MAN of the moment Roque Santa Cruz celebrated his birthday in fine style by firing Blackburn Rovers to within touching distance of a place in the first round of the Uefa Cup.

The Paraguayan hitman, who turned 26 yesterday, grabbed his second goal in six days to give Mark Hughes' side a crucial first leg advantage in this second qualifying round tie with the Finnish minnows MyPa-47.

Having scored as a substitute just three minutes into his Premiership debut against Middlesbrough at the weekend, Santa Cruz needed just five minutes to achieve the same feat on his first full start for his new club.

Normally renowned for his prowess in the air, Rovers' new £3.3 million frontman showed he also possesses great technical ability on the floor, too, when he rifled a stunning cross-shot past helpless MyPa keeper Janne Korhonen.

It was a cracking finish, worthy of winning any game, and it means that Rovers are now in a great position to progress to the next stage when the Finns come to Ewood for the second leg on August 30.

Delighted with his match-winning strike, Santa Cruz said: "It's a nice way to mark my birthday.

"I've no idea when I'll get a chance to celebrate because we've got so many games coming up. Maybe I'll have to wait until next year!

"It's not a perfect result but in European football any win is a good one."

Hughes was similarly satisfied with his side's performance, and in particular another valuable contribution from his new recruit.

"I knew he was a quality player but maybe he has surprised not only his team-mates but me as well with the quality he has shown in the games so far," said the Rovers boss.

"It was a great finish and we are encouraged by what Roque has given us up to now, and he can only get better from this point onwards."

After making a dream start, Rovers threatened to run away with this tie during an encouraging first half but, to their credit, MyPa fought back and made a game of it in the second period.

Nevertheless, Rovers still got the job done and Hughes will be happy to return to Ewood with a priceless away goal and a clean sheet, even if his players never fully hit top gear against limited opponents.

Eager to impress England manager Steve McClaren before he named his squad for the friendly with Germany today, David Bentley was at the hub of Rovers' best work during the opening skirmishes, and it was his astute pass in the fourth minute which almost led to a goal for Jason Roberts, but the striker's shot was brilliantly saved by Korhonen at his near post.

MyPa's reprieve proved only temporary, however, as barely sixty seconds later Rovers' 150-strong travelling army were celebrating a precious away goal.

Stephen Warnock threaded a clever pass into Roberts, who in turn flicked the ball on to Santa Cruz, and the Paraguayan effortlessly glided past a defender on the edge of the box before arrowing a low drive across the keeper and into the far corner with unerring accuracy: 0-1.

The former Bayern Munich frontman might have helped himself to a second moments later but his header from a Bentley corner lacked the power to beat Korhonen.

MyPa spent most of the first half on the back foot but in a rare foray forward, Mikko Hyyrynen tested Brad Friedel with a daisycutter from distance.

That chance apart, it was mainly one-way traffic towards the MyPa goal as Rovers continued to call most of the shots.

Bentley drew another save out of the busy Korhonen following a snaking run that saw him ghost past three defenders.

Then David Dunn, who was an effervescent force in the centre of the park, tested the keeper with a dipping 20-yarder.

Right on the stroke of half-time, Dunn was also unlucky to see another long-range drive flash just wide of the far upright as Rovers sought the insurance of a second goal.

Having used the interval to regroup, MyPa emerged for the second half with far greater purpose, and only a timely interception from the excellent Chris Samba denied Eero Peltonen as he was about to pull the trigger inside the area.

The Finns still looked shaky at the back, though, as first Toni Huttunen, and then Tuomas Kansikas, threatened to score own goals with nervy touches under pressure.

In the end, though, one goal proved enough as Rovers took the first steps on a road they hope will lead all the way to the City of Manchester Stadium.

Hughes added: "Ideally, we would have preferred more goals. We had 12 shots on goal, which normally on any other day we would have scored more goals from.

"But we are reasonably pleased with the 1-0 result.

"I would think now it will be very difficult for MyPa to overcome us."