| RESILIENT RANGERS RESTORE SOME
PRIDE
In my report for the Notts County debacle I
asked that the players begin to show some pride in the hoops and
against Brentford we finally got it. This was by no means a classic
performance in a far from classic game but you could see that the
players actually wanted to be there and do well.
Changes were almost guaranteed after
last weeks showing. Many thought Chris Day might have started in
place of Culkin but Holloway kept faith with the former Manchester
United keeper. Matthew Rose slotted in at centre back alongside
Carlisle with Forbes and Murphy at full back. Marc Bircham was again
forced onto the right wing to accommodate the woeful Palmer. Langley
teamed up with him in the centre with new loanee Lee Cook wide on
the left. Gallen and Furlong began the game in attack.
Things didn't seem too promising in
the opening stages with Brentford looking by far the more
comfortable and confident side. Rangers seemed to be having a few
problems coping with the reshuffle in positions and it seemed that
Danny Murphy was going to be in for a prolonged aerial bombardment.
Stephen Hunt in particular was controlling the game and Rangers
seemed to have little answer to his clever flicks and step-over's.
Rangers were offering little in attack
but Brentford seemed to be giving up a succession of freekicks
around the edge of their box and Langley looked in the mood to tuck
one away. He had an early effort easily saved by Smith and sent
another wide of the post with Smith this time beaten. Brentford were
still forcing the majority of the pressure and it was something of a
surprise when Rangers took the lead.
Kevin Gallen, who had seemed
surprisingly subdued, released Lee Cook on the left. The loan player
from Watford showed blistering pace to beat his man and whip a
terrific cross into the six yard box. Marc Bircham stole in from the
opposite wing to place a simple header beyond Paul Smith. This was
clearly the moment Birch had been waiting for as he ripped off his
shirt to display a retro Dennis the Menace kit with his name and
number on the back. The Rangers fan scores at Loftus Road, just a
shame it wasn't in front of The Loft.
The game now seemed to open up a
little as Rangers suddenly had some confidence about their attacking
play. They still needed to be sharp at the back though and Rose was
doing a great job of covering Murphy who was being caught out in the
air time and again. It was from such a situation that the equaliser
came. Stephen Hunt sent over a cross and Vine climbed above Murphy
to head back into the danger zone. Kevin O'Connor had a swing with
his right, managed to kick it onto his left leg and sent Culkin the
wrong way. The Brentford fans, enjoying their big day out, went mad
as they were back on terms with their bitterest rivals.
Undeterred by the set back Rangers
went back at The Bees and Smith came to their rescue twice more
before the break. Firstly he tipped over acrobatically from Carlisle
flicked header. He then dove full length to turn another Langley
freekick special around the post. We were also treated to an old
fashioned goalmouth scramble as the finicky referee Messias blew for
a freekick when fifteen players were kicking each other. Not sure
how you pick an offender out of that lot.
The second half saw Rangers continue
to pour forward in search of a winning goal and Brentford seemed
happy to sit back and soak up the pressure for long periods. Gallen
was starting to get more involved in the game and was working well
with the much maligned Furlong who once again found his name booed
before a ball had even been kicked. It was nice to see some Rangers
fans give him a generous round of applause near the start of the
second half as he wandered toward Q block to get a stray ball.
Whether you like the bloke or not it is an absolute disgrace for him
to be given stick before the game has even started.
Lee Cook was looking impressive on the
left wing and whipped in a couple of dangerous crosses that may have
been converted on another day. He looks a good prospect and if we
can get him to work a bit harder going the other way he could be a
fine asset to the club.
Terrell Forbes, who as usual had been
defensively sound but atrocious with his distribution, finally sent
over a decent cross that Gallen headed goalward. Once again Smith
was on hand to tip over the bar and spare Brentford blushes again.
He was having as good a game as I have seen a keeper have at LR in
recent months and on another day the game could have been wrapped up
with twenty minutes left.
Brentford were still conceding
freekicks around the box and both Gallen and Furlong had direct
efforts blocked. Despite Langley doing so well with them it was nice
to see others get an opportunity to have a crack. Smith still had
one stupendous save left in him as he flew though the air to turn a
Terrell Forbes exocet over the bar.
A 1-1 draw is not really what Rangers
were looking for but it seemed to be a far more committed Rangers
team from the shambles of recent games. The performances were better
on an individual level as well. Culkin seemed far more confident
than last week, maybe having a keeper of Day's quality looking on
from the bench has helped.
At the back Rose and Carlisle formed a
good partnership and Rose in particular showed what an excellent
centre back he is with a man of the match performance. Forbes and
Murphy both recovered from shaky starts to impose themselves on the
game. Bircham, once again out of position did well as did Langley
and Cook. The only midfielder who looked out of place was Palmer and
that's because he was. It seems odd that after Daly's showing at
Notts County last week there was still a place for the lumbering
skipper, surely it cannot continue for too much longer.
Up front Gallen and Furlong both
worked hard without playing superbly. They do seem to team well
together despite what some may think and with the right service I
think they are our best partnership. Thommo also looked good in a
ten minute cameo at the end.
We need to push on from here and get a
win against the usually rough house Wycombe Wanderers. Revenge will
be in the players' minds following the 4-1 mauling earlier in the
year. I think it will be an easier prospect that against Brentford
as the game won't mean so much to the opposition. For Brentford
players and fans alike this is their big day whether they choose to
admit it or not, for Wycombe it will be just another game.
simon@qprnet.com |
