OCTOBER 10, 2004: Chelsea 4, Blackburn Rovers 0.

That black Saturday at Stamford Bridge three years ago was possibly the nadir in Mark Hughes' career as a Premiership manager.

Imagine, then, the sense of satisfaction Hughes must have felt when Rovers returned to the scene of that massacre and succeeded in holding Chelsea to a draw, on the eve of his third anniversary in the Ewood hot-seat.

If confirmation were needed that Rovers have come a long way in a short space of time under Hughes' shrewd direction then it was provided here, in the shape of a spirited, backs-to-the-wall performance that oozed character and commitment.

Hughes has carried out major surgery in the three years since that capitulation at the hands of Chelsea, and the result is Rovers are virtually unrecognisable from the side he inherited off Graeme Souness in September 2004.

Leaner, meaner, and more prepared to run the extra yards for each other, Hughes' class of 2007 are a far more formidable proposition altogether, a fact they ably demonstrated in the cauldron that is Stamford Bridge.

Like most visitors to this London stronghold, Rovers had been casually swatted aside with the minimum of fuss on their previous three visits, conceding 11 goals in the process to a Chelsea side that has become invincible under Jose Mourinho on home soil.

But this time, Rovers were far more resilient and, thanks to the inspirational Brad Friedel, who pulled off several crucial saves to deny Michael Essien and the hapless Andriy Shevchenko, they became only the second team to keep Chelsea out at the Bridge in 43 league games, the other being Manchester United in a meaningless contest at the back end of last season.

Understandably, Hughes was suitably pleased with a point, a result which extends Rovers' own unbeaten run to an impressive 15 matches in all competitions.

Although they rode their luck at times, not least when Salomon Kalou appeared to have a perfectly good goal' ruled out by an offside flag, Rovers deserved to take something back to Ewood following a gutsy performance, epitomised by the fighting qualities of the excellent Christopher Samba, who sustained a nasty head injury in the line of duty during a late melee.

Reflecting on another job well done, Hughes, who had poignantly predicted this game would act as a marker of how far his side had come, said: "I remember my first match here as a manager. We got beat 4-0 and never laid a glove on them in the whole 90 minutes.

"I think we were four or five games into my tenure, and in those days it was difficult to come to places like Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford and compete, because we weren't capable of matching what they had.

"But we've come a long way in a short space of time, and we've just got to keep on progressing and keep moving forward, which is what we are doing as a group at the moment.

"Today, and in the months that we've been building in the lead up to this, I think we've proved that we can go up against the best teams and get something out of them.

"That's Arsenal and Chelsea we've now taken points from, and we will take points off the big four this season. I've no doubt about that."

That view is also shared by Friedel, one of the two surviving members - the other being Brett Emerton - from the side that lost so meekly to Chelsea three years ago.

Even in the dark days of October 2004, Friedel felt Hughes was the man to breathe new life into a team that had past its sell-by-date under the previous manager.

"I had a lot of faith in Mark," said the American.

"I knew him well, having played with him for two years as a player at Blackburn, and his football knowledge, and the way he wants to do his work on a daily basis, is very professional.

"The staff he also brought in were very professional - you don't get many better staff, from top to bottom, than the ones he has brought to the club.

"When I saw that early on, I was very excited about what the prospects could be.

"He hasn't had a big pile of cash, where he can just go and change 10 players at one time, he's had to do it in bits and pieces.

"But he's done a very, very good job, and I don't think anyone within the Premier League can boast the kinds of transfer fees he has paid for players compared to what they are worth now, and how they play on the pitch."

Aside from injecting more quality into his squad, Hughes has also reduced the average age of his team since he succeeded Souness three years ago.

Seven members of the side that lost here in 2004 were in their 30s, and the average age of that team was 29.

Compare that to Saturday's side, which had an average age of 27 and contained just two thirtysomethings, and you can see how Hughes has changed the whole dynamic of the squad.

Rovers had to soak up a fair amount of pressure in the first half, but they were indebted to Friedel for some inspired goalkeeping as Chelsea looked to extend their unbeaten home record in the Premiership to a staggering 66 matches.

First, the big American produced an outstanding full-length stop to keep out a venomous drive from the industrious Essien.

Then moments later, the Rovers keeper showed great awareness to dash off his line and thwart Shevchenko following another driving Essien run.

It was not all one-way traffic, though, as Morten Gamst Pedersen went close with a fiercely struck volley just before the break.

Chelsea thought they had finally broken the deadlock in the 58th minute when Kalou popped up at the far post to finish off a Juliano Belletti cross but, much to Mourinho's angst, the effort was chalked out by an offside flag. A lucky escape.

After that, Rovers appeared to grow in confidence as an attacking force, as first Samba volleyed wide, then Robbie Savage forced an acrobatic save out of Petr Cech.

Pedersen also had a decent shout for a penalty turned down when he appeared to get caught by Jon Obi Mikel in the area.

Friedel then came to Rovers' rescue again late on, brilliantly denying Shevchenko with an instinctive block at the back post, and in the melee that followed, Samba took a nasty whack on the head.

It was a day when defenders had to stand up and be counted.