Rovers 2 Forest 1 IT'S usually Scrooge who exorcises the ghosts of seasons past around Christmas, writes Andy Neild.

But rejuvenated Rovers winger Damien Duff served up his own festive version of the Dickens classic at Ewood yesterday, proving the scourge of Nottingham Forest.

It was the Republic of Ireland international who bore the brunt of the fans' frustrations when Forest last visited Ewood in May.

That day, the softly spoken Irishman looked a haunted figure as Rovers effectively crashed out of the Premiership following a lame 2-1 defeat.

It's been a long road back for both Duff and Rovers since then.

But thanks to a bit of belief from Tony Parkes there's a new wave of optimism as the club prepares for a new Millennium.

And as long as Duff keeps delving into his box of tricks, the play offs are well within Rovers' range.

The mercurial wingman produced another one of those spellbinding performances which made turkeys out of the Forest defence.

And on the evidence of this roasting, there's currently no better player in the First Division.

But the shy Irishman is quick to heap the credit on Tony Parkes for his restoration.

Parkes's shrewd man-management skills have enabled Duff to rediscover his appetite for the game following a turbulent six months.

And now he and Rovers are reaping the rewards. "I'm only a young lad and I need a coach to tell me things and give me confidence," said Duff, clutching another man-of-the-match award.

"And that's something Tony Parkes and Terry Darracott have done for me.

"There's been a real buzz about the place since they took over.

"I struggled at the end of last season.

"Maybe it was a bit of tiredness or the pressure, I don't know.

"But I'm just happy to be playing regularly again and I'm really enjoying it at the minute."

Playing their last home game of the century, Rovers wanted to bow out in style.

And roared on by their biggest League gate of the season so far, they didn't disappoint.

But apart from Duff's scintillating display and another fine goal from Per Frandsen, the game's biggest talking points concerned two refereeing decisions - one Mike Dean did give, and one he didn't.

Even Forest boss David Platt admitted defender Riccardo Scimeca was lucky to stay on the pitch after hacking down Ashley Ward as the striker skipped past him eight minutes after the break.

But to the astonishment of everyone in the ground, Mr Dean only flashed a yellow card for a challenge which left Ward with a dislocated shoulder and the prospect of a month on the sidelines.

The official evened things up, though, 13 minutes later by awarding Rovers a dodgy-looking penalty after John Olav Hjelde tangled with Duff in the box.

But Rovers accepted the late Christmas present with open arms and it proved decisive in securing three more welcome points, which puts them within striking distance of the top six at the halfway point in the First Division programme. It could have been so different, though, had Forest gobbled up an early chance.

The game was only five minutes old when Marlon Harewood nodded down a cross from the right but Stern John fired over the bar from eight yards with just Alan Kelly to beat.

John is Dwight Yorke's strike partner for Trinidad and Tobago and his pace and trickery caused Rovers problems early on.

He tested Kelly with another effort after neat work from Harewood and only a last ditch intervention from Damien Johnson prevented him from wriggling free again.

But Rovers gradually settled down and took the lead in stunning style on 19 minutes.

The ball broke to Frandsen out on the right and he shrugged off Chris Bart-Williams before cutting inside and beating Dave Beasant from the edge of the box with a skidding left footer.

A slip by Christian Dailly nearly let Forest immediately back into it as Harewood burst clear but his cross-shot was booted clear by Martin Taylor.

They did strike back, though, on 31 minutes when Jim Brennan whipped over a deep left-wing centre, Harewood headed it back and Andy Johnson smashed a stunning volley past Kelly from 20 yards.

That knocked the stuffing out of the home side for a spell and apart from a few flashes from Duff they struggled to engineer much going forward.

The game burst into life again eight minutes after the break, though, when Scimeca scythed down Ward as he raced clear.

The former Villa man was lucky to survive but it stoked up the fans and the introduction of Matt Jansen as Ward's replacement suddenly gave Rovers the tonic they needed. Frandsen fired just over before a brilliant first touch took Duff away from Scimeca on 66 minutes and as he cut into the area, he went down in a heap under a challenge from Hjelde.

Mr Dean pointed to the spot and up stepped skipper Lee Carsley to thump home his ninth goal of the season in customary style.

Duff nearly put the icing on Rovers' Christmas cake but his rasping drive, following a nonchalant back-heel from Jansen, cannoned off the bar.

Forest almost conjured up a late equaliser, however, when Johnson forced a fine save out of Kelly.

But despite a few anxious moments late on, Rovers could even afford the luxury of a stunning miss by Egil Ostenstad as they wrapped up their first points of the festive programme.

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