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Rangers managed to battle their way to a well-earned point this afternoon against Crewe Alexandra in a violent encounter at Loftus Road. Oh no hang on, despite the two red cards for Rangers players this was not a dirty game and was totally ruined by the incompetence of alleged referee Andy Hall.
Coming off the back of five consecutive victories the starting line up was unchanged. Day in goal, Kelly, Carlisle, Shittu and Padula in defence. A midfield four of Langley, Bircham, Palmer and McLeod with Furlong and Gallen in attack. The game began at a hell of a pace with both teams looking to play some football, an all too rare treat in the usual hurly burly of Division Two.
Paul Furlong created the first chance of the game when his strong run on the right ended in a cross that Kevin McLeod could only fire straight at dodge pot Clayton Ince.
Referee Hall started the afternoon's fun and games in the seventh minute when he penalised Carlisle for an apparent tug on Rodney Jack's shirt. In truth, he didn't touch him and if Jack hadn't gone down like a two bob brass the whole matter would have passed. As Carlisle got to his feet he began to retreat only for a Crewe player to blast the ball at him. Common sense would surely prevail but no, Hall quickly flashed the yellow card much to the bemusement of players and fans alike.
McLeod had another effort at goal with a curling effort that Ince made a real meal of. He fumbled the ball three times before finally getting it under control. Apparently Crewe have kept a record number of clean sheets this season, I'm not sure how much of this is down to Ince as to me he looked as though he couldn't catch SARS on a flight from Hong Kong.
Next it was Steve Palmer's turn to have a crack as he met a Richard Langley knock down with a thumping volley. The ball curled agonisingly wide of Ince's goal with the keeper well beaten. Crewe were yet to show much of the attacking form that had brought them fourteen wins on their travels this season and Chris Day was thankfully under worked.
Richard Langley was hauled down on the edge of the box for a freekick and what seemed like a certain yellow card. Of course Hall thought different and let the Crewe man away. Langley stepped up to take the kick himself and the ball clipped the top of the wall and went out for a corner.
As the game approached the interval Andy Hall showed his second contentious yellow card of the half to Stephen Kelly, again for not retreating at a freekick. This was simply bizarre as Kelly was clearly trying to get back into position and as he ran past the ball was blasted at him. He wasn't even looking at the player taking the kick so how it can be deemed as deliberate is beyond me.
Twice more the suspect handling skills of Ince were tested before the break. Langley used his quick feet to good effect on the edge of the box and managed to work an opening. His left footed shot was straight at Ince, a couple of moments later Furlong swivelled in id air to get a volley on target, but again the ball was straight at Ince. It was a shame we couldn't get one wide of him as he had shown little to suggest he would actually stop it.
Just three minutes into the half Clarke Carlisle became the victim of Ince's cheating and Hall's ego as he received his second yellow card. The ball was pumped into the box and both Carlisle and Ince challenged. The Crewe keeper got there a fraction of a second before Carlisle and the big centre half knocked him to the floor. Ince rolled around like he had been hit by a sniper and Hall was quick to flash the yellow and red cards. Ince managed to drag his treatment out for a couple of minutes for good effect and then he and Hall gave it the old pals act before play restarted.
A reshuffle was needed and Palmer dropped into the back four, Gallen dropped into midfield and Furlong was left with the task of leading the line single-handed. Gino picked up a yellow card for apparent shirt pulling just before the hour and then Hall did it again.
It was clear he was keen for Crewe to prevail and they simply couldn't break down the R's defence on their own. For once Kelly was beaten on the right and as Steve Jones looked to get away Kelly dived into a challenge and took the ball. Or did he, well not according to the disgraceful Hall who showed him a second yellow and left Rangers down to nine men for a little under half an hour.
Holloway acted swiftly to bolster the defence and wide men Langley and McLeod were sacrificed for the more defensively minded Rose and Williams. The battle was on and it was time for the Rangers players to stand up and be counted. Led by the level headed Palmer and the snarling Bircham Rangers snapped into every tackle, never knowing when the bizarre mind of Hall would stir into life again.
Still Crewe were creating little and almost every attack was repelled, even when they did manage to get through they found Chris Day in stunning form and he made excellent saves to deny Hulse and Jones. As the game went into injury time Steve Jones unleashed a screamer from the edge of the box that thudded down off the bottom of the bar and fell to Hulse, his weak header was straight at Day and the danger passed.
At the whistle the crowd poured onto the field and a few choice words were aimed at Ince as he departed. Crewe had attained promotion, Rangers had all but cemented their play off place and all were happy. Well almost, we still have the matter of Andy Hall to deal with.
This was a massive game with a lot at stake for both sides and as such the Football League should have appointed a referee that could handle it. Instead we got Hall, a man whose ego is only matched in size by his bulbous stomach. It was clear from the moment Carlisle and Kelly went into the book that at least one of them was going to walk. Neither of them had been guilty of poor challenges in the game, I think Kelly's second yellow was the first supposed foul he had committed.
I can accept that people have off days, referees seem to have more than most, but this was more than that. This was bias on a scale that I don't think I have ever come across. Rangers' players were booked for challenges that Crewe players got away with. Gino was booked for shirt pulling yet when Palmer had his shirt pulled a word in the ear was sufficient. Hall has agreed that he will review his decisions but I will be surprised if either of them are overturned. The only people that are seemingly above criticism in the game are officials yet they are the people that create more reasons for criticism than anybody.
His antics will undoubtedly detract from an excellent performance from Rangers in the most trying circumstances. I am sure that eleven against eleven we would have won, we were by far the better side in the first half and it could only have been a matter of time before Ince threw one in his own net. Shame we didn't get the chance to find out.
Everybody played very well, even the two players red carded. Palmer marshalled his troops superbly and kept a cool head when it was needed the most. Bircham was immense in midfield and covered every blade of grass as he harried and harassed until the final whistle. Gallen, whilst seeming a little out of sorts recently did brilliantly in midfield and Furlong ran himself into the ground as he tried to create a chance from nothing in the hope of snatching a brave victory.
Barring a miracle on the part of Tranmere and an absolute disaster on ours we are in the play offs and we could do with a win at Colchester just to get things back on track and restore the winning mentality. Holloway will lift the troops again and we are still in the enviable position of being the form horse going into the play off lottery.
simon@qprnet.com
