fired the visitors into an unassailable 3-1 lead, Danny Mills crudely scythed down Vratislav Gresko in similar circumstances -- a challenge which left the Slovakian writhing in agony with a broken bone in his foot.

At best, it was wreckless. At worst it was a vicious lunge from a player notorious for his bad boy image.

Whatever the motives, and Mills later declined the opportunity to offer an apology, it was a throw-back to the days when Norman Hunter and Co used to prowl around Elland Road.

Gresko's injury took the gloss off what should have been a memorable afternoon for all the right reasons as Rovers secured their first win on this ground since 1959.

But the quest for Europe was the last thing on Souness's mind as he watched his left-back disappear down the tunnel on a stretcher, nursing an injury which casts a doubt on his immediate future at Ewood.

The Rovers boss, understandably, was livid as he counted the costs of his side's seventh win from their last seven outings -- a run which Gresko has made a huge contribution to.

Amazingly, Smith and Mills both escaped punishment but Souness later refused to vent his anger at referee Paul Durkin.

"There were a couple of challenges which could have resulted in injuries to my players," said Souness, in reference to his angry reaction on the touchline.

"The man on the street, the man who pays his money, likes to see aggression on a football pitch and it's something I encourage my team to be but sometimes that can cause people problems, as it did today, whether you're the one who's receiving it or the one that's giving it out.

"Look at the incident involving Lucas Neill. He was clearing the ball up the line and a foot has been left in and that's when you do serious damage, as Vratty found to his cost.

"You can't blame the referee, though, because the pace of the game is such that they will miss things.

"He's one of the best referees around today and he got most things right."

Despite the scoreline, this was far from a classic but Rovers were resilient and took their chances when they came to leave Leeds sweating on their Premiership future.

In terms of excitement, the opening 20 minutes was a complete non-event.

The only chance of note fell to Andy Cole who rose to meet a Damien Duff corner but the striker failed to get enough purchase on his header.

Then United broke the deadlock with their first meaningful attack in the 21st minute.

Viduka escaped the attentions of Martin Taylor before feeding Harry Kewell on the right and, although the Aussie's shot was brilliantly saved by Friedel, Viduka followed up to nod home the rebound.

Five minutes later, the same pair nearly combined again to create a second but Viduka made a hash of controlling Kewell's cutback with the goal at his mercy.

At 2-0, Rovers would have been left with a mountain to climb but instead parity was restored eight minutes before the break.

Eagle-eyed referee Paul Durkin spotted a blatant handball by Michael Duberry in the box and David Dunn stepped up to dispatch the spot-kick with supreme confidence, making amends for his miss at Old Trafford the week before.

Rovers' celebrations were nearly cut short sixty seconds later but Friedel excelled again with another reflex stop to deny Kewell.

And the United States number one made further telling interventions after the break as Viduka went close to adding a second on several occasions as Leeds started the second half brightly.

Then suddenly, out of the blue, the visitors were ahead.

Dwight Yorke, on as a sub for the disappointing Hakan Sukur, sent Cole away with a clever header and, although the former England striker saw his initial shot saved by Paul Robinson, he pounced on the loose ball to scramble home his first Premiership goal since December 28.

Ten minutes later, more slap-stick defending led to a third.

Duff's corner to the far post was badly misjudged by Robinson and Todd crept in completely unmarked to slam home his first goal in a Blackburn shirt.

United's frustrations boiled over in the closing stages as Mills took his revenge on Gresko with a savage lunge.

That left Rovers to play out the rest of the game with 10 men and the home side capitalised in injury time when Smith pounced on hesitancy between Todd and Friedel to score with a tame header.

It was to prove little more than a consolation, though, and that's all they deserved on the day.

LEEDS 2

Viduka 21, Smith 90

ROVERS 3

Dunn (p) 37, Cole 68, Todd 78

Elland Road. Att: 38,062