With all the pre-match talk, seemingly about the Drop the Debt protest after the match you had to wonder whether this game was going to turn into a sideshow. As it turned out, it wasn't bad and if either side could have taken the chances created it could have been a cracker.

Holloway was able to recall the fit again Matthew Rose to the starting line up and Doudou played from the start after his scoring substitute appearance last week. Two youngsters, Daly and Murphy, were the players to make way. Both dropped onto a very inexperienced bench. Thomson again started in attack and it seemed he still wasn't fit. I think if Richard Pacquette was not suspended from his harsh red card at Cardiff he may well have started in his place.

The early exchanges were pretty even with both sides trying to play. The Peterborough front pair of Leon McKenzie, an alleged target for Holloway, and Francis Green, both possessed searing pace. They took every opportunity to run at Shittu and Palmer in particular. Luckily, they got little change out of them. Shittu in particular looked strong and dealt with every attack with the minimum of fuss. I think the watching Nigeria squad spurred him on as he had his most assured game for a long time. Gone were the hopeless punts upfield to be replaced by a first touch and a short pass. See Dan, you can do it!

With Richard Langley operating from the left side of midfield and Doudou attacking down the right, the wide areas should have proved more profitable. On two occasions, Langley cut inside his full back to force fine saves from Posh keeper Mark Tyler. The second from a blistering drive was superb.

Peterborough should have taken the lead when a corner was headed down for Helgi Daneilsson to get an effort on target. Luckily for us, Marcus Bignot was on hand to hack off the line and deny a certain goal.

Several more half chances for both sides were blocked and flew to safety before Tyler gave away one of the most blatant penalties I have ever seen. The ball was pinging around the box when it was knocked in high toward Gallen. As he jumped Tyler came steaming in behind him and gave him two hands in the back to level him. Andy Thomson stepped up to take the spot kick and made no mistake, sending Tyler the wrong way in the process. This was Thomson's nineteenth goal of the season, but his first since the 4-3 against Wycombe in December. It had been a hell of a long time coming and you could sense his relief as it hit the net.

Just before the break, Peterborough very nearly dragged themselves back on terms. Jimmy Bullard, yet another impressive youngster released by West Ham, picked up the ball in midfield and powered his way goalward. He fired in a fierce effort, which beat Evans and cannoned back off his right hand post. Evans seemed well out of position and was lucky not to concede. He would get even luckier in the second half.

One goal up at the break and just about deserved. We had created the better chances but the pace of Green and McKenzie was a constant menace. If either of them had any vague grasp of the offside rule things could have been different. It was a surprise when Neale Fenn replaced McKenzie at half time.

Ranger seemed nervous as the half began and a mix up between Evans and Shittu could have proved costly. A hopeful punt downfield bounced between keeper and centre half. After a quick session of yes, no, maybe between the pair they both left it to each other, allowing Fenn in to force a good save from Evans. This incident seemed to shoot the young keeper's confidence to bits and he was a bag of nerves for the rest of the half. Soon after he dwelled on a poorly placed back pass from Shittu and his attempted clearance was charged down.

Peterborough soon had another great chance to equalise when the Rangers defence allowed the ball to be flashed across goal. Francis Green somehow managed to miss an open goal from about six inches. It was a diabolical piece of finishing and made you wonder how McKenzie had departed ahead of him.

Matthew Rose twice came close to giving Rangers a two-goal cushion. Two of his now trademark twenty five yard screamers just cleared the bar. Thomson also went close with a clever effort the drifted just past the post. Thomson was replaced with fifteen minutes left by Dennis Oli. He showed enough to indicate that he will become a fine player. At the moment, he only trains one day a week as he goes to college and he is only just seventeen. Just think what he will be able to achieve when he goes full time. Remember the name, this boy will go far.

Our tenth home win of the season and one that we just about deserved on the balance of play. Shittu was as good as I have seen him for a long time and Langley was a constant threat all afternoon. Up front, Kevin Gallen worked manfully as he did the running for himself as well as a half-fit Thomson.

Let's hope that Davies, Blackburn and Jones paid more attention to the performance on the field than they did to the protest off it. If we can keep this squad together we can certainly have a good tilt at automatic promotion next year and lets also hope the MBO provides enough funds for Holloway to build an even better squad.