| HIGH CLASS GALLEN PLUNDERS
POINTS FROM POSH
In the end this
was an easy victory for Rangers but you cant help but wonder what
will happen when we actually decide to turn up and play for the full
ninety minutes. Once again it seems that it takes us forty-five
minutes to get warmed up before really dishing it out.
Holloway made only two changes from
the team that lost narrowly at Oakwell last week. Doudou replaced
Karl Connolly and Simon Royce made his debut in goal after his loan
signing from Leicester. It looked as though Rangers were going to
start at a rate of knots with Doudou always looking for the ball but
as usual, he was doing nothing with it.
Sloppy passing and a general lack of
quality meant that the first half was a poor spectacle. The entire
midfield was having a bit of a mare and seemed to give the ball away
more often than not. Rose was getting his usual stick from the crowd
who were once again blinkered to Bircham making more than his fair
share of errors. Just because he is a Rangers fan it doesn't make
him above criticism. On the right Langley was sloppy and on the left
Doudou was doing his best to ignore the presence of Williams. Time
and again he went on the overlap only to be ignored by the little
fella.
Lack of creation meant that any
chances Rangers had were from long range. Matthew Rose troubled the
top tier of the stand a couple of times whilst Gallen and Langley
also looked to test Mark Tyler. At the other end the semi-emaciated
Jimmy Bullard was causing all sorts of problems. He lost Bircham on
a couple of occasions and was unlucky when Furlong deflected his
long-range effort wide with his hand. On the stroke of half time
Terrell Forbes made the tackle of his life to deny the lumpy headed
Andy Clarke.
Half time was met with the now
standard chorus of boos from some of the more cranially challenged
inhabitants of the Loft. I am not sure why some people think that we
have a god given right to be winning at half time in every game we
play. Yes, we didn't play that well but for fucks sake give them a
bloody chance! Obviously people will say, "Well it worked, they
played better in the second half". If they think that is the case
then they are deluding themselves.
The second half brought an immediate
upturn in form and we set about gaining the lead. Gallen and Furlong
were now seeing much more of the ball and linking up well as they
had failed to do in the first period. Noticeably Langley was also
now finding his teammates rather than Peterborough players with his
passes.
As more and more players were
committed to the increasing number of attacks it was vital that
things were tight at the other end. In Air Shittu we must have the
best defensive header of a ball in Div2. He just doesn't lose any
and should probably have opened the scoring. He stooped at the near
post to meet a Williams corner only for Langley to get in the way.
The paid of them had a little spat over it but it definitely was
Dan's chance.
The first goal when it came owed a lot
to Doudou's greed rather than his vision. Langley picked him out
with a tracer of a pass from right to left. Doudou weaved inside the
first man then went past the second, waited for him to catch him
then went past him again, and again. Finally he either lost the ball
or cleverly found Gallen, you choose, and Kev scuffed home from ten
yards on his left foot. It was one of those chances that may not
have gone in if it had been struck cleanly but in football you make
your own luck.
Gallen almost made it two minutes
later. More good work from Langley on the right and the ball was fed
inside to Gallen to fire a wicked shot across the face of goal.
Tyler may have got a little touch, as he seemed to point toward the
corner as he prepared to take the resulting goal kick.
It was soon Langley's chance to
increase the lead. Paul Furlong was toppled just outside the box and
Langley stepped up to send the freekick inches wide with Tyler a
mere spectator.
The second goal was down to a
combination of the R's fans in the team. Langley cut in from the
right to lay the ball off to Bircham. He cleverly dinked the ball
over the top of the defence and Gallen managed to stay onside and
coolly lobbed Tyler to make it two. Gallen very nearly returned the
favour for Bircham moments later. He laid the ball off cleverly and
Bircham smashed his effort goalward only to be denied by a
breathtaking tip over from Tyler.
At the other end things weren't going
all our way and Simon Royce was called on to deny Green and then
Farrell. Peterborough had improved immeasurably when Farrell came on
and you had to wonder what might have been if he had played the full
ninety minutes.
At the final whistle the people that
had booed the team off at the break were now their greatest fans and
the players got a terrific ovation. An excellent second half
performance had been rewarded with three points and deservedly so.
In goal Royce had a solid game, going
about his work with the minimum of fuss. He had a little moment of
confusion with Shittu but then who doesn't! Palmer and Shittu were
solid and Forbes was quality as usual. Playing against his former
teammates seemed to get to Williams and he had his least effective
game in a Rangers shirt.
The entire midfield were crap first
half and good in the second. Once Rose and Bircham started
concentrating on breaking up play and giving it to more creative
players we seemed a far better outfit. Rose was actually unlucky not
to score with a twenty-yard curler that drifted just wide.
Up front Furlong and Gallen linked
well in the second half although for me they are still too similar
to create a really potent partnership. It was also nice to see
transfer listed Richard Pacquette get ten minutes at the end, this I
think was a reward for his reaction to being listed in the first
place.
Wycombe
Wanderers now await and if we can attack like we did in previous
away games at Stockport and Barnsley then we have every chance of
taking something from what will prove to be a difficult encounter.
simon@qprnet.com |
