THIS time last year Keith Andrews was preparing for an appearance in the final of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy and plying his trade in League Two, but he always felt he was destined for better things and yesterday he was proved right, rescuing a valuable point for Blackburn Rovers with an equaliser after coming on as a half-time substitute.

Mind you, with the home side keeping niceties to a minimum and bombarding the West Ham penalty area with long balls, Andrews might have been forgiven for thinking at times he was still playing in English football’s lowest league.

However, at least Sam Allardyce, the Blackburn manager, has brought a sense of direction and purpose to the club after a confused few months under Paul Ince, the boss who can at least claim the credit for signing Andrews, with whom he worked at MK Dons. And in the end West Ham were barely hanging on for a point after they had taken the lead through a spectacular goal from Mark Noble.

Going in at half-time, West Ham appeared to have got the measure of Blackburn in this version of beauty and the beast. With a handful of their senior players missing through injury and suspension, they had counter-attacked sweetly throughout the first half. Hammers forward Diego Tristan looked particularly dangerous on his full first-team debut, with David Di Michele and Luis Boa Morte also threatening.

Noble, making his 100th appearance for West Ham, also looked more comfortable on the ball than any member of the opposition and it was he who started and finished the opening goal. The midfielder was allowed to run unchallenged nearly 40 yards and then played the ball to Boa Morte, who may have been in an offside position.

However, he produced a nice flick to Tristan, who cleverly found Noble continuing his run into the box.

Close to the left-hand edge of the six-yard box Noble curled a beautiful shot with the outside of his left boot, across the face of Paul Robinson’s area and in off the goalkeeper’s right-hand post.

With former Blackburn player Lucas Neill seemingly indomitable at the back, that might have been enough for West Ham. All they would have to do for their seventh successive victory over Rovers was contain the Blackburn onslaught which would inevitably come after the break. They didn’t manage it, the home side equalising only five minutes after the interval.

Another long throw into the box from Morten Gamst Pedersen finally found a chink in the West Ham defence. Herita Ilunga’s misjudged header was down rather than out and found Andrews about six yards out who blasted the ball past Robert Green.

Blackburn were thereafter first to virtually every ball and though Roberts came close a couple of times and Pedersen sowed more panic in the West Ham defence with his long throws, Blackburn never conjured up a clear chance for the winner.

“It was a terrific performance and I can’t ask any more of my players in terms of passion and commitment,” said Allardyce afterwards.

Of El-Hadji Diouf’s two disallowed goals for offside, Allardyce was incandescent. “What can be done about it? Nothing.” he said. “But I have to express my disapproval.”

Star man: Lucas Neill (West Ham)

Yellow cards: Blackburn: Nelsen, Mokoena West Ham: Parker

Referee: C Foy

Attendance: 21,672

BLACKBURN: Robinson 6, Ooijer 5 (Andrews ht, 7), Samba 7, Nelsen 7, Givet 6, Diouf 6, Mokoena 5, Warnock 5, Pedersen 7, Roberts 6, McCarthy 5

WEST HAM: Green 6, Spector 6, Tomkins 7, Neill 8, Ilunga 5, Kovac 6, Parker 6, Noble 7;, Boa Morte 6 (Lopez 78mins), Di Michele 6 (Dyer 81mins); Tristan 6