| ICE COOL PAUL TAKES RANGERS
INTO FINAL FURLONG
The R's are on
their way to Cardiff! After the most nerve wracking ninety minutes
of football I have ever experienced it's time to start planning the
next stage of the promotion campaign. It was fitting that the man
who was on the end of so much stick should be the one to fire
Rangers into the final.
Changes were the order of the day.
Four were made in total to the side that had earned a draw at
Boundary Park and three of them came in defence. Day remained in
goal and Kelly, Carlisle and Padula replaced Forbes, Rose and
Williams. With Richard Langley suspended Kevin Gallen filled in on
the right wing alongside Bircham, Palmer and McLeod. Andy Thomson
filled the gap left by Gallen and teamed up with hero in waiting
Paul Furlong.
Rangers could have grabbed the lead in
the first minute as Furlong released Kevin McLeod. The Scouse
winger's first touch was poor and took him away from goal but he
still managed to hit the target. The half fit Pogliacomi was on hand
to deny him with his legs.
McLeod was testing Pogs again minutes
later as he fired a snap shot from twenty-five yards that was
arrowing in until the big Aussie intervened. For a man who had
missed seven games and who clearly wasn't fit he did very well.
Wayne Andrews was causing problems
with his direct running at the other end but he lacked any sort of
composure in front of goal. He slashed an effort wide when through
on Day and headed another chance wide from a corner. In between
these chances came a far post header from Dan Shittu that hit the
side netting. He will have been disappointed not to have scored
again.
People had been expecting an eccentric
and controversial performance from referee Clattenburg but there had
been little sign of it until midway through the half. Kevin Gallen
burst clear on the right and whipped in a cross that was clearly
handled by Darren Sheridan. The linesman signalled for a penalty but
the referee overruled him after a consultation. The lino had a great
view and the ref didn't so the decision was bizarre to say the
least. The ref didn't seem to keen on handball all night as Rangers
had another stick on penalty denied in the second period.
Gallen had another shout for a penalty
soon after when Will Haining bundled him to the floor. It would have
been a soft one if we had got it but you see them given. This seemed
to put Rangers on the back foot and Oldham had a spell of about
fifteen minutes when they had all the ball but failed to create a
genuine chance. Sheridan tried his luck from just outside the box
but Gino managed to deflect his effort wide.
On the stroke of half time Paul
Furlong slammed an effort over the bar from a McLeod cross. So
goalless at the break and you could cut the tension in the air with
a knife. Thomson had been working hard in attack but had achieved
little in the way of efforts. He did though manage to isolate
Sheridan for a fair few headers and needless to say he won all of
them.
Furs had Rangers first effort of the
half as he fired straight at Pogliacomi from distance. Within ten
minutes gone though Holloway felt the game needed an injection of
pace and power and the introduction of Richard Pacquette for Thommo
did just that. The young striker was bullish from the off and seemed
to unsettle the Oldham rearguard.
John Eyre drilled an effort just over
the bar from the edge of the box and moments later he found himself
booked for one of the poorest dives I have ever seen. He obviously
doesn't watch Wayne Andrews in training! The booking for Eyre was
the second of the game as Gallen had already gone into the book for
felling Eyres.
Wayne Andrews finally managed to get
onto a through ball without incurring the wrath of the linesman and
fired a low shot that beat Day but drifted wide of the far post.
This was one of the only times a clear effort at goal was allowed as
Shittu and Carlisle in particular were as impressive as I have ever
seen them.
Tommy Williams replaced Gino with
twenty minutes left and almost set up a goal with his first touch.
His wicked cross from the left was fumbled by the usually reliable
Oldham stopper and Kevin Gallen couldn't quite force home. He made
up for this minutes later with the second best save made at Loftus
Road this season.
Kevin McLeod, who had been
disappointing for much of the game, picked out Pacquette at the back
stick with a gem of a ball. The young striker picked his spot with
power only to find Pogliacomi coming across his line like he had
been fired out of a cannon. He beat the ball away to safety to earn
an ovation from Oldham and Rangers fans alike.
He had no chance though minutes later
as Paul Furlong burst through the Oldham defence. Seizing on
Carlisle's hopeful long ball he shrugged off the attentions of Fitz
Hall to slide the ball under Pogliacomi with his swinger. Loftus
Road erupted and there were scenes of joy, the likes of which the
stadium has not seen since the 6-0 against Palace.
The last five minutes brought drama
upon drama as this time Oldham found themselves reduced to ten men.
Stephen Kelly was shielding the ball from Wayne Andrews when the
Oldham striker took a wild kick at the full back. Clattenburg didn't
hesitate from dismissing Andrews and I must say that after Langley's
red on Saturday it was strangely satisfying!
There was still plenty to do though
and Chris Day was forced to pull off the best save LR has seen this
season. Oldham managed to smuggle the ball into the box and the
chance fell to Hall, now playing as an auxiliary striker. He got
good contact but somehow Day managed to plunge to his right and get
a strong hand on the ball, Clarke Carlisle swooped to complete the
job.
As the final whistle blew a handful of
Rangers fans poured over the hoardings and onto the pitch. This was
a good-natured invasion though and the outpouring of joy in the
stadium would have caused a lump in even the most cynical mans
throat.
The job is only half done though and
it will be bloody difficult to beat Cardiff and grab promotion. We
will have to battle, but we will also have to show the quality that
undoubtedly shone through in the most trying circumstances tonight.
The joy of the players at the end and the scenes of wild celebration
will soon be forgotten if we don't complete the job.
For now lets just enjoy the moment.
A smile has been put back on the faces around Loftus Road and pride
has been put back into our club
simon@qprnet.com |
