| RAPID FIRE STRIKES DESTROY
TYKES
Anybody looking at the 4-0 scoreline will
probably assume that this was a cracking game packed with skill and
enterprise. What is was, was a game that Rangers dominated from
start to finish against a poor Barnsley team and a stunning four
minute burst that saw three goals fly in.
Injuries and suspensions meant that
Holloway's team virtually picked itself. Day was in goal behind a
back four of Forbes, Palmer, Gnohere and Padula. Ainsworth returned
on the right with Rowlands forced onto the left. Bean and Bircham
were the central pairing with Thorpe joining Gallen in attack.
Barnsley had come clearly fearing the
worst and their formation seemed adaptable from a defensive 4-5-1 to
a downright dull 4-6-0 whenever needed. As such there was little
room to manoeuvre in the middle of the park and the old lump it
style was very much the order of the day. This suited Steve Palmer
down the ground and he launched the ball high at Gallen and Thorpe
at every opportunity. The only problem with this was the fact that
neither of them won anything for most of the first half.
Chances were at a premium and any good
work attacking wise came from Rowlands. He had been the unlucky man
to be shunted to the left wing and he constantly found himself
drifting inside and making the pitch very narrow. The one advantage
to this was Barnsley's total reluctance to track him and he had
shots from range on three separate occasions in the half. Only one
of these forced former Charlton keeper Sasa Ilic into action.
Kevin Gallen managed to get a rare
header on target against his former employers from a searching
Ainsworth cross but this was just about the only real sight of goal
either him or Thorpe could eek out. Gallen, Ainsworth and Thorpe all
had half chances but the clear-cut chances seemed to be difficult to
come by.
The crowd were getting understandably
restless by now and it was no surprise that there were a few jeers
as the referee brought one of the dullest halves of football on
record to a close. Surely things would need to change at the break
or the suicide rate inside football grounds would have gone through
the roof if another half or garbage like that was served up.
The second half was slow to start with
but the momentum gradually started to build. Thorpe had a goal
disallowed for offside after Gallen had lobbed the ball over the
prone Ilic. It was difficult to see just how many yards Thorpe was
offside by but I will have a cautious stab at three! Martin Rowlands
volleyed a chance wide of Ilic's right hand post after an Ainsworth
cross was flicked into his path and at the other end Day watched as
a Barnsley header sailed well wide.
On the hour mark the pressure finally
got too great for Barnsley to bear and Kevin Gallen rifled Rangers
in front. Gallen had been without a goal since the fluke against
Blackpool on the opening day and in truth, looked like he was
struggling badly in front of goal. His strike though was pure class.
Receiving a ball from Thorpe he spun quickly on the edge of the box
before cracking a left footer past Ilic.
No sooner had Barnsley kicked off the
ball was in the net again for the second. Marc Bircham won the ball
in midfield a powered at the heart of the Barnsley defence. His low
shot seemed comfortable enough for Ilic but the big keeper coughed
it up and Martin Rowlands was on hand to ram the ball home for his
first goal on the hallowed Loftus Road turf.
Rangers then allowed Barnsley a brief
90-second respite before adding the third to really kill off
Barnsley's hopes. Rangers won a corner on the right and Gino trotted
across to take it. He fired the ball to the far post where Gareth
Ainsworth was on hand to take advantage of some of the slackest
marking you are likely to see this season. His simple header bounced
past Ilic and suddenly the game had gone from very 0-0 to 3-0 within
four minutes. Barnsley simply had no answer. From their formation
and the way they played they had clearly come not to get battered
and if they got a point even better. This hope had now been blown to
pieces by a rampant Rangers outfit.
With thirteen minutes left Rangers
added the fourth and it was a real gem. Kevin Gallen ran at the
practically statuesque Craig Ireland and as the lumbering defender
looked to challenge he slipped a delicate ball into Thorpe's path.
Thorpe didn't break stride as he took one touch to round Ilic and
another to stroke the ball home from a tight angle.
The closest Barnsley came to grabbing
a consolation was when poor defending allowed Rory Fallon a one on
one chance against Day. Fallon plodded serenely at Day and the R's
stopper had time to come off his line, change his mind and then come
off it again before the Barnsley man had got to the ball. Both dived
in a Day deflected the ball away and Gnohere capped a fine display
but hammering clear.
There was still time for another
chance as Martin Rowlands hit Barnsley on the break and found
himself on the right side of the box. Thorpe was screaming for the
ball and a simple pass would surely have seen him tuck away the
fifth. Rowlands looked to hold the ball up though and even as the
final whistle went you could see Thorpe giving him a load of earhole
about it. It was great to see that even a 4-0 the team are still
willing to moan at each other for not creating one more chance.
This was not a good performance for
the first hour of the game. There was an almost total lack of
inspiration from all areas; the only person that looked like he
might be able to create an opportunity was Rowlands. He was a threat
all night and did very well to be on the spot to tuck away the
rebound for the second. As a result he was my Man of the Match.
Elsewhere in the team, Gnohere and
Padula both looked solid, as did Forbes when he was moved inside.
Palmer looked poor once again and Olly moved him to right back for a
while just to stop us getting exposed by the runners from deep. I
would rather see our most creative player at right back than see
Palmer in the side at the moment. Thorpe and Gallen weren't in the
game for long periods and Ainsworth still looks below par, although
this was his best showing for a while. Bircham and Bean were
industrious without being spectacular and as usual Daisy was solid
behind his back four. It was nice to see Wes Daly get a ten-minute
trot out as he returns from injury.
Grimsby away is next on the list and
we will need to improve on this if we want to win up there. I would
be surprised if they were to capitulate as dramatically as Barnsley
and we should expect a real battle against a team who we have never
managed to beat on home turf. There is a first time for everything
though right…
simon@qprnet.com |
