EVERY one of the 1,004 Blackburn Rovers fans in the Stade de Gerland last night knew their side had a mountain to climb.

And those supporters had their own mission improbable -- to shake off the stigma of the English soccer supporter.

While the team narrowly failed in their task, the fans passed with flying colours.

As approximately 200 headed home on the excellently-organised official coaches and flight, the remainder, who had travelled under their own steam, drowned their sorrows long into the Lyon night.

Before the game, Lyon city centre had been daubed in blue and white.

Lancashire accents bellowed from the quaint bars and restaurants of the chic old town while more orchestrated celebrations focused on the stylish Place des Terraux.

And, though raucous, the mood remained jovial and the hosts were appreciative.

"We do not like the English football supporter in France," confessed one waiter. "But we see that Blackburn is different."

It is a rarity to witness mutual respect, even between rival domestic fans.

Yet the Rovers supporters were applauded by the home fans inside the ground and even by the Lyonnais players.

On leaving the stadium, as the armed CRS police scowled, the French supporters shook their visitors warmly by the hand.

Local police reported no trouble before the game. One young Rovers fan did receive a bloody nose.

But that was only through contact with the cobbled streets of the city late on Monday night when his balance was not at his best!

Bill Whittle had more reason than most to watch his step in France.

The lifelong supporter, from Blackburn, whose father-in-law Jimmy Baldwin played for Rovers in 1948, had another important match to watch at the weekend -- the marriage of his daughter.

"I'm on strict orders to be on my best behaviour and get back on time.

"Otherwise she'll kill me," he confessed.

The first time Keith Miller travelled to Lyon it was to climb a mountain!

The Professor of Engineering at Sheffield University passed through the city as a 16-year-old on his way to the Alps.

Prof Miller, a keen mountaineer and a regular climber in the Himalayas, is a veteran of Rovers trips abroad.

And he is not one to waste his time on foreign soil.

Just over 24 hours before kick-off he was delivering a lecture on metal fracture at Lyon University.

"On hearing the draw I contacted colleagues at the university and told them I would be in town and asked if they wanted me to lecture," he explained.

The professor made use of a similar opportunity in Moscow to share his expertise, which was used to assess the fencing inadequacies in the aftermath of the Hillsbrough disaster.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.