BY his own admission, Graeme Souness has never been much of a gambling man.

While Premiership colleagues such as Kevin Keegan and Sir Alex Ferguson like nothing more than a flutter on the horses, Souness prefers to tend his roses as a means of escape from the daily grind of life as a top-flight manager.

But at the Riverside on Saturday, Souness bravely went against the grain in making one of the boldest gambles of his Blackburn career and how it paid handsome dividends as Rovers left this cold, unforgiving corner of the North East clutching hold of three priceless Premiership points which eased the pressure at the bottom.

Souness's decision to dispense with both Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke in favour of the untried and untested combination of Paul Gallagher and Jonathan Stead was a courageous act indeed in the circumstances.

But the manager's instincts were to prove spot on as his new-look strike-pair masterminded Rovers' first victory of 2004 by managing to outwit one of the Premiership's meanest defences.

Gallagher caught the eye with his invention and speed of thought but it was new-boy Stead who ultimately stole the headlines after scoring a fine goal on his Blackburn debut.

Until recently, the only thing the 20-year-old had in common with Thierry Henry was the fact they both drove a Renault Clio.

Yesterday, however, Stead opened up his Sunday newspaper to find his name just four places below Henry's in the list of leading Premiership goalscorers, albeit 18 of his 19 goals have been carried over from his time with Huddersfield Town.

Nevertheless, these are heady days for the instantly likeable young striker whose world has been turned upside down in the space of the last seven days.

Two weeks ago, he was lining up for Huddersfield in a Third Division encounter against Boston United, blissfully unaware that his life was about to change forever.

Then in came Rovers with an offer the Terriers found impossible to resist and Stead suddenly found himself lining up in the Premiership ahead of two players who famously led Manchester United to the treble not so long ago.

Weaker characters would have been overawed by the whole experience but if Souness's latest recruit has one quality in abundance then it's confidence in his own ability.

So when the opportunity came to mark his debut with a goal, Stead showed nerves of steel.

"This is as good as it gets," said Rovers' matchwinner, as he reflected on his debut strike.

"I was hoping to be on the bench but then when I heard I was in the team, I was a bit nervous but I just said to myself 'deal with it and go out and do your best.'

"To then score the winner was a dream come true.

"It was a great run by Gally. I think he poked it across, I steadied myself and slotted it in. I surprised myself by how composed I was for it."

Aside from the goal, Stead's partnership with Gallagher injected some much-needed va-va-voom into the Rovers front-line on a day when graft rather than guile won the day.

Both players ran their socks off for the cause and their ability to shut people down hurried the Boro defence into a number of errors.

Stead is still far from the finished article as yet but he has an assured touch for a big man and his willingness to work for others will make him a useful asset over the weeks and months ahead.

And the composure he showed for his goal was also greatly encouraging, too.

It was a measure of his overall contribution, that Gareth Southgate, an England international of vast experience, was forced to admit that he was a handful as he reflected on a damaging defeat for Boro.

"He was always going to be lively because that was his first game but he showed some nice touches and he looks like he has decent feet as well, so good luck to him."

Stead's performance apart, plenty of other contributed to what was a victory for effort and endeavour.

Brad Friedel made two world-class saves in the second half, which drew applause and a handshake from little Brazilian, Juninho.

The commanding presence of Craig Short at the back was also central to what was Rovers' fourth clean sheet of the season.

And another of Souness's recent signings, Michael Gray, was again outstanding at left-back, where he went about his business with a quiet efficiency.

The contributions of Andy Todd and Jonathan Douglas in midfield should not be underestimated, either.

A lively pitch was hardly conducive for free-flowing football so Souness's decision to pick the more abrasive Todd in favour of Tugay, whose star has been waning for some time, turned out to be something of a masterstroke as Boro's potential match-winners, Bodo Zenden and Gaizka Mendieta, struggled to stamp their usual authority on proceedings.

It was Mendieta, in fact, who was left to rue a golden chance in the third minute when a speculative pass from Danny Mills left him bearing down on Friedel but his low shot flew inches wide.

Zenden then went close with a 25-yarder and Mendieta drilled another effort into the grateful arms of Friedel.

But an increasingly scrappy half then exploded into life in the 39th minute.

Short's five iron out of defence was retrieved by Gallagher over by the left touchline and the 19-year-old outfoxed Chris Riggott with a clever flick before racing in on goal.

Mills tried to intervene but his lunging challenge only diverted the ball to Stead, who was lurking in the centre of the box, and the young striker was coolness personified as he opened up his body and swept a low shot with the side of his foot into Mark Schwarzer's bottom right-hand corner.

Boro boss Steve McClaren made changes at half-time and the introduction of Stewart Downing and Joseph Desire-Job gave the home side fresh impetus.

Juninho should have scored in the 59th minute when Mendieta's through ball skimmed off the head of Markus Babbel but Friedel denied the Brazilian with an astonishing save.

Then Downing's left-wing centre bounced off Gray and straight into the path of Southgate but Friedel performed yet more heroics to deny the England defender from point-blank range.

With the bottom four all losing, Rovers now have a six point cushion separating them and the bottom three.

Suddenly, the world looks a brighter place.

MIDDLESBROUGH 0

ROVERS 1

Scorer: Stead 39

Riverside Attendance: 28,307