With suspension robbing Rangers of three of their brightest young players in Doudou and the two Danny's this game was always going to be an uphill struggle. Paul Bruce returned to the side after his midweek wonder goal for the reserves and Marcus Bignot returned on the right. Carl Leaburn made the bench for the first time since signing and there was the welcome inclusion of Richard Langley.

Rangers very nearly made the perfect start with Matthew Rose squandering a gilt edged chance after only thirty seconds. His shot from the edge of the area was easily fielded by Marcus Hahnemann, currently on loan from Fulham. It was one of those chances you wish had fallen to Gallen or Thommo, as they would have probably made it count.

Almost as soon as the chance had gone Reading picked up the tempo and put us under forty five minutes of near constant pressure. The way in which they shipped the ball about and attempted to make use of the wide areas was commendable and it is exactly the way I would like to see Rangers play.

John Salako used his dead mans knee to great effect and supplied a steady stream of crosses from the left. If it weren't for outstanding displays at the heart of the defence from Palmer and Ben-Askar things could have been very different. Ben-Askar in particular was as solid as I have seen him, all he needs to do now is cut the silly freekicks out of his game and he will become formidable. It will be interesting to see who makes way for Shittu next week.

For all their pressure Reading failed to force Digby into more than one save and this was after the linesman's flag had gone up against Nicky Forster. Terrell Forbes managed to head their only other goalbound effort off the line. This lack of penetration was almost punished when Thommo had what appeared to be a good goal disallowed. Gallen drove at the right side of the Reading defence and fizzed a ball toward the far post. Thomson arrived to fire past Hahnemann only for the celebrations to be curtailed. It was at the other end of the ground to the Ranger's fans so it is difficult to judge. Radio reports suggested there was no offside to speak of.

Holloway obviously had some words to say at half time as Rangers came out and went for Reading like a rabid dog. The problem was we were now doing as Reading had previously. Lots of possession equated to very few chances. The best effort was a stinging volley from Karl Connolly that Hahnemann managed to turn onto the bar. I am not convinced he knew anything about it such was the pace on the shot.

Then came the sucker punch that Ranger's had so nearly got in the first half. Tony Rougier burst down the left flank and crossed the ball toward the waiting Andy Hughes. What followed was the worst piece of luck we have had all season. He swung left footed at the ball and scuffed it onto his standing leg. The ball then trickled toward goal and feebly went in off a post with Digby stranded. It was one of those goals that when it goes in you know it is not your day.

With twenty-five minutes left the moment Rangers fans had waited twelve months for arrived. Langley was back and met with a standing ovation from the four thousand travelling Rangers fans. It took him a while to get into the game but then it was as if he had never been away. He looked a class above any other Rangers player and you could see that he had the Reading players worried.

With ten minutes left to play Langley was then the victim of a disgusting challenge from Phil Parkinson. Having drifted to the left and mugged two Reading players, Parkinson hit Langley with a two footed knee high challenge that left the returning hero writhing in agony. It looked bad straight away, as Langley clutched his knee and Prav raced on to tend to the stricken player. The inbred arsepipe Reading fans started giving Langley stick for hitting the deck and requiring attention. Maybe they did not know the full circumstances but this is no excuse.

Parkinson was only booked by a joke of a ref that seemed only to give decisions one way. Langley got up and ran about, gingerly at first, showing that his dodgy knee is now fine and ready for the rigours of division two football. At the final whistle, the Reading p.a. man announced that his side were joint top of division two. Sorry chaps, no such thing, I believe it is called second.

Overall this was a workman like performance from Rangers and Reading probably deserved the points. Points of encouragement were the performances of Ben-Askar and Palmer at the back along with the two midfield subs Bonnot and Langley. Up front, Gallen looked strong and with some more support runners things could have been different.

We missed all three suspended players but Murphy and Doudou most of all. Paul Bruce is a poor left back at best and he showed us how good The Real Danny Murphy actually is. With Doudou out of the side, our whole game plan for the last month went out of the window. Most of our success has come from his pace and direct running and it was badly missed.

Bury at home should provide three easy points and I think we will have to settle for a point at best away at Stoke. If we can win this game it will provide a massive confidence boost and could be the springboard for the rest of the season. To do this we must put this disappointment behind us; there is only one set of hoops I want to see in division one next year.