ROVERS ground out their first away win of the season thanks to a last-gasp strike from super-sub Craig Hignett.

The former Barnsley man pounced a clever pass from Marcus Bent to flick home the coolest of finishes in the 91st minute to leave the Saints shattered and hand Rovers their first away win over Southampton since 1938.

But the real hero of the day was keeper Brad Friedel who had denied Marian Pahars what looked a certain winner just minutes before.

Pahars had fired the Saints into a first half lead after his shot took a deflection off Henning Berg.

But Turkish midfield ace Tugay then cancelled that out with a stunning 25 yarder just seconds before half time.

In the second half, both sides struggled to carve out many clear-cut chances.

But in the last 10 minutes, Pahars sprung the offside trap only to be denied by Friedel from point-blank range.

Then the dangerous James Beattie rapped the base of the post with a header from a Paul Telfer free kick.

However, in one final cruel twist, Bent then caught the Saints defence square and Hignett was on hand to beat Paul Jones with the deftest of finishes despite Southampton's protest that he was offside.

BARCLAYCARD PREMIERSHIP: SOUTHAMPTON 1 BLACKBURN ROVERS 2, St Mary's Stadium, Saturday November 3, 2001

Southampton: Jones, Dodd, Bridge, El Khalej, Williams, Telfer, Oakley, Delap, Marsden, Beattie, Pahars. Subs: Moss, Monk, Davies, Svensson, Petrescu

Rovers: Friedel, Neill, Taylor, Berg, Johansson, Flitcroft, Tugay, Dunn, Gillespie, Jansen, Hughes. Subs: Filan, Johnson (for Neill, 80) Short, Hignett (for Flitcroft, 46), Bent (for Hughes, 64)

Referee: A Wiley