| REAR GUARD R'S BATTLE VALIANTLY
FOR A POINT
Having received
their now almost obligatory red card Rangers turned in a real backs
to the wall performance to take a well earned point away from Vale
Park. After the fight seemed to have disappeared from this Rangers
team in recent weeks it was nice to see a bit of passion back in the
performance.
Holloway went in with Royce in goal
behind a back three of Shittu, Carlisle and Padula. Forbes and
Williams as usual filled the wing back roles with Rose, Langley and
Palmer inside them. Oli and Thommo led the line with few other
strikers to choose from.
Port Vale looked the brighter side
from the off and Holloway seemed to change his formation after only
ten minutes. Gino moved into an orthodox left back position with
Williams ahead of him in a 4-4-2. Gino had already managed to upset
the minimal Port Vale support following a foul on him. Not sure why
their winger kicking him annoyed them so much but he was roundly
booed everytime he touched the ball after that.
For all the pressure Vale were
exerting on the Rangers back line few chances were created. Shittu
and Carlisle were winning every aerial duel and Forbes and Gino were
mopping up round them whenever they could. The conditions were
diabolical and meant that the chances of any half decent football
were slim at best. Both sides had the odd burst of passing a
movement but for the majority of the time it was the back fours
lumping it back and forth to each other.
After 35 minutes Rangers picked up
their third red card in five games as Simon Royce was given his
marching orders. Yet another long ball was pumped up field and Gino
tried to clear with his head. The greasy ball skimmed his head and
Royce was forced to try and get to it as the Port Vale forwards
converged on him. He flicked out a hand and deflected the ball away.
The linesman on the far side flagged and indicated that he had
handled outside his box. The ref had little choice but to send him
off.
It wasn't clear from our vantage point
whether he had handled outside the box or not. The lino was adamant
that he had but looking at the fierce protestations of the Rangers
players you had to wonder whether he got it right. Gino was the man
to make way for Digby to come on and takeover between the sticks.
The sending off seemed to galvanise
Rangers and with Williams now at left back it was down to the
midfield three and the front two to work extra hard to make sure
they did their share of the running and closing down.
The only chances Rangers were managing
to create were by way of set pieces. Carlisle and Shittu both had
excellent chances to get headers in at goal but on three occasions
they sent their efforts into the travelling Rangers fans.
With one sub already used and the
bench filled with players that are returning from injury and not
really wanted at the club Holloway had little opportunity to make
any tactical switches. The second half continued in the same vein as
the first with little to see in terms of football and plenty of
tasty challenges flying about.
Steve McPhee spurned Vale's best
chance of the game when he managed to break free in the box and fire
across Digby. The ball skipped over his outstretched arm and luckily
flew wide of his right hand post.
Dennis Oli was soon forced out of the
game following yet another heavy challenge. He was replaced by Leroy
Griffiths who had now returned from his three month loan stint at
Farnborough. You now that when Leroy comes on that he will run and
run and chase anything, what you never really know is whether he
will actually manage to control the ball when he gets to it.
Thomson was still running his arse off
up front and despite the fact that the midfield were never in
possession of the ball long enough to get it to him he never gave up
and you could sense that something has changed in him. He knows that
he is no longer the first choice striker and that if he wants his
place then he will have to work bloody hard for it. I'm not sure I
have ever seen him get through as much work as this. Maybe
Holloway's camp fire/sausages comment has fired him up.
Five minutes before the end Vale
almost gifted Rangers a goal with a piece of comedy defending. Digby
pumped a huge wind assisted clearance at the Vale goal and Liam
Burns rose to head clear. As it had with Gino in the first half, the
ball skimmed off his head and seemed to be heading in before mark
Goodlad back-pedalled and turned the ball over the bar.
Vale then nearly scored themselves as
the mother and father of all goalmouth scrambles was twice diffused
by Terrell Forbes. Thommo was replaced by Doudou for the last couple
of minutes and he almost made a late winner for Rangers. He picked
the ball up in midfield and picked out Rose's superb diagonal run,
the revitalised midfielder took one touch to control before forcing
another excellent save from Goodlad.
As the match drew to a close Clarke
Carlisle was subjected to a disgusting challenge from McPhee.
Carlisle slid in to dispossess McPhee who responded with a two
footed lunge at the big mans leg. He was only cautioned when he
should clearly have been red carded. The reaction of the Rangers
players told you what they thought of it and even after the final
whistle Shittu was still incensed and had to be manhandled away from
the three blind mice.
We are now five
points behind our pre-season target of two points per game and we
need to start racking up some victories immediately. With a home
game against Northampton next, followed by tricky games away to
Luton and at home to Cardiff you have to say you would want seven
points out of these and it aint gonna be easy. Luckily Royce's
suspension should come against Vauxhall Motors in the cup, a game
I'm not sure he'd be allowed to play in anyway. Hopefully Gallen's
return is imminent because we are missing him badly.
simon@qprnet.com |
