SAM Allardyce hailed the debut performance of Phil Jones as Rovers drew 1-1 with Chelsea at Ewood Park on Sunday.

El-Hadji Diouf's second half header cancelled out Didier Drogba's early opener, but it was 18-year-old Jones who took the plaudits with a man of the match display at the heart of the Rovers defence.

"There is one name that sums things up for us today and that name is Phil Jones," said Allardyce on Radio Rovers after the game.

"He made his debut and it was an outstanding performance from the young man, he showed a lot of commitment and a lot of quality and it revved everybody up.

"I think we were hanging on a little bit on the first half and he went and won a header, then he won a tackle and everybody else started joining in and that got the crowd on their feet and Chelsea were looking a bit ruffled and unsettled.

"I said to the lads at half-time that we have to get better quality on the ball but we have to keep up that pressure and if we got stuck into them we might have a chance.

"And that is what happened, we showed a bit more quality in the final third and we started looking dangerous and then when the goal came it was great quality and I'm glad to say it was the turning point for us.

"Then there was some heroic defending towards the end, but it was just what you want against the big boys.

"We've come away with a very well earned point."