THOMMO IS TIMID
BUT ZAMORA IS POORER
In a game that was bound to be billed as a battle between the
division's two top scorers it should be no surprise that it finished
0-0. Indeed Andy Thomson, nor the much vaunted Bobby Zamora ever
looked like troubling the scorers. It was left to the supporting
cast to provide a thoroughly entertaining game.
Rangers lined up with the same team that battled so bravely for
three points against Bournemouth on Saturday. The formation seemed
to be 3-5-2 at the start but this was quickly amended to 4-4-2
during the first ten minutes. It was a home debut for Danny Murphy
who had given two excellent away performances to date and the
occasion seemed to get to him.
It was a game that consisted of excellent build up play from both
sides but lacked that killer final ball. On countless occasions some
scintillating passing was concluded with a sloppy cross or over hit
through ball. Any time that somebody managed to get through, the
linesman's flag inevitably thwarted them.
Danny Shittu came closest to breaking the deadlock in the first
period when Simon Royce parried his powerful header from a Murphy
corner. Royce is currently on loan from Leicester City, I wonder how
he got this gig? Before this Gallen had a free kick charged down and
Andy Thomson should have done better when played in by Murphy. His
first touch took him wide and all he could do was fire in a cross
that Gallen failed to connect with.
Whilst all this was going on Doudou had suddenly sprung into life.
In the first half hour he had seemed distant and went missing for
long periods. I am not sure what happened or whether a minor
tactical change occurred but all of a sudden the little fella was
running at the Brighton defence with purpose. The only problem I
think Doudou will have in the English game is not getting freekicks
when he has been genuinely felled. Because he is so slight and has a
very low centre of balance he tends to go down easily. This is
through no fault of his own but it means that he does not get the
protection from referees that he deserves.
On the subject of referees we have seen some dire performances in
recent weeks. Today though we had a Premiership official in Barry
Knight and you could tell that he wanted to try and let the game
flow. Although he gave a number of freekicks for what seemed routine
division two tackles he was always keen for the quick kick to be
taken and this has to be applauded.
To this point we had not seen hide nor hair of Bobby Zamora. Only
once did he manage to break through the staunch defences of Shittu
and the outstanding Palmer. The linesman had flagged but Digby still
produced a fine save with his feet. This was all Zamora managed all
afternoon. His first touch is nothing short of appalling and it is
little wonder that all of these alleged bids from Premiership clubs
have failed to materialise. He may be a penalty box predator but
today he hardly crossed the 18-yard line. I was unimpressed to say
the least.Brighton very
nearly took the lead in the early stages of the second half. Paul
Watson's freekick from the right evaded Digby and crashed back off
the bar. Later in the game another Watson delivery, this time from a
corner was met by the impressive Danny Cullip. His firm downward
header was hacked off the line by Karl Connolly, a second half sub
for Marcus Bignot.
Andy Thomson had a gilt edged chance to put the game beyond Brighton
but he could only fire weakly at Royce. Other than that very few
efforts on goal were to be seen. Doudou sent a vicious 25-yarder
searing toward the Brighton net and Royce was again on hand to
produce a fine left handed save but there was little else to speak
of.
Despite the lack of real goalmouth action the game was filled with
fine performances. In defence for Rangers Danny Shittu was again
excellent in his final game of this loan spell. Alongside him Steve
Palmer was absolutely outstanding. This was his finest performance
for months and he was my man of the match. He kept Zamora and fellow
striker Daniel Webb, son of Rangers legend Dave, in check. Webb was
lucky still to be standing after a first half clash with Shittu that
left the crowd wincing.
Doudou was outstanding after the first half hour and he linked up
with Forbes on several occasions to cut through the Brighton
midfield. Matthew Rose in the middle had made the centre of the park
his own with yet another commanding performance. He has shown a
willingness to take to all aspects of the midfield and seems as
happy attacking as he does defending. Then only thing I will say is
that he doesn't have to shoot from anywhere just as he has a couple
of goals this term.
Gallen gave a good display of the target mans art but Thomson
alongside him seemed a little subdued. I wonder if the alleged
battle between of the strikers had got to him. I would have liked to
see Leroy for ten minutes or so just to liven things up a little but
Holloway didn't seem to agree.
All in all I think if you had offered a 0-0 before the game then
fans of both sides would have been happy with it. It was nice to
keep a clean sheet for the first time in three games and we should
be able to build on this and secure all three points against Wycombe
Wanderers on Saturday. |
