Thompson provides inspiration as Leeds pay for Smith's miss

Blackburn Rovers 1 Leeds United

Consistency, the lifeblood of championship-winning teams, continues to drift out of Terry Venables' reach like a scrap of paper caught by an autumn wind.

Having lost to Birmingham and Sunderland before surviving a storm of shot and shell to overcome first Newcastle and then Manchester United, Leeds yesterday became the first team to go down at Ewood Park this season, undermined by a Blackburn side which finally received the rewards their football deserved.

"We are still finding out about each other, trying to get that consistency," said the Leeds manager, who acknowledged his team did not find its true form until well into the second half. "Arsenal are at the head of the pack because they are the only ones who are consistent."

Had Alan Smith not struck a penalty, awarded for a handball against Henning Berg, tamely at Brad Friedel, Venables might have had some comfort to take back to Yorkshire. But the fine art of penalty taking, which this weekend has deserted Michael Owen and Thierry Henry, also failed Smith, although the England striker's commitment, a quality notably absent from his partner, Mark Viduka, was beyond question.

Nevertheless, this was a match Blackburn won rather than Leeds lost. Without three first-choice strikers, Graeme Souness's tactics of packing the midfield and using Garry Flitcroft to support Egil Ostenstad, who has scarcely featured in the past 12 months, worked better than he could have imagined. The key move came in the 24th minute when Keith Gillespie wrestled the ball from Ian Harte, kept it from rolling over the byline and pulled it back for Flitcroft, whose shot was deflected past Paul Robinson by Jonathan Woodgate's body. "Garry defines the kind of team spirit I like to have here," Souness said. "He is not the silkiest player to watch but he does not like to lose."

Venables considered that Gillespie had used too much force to dispossess Harte, although by substituting the Irishman he deprived Leeds of their regular penalty taker, forcing a choice between Danny Mills and Smith to take the fateful spot-kick.

The removal of Harte in the 62nd minute was part of a triple substitution which enabled Leeds to clamber back into a match in which they had hitherto been decisively outplayed. With Harry Kewell and Michael Bridges unable to start because of illness and a knee injury respectively, Nick Barmby was pushed up in support of Smith and Viduka and might even have broken through but for a point-blank save from Friedel.

However, Souness noted that Blackburn had "a steeliness which we did not have at Manchester City", where they had tossed away a two-goal lead in the final 10 minutes. Much of this was down to a midfield inspired by David Thompson who since moving from Coventry to Lancashire has blossomed.

"He is a proper little Scouser; spiky, easily upset and a joy to work with," Souness said of Thompson, a trainee at Anfield when he was Liverpool manager. "He should be in the England team; he can punch his weight, he sees the bigger picture and he's a great free-kick taker. But then what do I know about England football teams? I'm a Scotsman."

One of those free-kicks forced Robinson to push the ball on to the bar, and the Leeds goalkeeper, whose form positively demands selection for England's European Championship campaign, saved a 20-yard drive from Thompson, who learned his trade in the same Liverpool youth team as Jamie Carragher.

Should he win England honours, it would cost Blackburn approaching £1m in top-up fees to Coventry, which might amuse the Edinburgh-born Souness. Talking Thompson into the England side will not be cheap.

Goal: Flitcroft (24) 1-0.

Blackburn Rovers (4-5-1): Friedel 8; Taylor 6, Berg 6, Short 6, Neill 6; Gillespie 7, Flitcroft 7, Tugay 5, Dunn 6 (Danns, 90), Thompson 9; Ostenstad 5 (Grabbi, 68 5). Substitutes not used: Hignett, Johansson, Kelly (gk).

Leeds United (4-4-2): Robinson 7, Mills 5, Woodgate 6, Radebe 7, Harte 4 (Kelly, 62 6), Bowyer 6, Bakke 5, Dacourt 4 (McPhail, 62 4), Barmby 6, Viduka 4 (McMaster, 62 6), Smith 7. Substitutes not used: Okon, Martyn (gk).

Referee: G Poll (Tring) 7.

Bookings: Blackburn: Neill. Leeds: Barmby, Smith.

Man of the match: Thompson.

Attendance: 24,415.