If any Chelsea fans out there have lost a blue flag I think I know where it can be located. Grab a torch, ask Marcel Desailly to bend over and have a look. If he gets a more torrid afternoon all season than the one Leroy Griffiths gave him today I will be very surprised.

It all looked as though it was going to be the same old story as the game reached the tenth minute. Defensive error, ball falls to Zola and he plays the perfect through ball to Jesper Gronkjaer who makes no mistake from 15 yards. The only problem was that somebody forgot to tell Rangers to roll over and die. All the goal served to do was fire up the R’s and we went on to produce an absolute gem of a performance.

With Gavin Peacock and Alex Bonnot continuing where they left off against Watford the midfield battle became an exhilarating one. Peacock and Bonnot against Frank Lampard and Jody Morris. If I were Claudio Ranieri, I would have a look in whatever jacket I was wearing when the Lampard deal was done and see if I still had the receipt. If that is what £11 million buys these days, we are lucky to be skint.  

Then came the moment that wrote Leroy Griffiths into Rangers folklore. Nothing more than a hopeful punt upfield was controlled on the head by Leroy and fired left footed across de Goey into the back of the net. The scenes of celebration following the goal were wonderful to behold. It meant so much to the long-suffering Rangers fans, at last a goal against the scum. How long we had waited.

1-1 at half time. Everybody happy, everybody except Ian Holloway and the Rangers squad that is. Rangers came out for the second half playing like a team possessed. Every player putting in 110% to try to gain some respectability for this once proud club. Two men personified this in particular: Leroy Griffiths and Chris Day.

Griffiths was now playing out of his skin, covering every blade of grass and the crowd to a man rising to sing his name. The part I liked best was when after mugging Desailly again the big Frenchman got the arse and had a pop. Big mistake it would appear. Not only does he have pace and ability but he is not averse to having a rare-up. Nice touch.

At the other end of the field, Chris Day was having the game of his Rangers career so far. (I know it is only his third match but I am over excited). Full length diving saves; close range blocks, racing off his line to deny on-rushing attackers in a man-of-the-match performance. Quality.

The second goal came with about twenty minutes left. Not much of a surprise to the crowd as we could see the pattern the game was following. No, the most surprised man in the ground was the scorer Karl Connolly. From the look on his face when it went in I am assuming that he hasn’t got too many twenty yard, right footed volleys in his career. But what an absolute peach.  

I think however, it was the third and crowning goal that pleased the majority of Rangers fans. Last season we watched an injured Gavin Peacock drag his arse round the pitch for thirty odd games and all wondered why the hell he was still here. Today he showed us. He has taken the summer to get fit and he now looks back to his old pugnacious self. And to score today against a team that had let him go for being a bit too English was great. Good work from Sammy Two-Bums who was now on for the knackered Griffiths and a fine finish into the bottom corner that took the roof of the place.

Yet another trialist on show today. A big centre half by the name of Aziz Ben Aska. He stuck his head on everything despite the wandering boots of Hasselbaink and looks well worth another go. Nice to see Mark Perry back in the side today. He played on the right of midfield and as ever turned in a solid performance. Praise is also due for Andy Thomson. In my Watford report I suggested that he was a penalty box predator and not much more. I sit corrected. Today he showed that he is a good hold-up man and can do a fine job brining others into the play.

Justin Cochrane, the captain of last season’s U-19 team, got a run in the second half. I have got a feeling that he could turn into W12’s answer to Patrick Vieira.

If we can keep of this level of performance in division two it should be a formality. We won’t. But it would be nice if we could. Last report I said we might do something this season. Today I think the might has been replaced with a will.