| TWO POINTS DROPPED MAKES IT
TIGHT AT THE TOP
Rangers came away
from Griffin Park with a share of the spoils after the usual drab
encounter with Brentford. Good football always seems to be at a
premium in these games and this one was no different with both sides
struggling to play anything like crisp attacking football.
Holloway sprang a surprise with the
formation but not before Kevin McLeod had sprung one on him. He was
taken ill in the warm up and apparently yacked up in the dressing
room forcing Holloway to pull him out. Day returned in goal behind a
back four of Forbes, Rose, Carlisle and Padula. A five man midfield
was in evidence with Rowlands, Palmer, Gallen, Bircham and Sabin,
replacing McLeod, the men selected. Paul Furlong was asked to plough
a loan furrow up front as Rangers looked to end their run of defeats
on the road. Marian Ifura was called onto the bench to make up the
numbers.
As expected there wasn't much doing in
the opening exchanges. Most of the Brentford players and fans were
too obsessed with what Martin Rowlands was up to, to make much of an
impact on Rangers. It was a shame that Rangers couldn't take
advantage of this early on. A speculative shot from Sabin was just
about all that either side could muster in terms of an early effort.
When a shot finally did find the
target it would end up leading to the opening goal. Rangers had been
having the better of any football there had been and a ball fell to
Palmer on the edge of the box. He sent a bobbling left footed effort
toward goal an Furlong seized on it to test Julian. The Bees keeper
could only tip the ball into the air though and Furs was on hand to
pounce on the rebound and volley home.
This seemed to wake Brentford up and
they were only denied an almost instant reply by the brilliance of
Chris Day. Rangers conceded a freekick on the right and Hunt's kick
was met at the near post by Dobson. His header seemed to be sailing
home before Day flung himself to his left to palm the ball away.
This save perfectly displayed why you would choose Day over Culkin
nine times out of ten. I am pretty sure that Culks would have
watched it fly past him where as Day never seems to give up on what
may look like a lost cause.
Brentford went close again shortly
before the break when Millwall man Ben May hammered a shot wide
after Rose and Carlisle left the ball to each other. A furious row
then ensued and Palmer had to get in the middle and calm his men
down. Palmer then found his way into the book shortly before the
break. He must have been cursing as the challenge looked a good one
and he wouldn't manage to make his way to too many more for the rest
of the afternoon.
Rangers should have doubled their
advantage moments after the restart when Paul Furlong broke clear of
his man. He got to the by-line and turned the all into the box only
to see it fly through Sabin's legs when well placed. Gallen seized
on the loose ball but could only send a weak shot straight at
Julian. It was a shame for Sabin as he had shown some nice touches
and a good attitude for much of the game, he just doesn't seem to
have that same instinct in front of goal that a Gallen or a Thorpe
has.
Brentford grabbed their equaliser soon
after in somewhat fortuitous circumstances. Forbes mowed Hunt down
on the edge of the box, and despite the little fellas best efforts
to swim through the air to make it look like a penalty a freekick
was all that was awarded. Kevin O'Connor took the kick and hammered
it straight back into the wall. As has so often been the case
recently Rangers were then slow to react and O'Connor found the ball
back at his feet and he sent another bobbler toward goal. This time
Furs stuck out a leg and inadvertently turned the ball past the
helpless Day.
Rangers had to respond now and try as
they might a clear cut chance just wouldn't come their way. Palmer
headed straight at Julian at the back stick and Carlisle was harshly
adjudged to have fouled the Bees keeper soon after when they
collided whilst challenging for a high ball.
Martin Rowlands, the target for
prolonged abuse in the Griffin Park saucepan of hate all afternoon,
had a great chance to score after more good work from Sabin. He
broke clear of Sonko and turned the ball back from the by line.
Rowlands had stolen a march on his marker but seemed to stumble as
he attempted to finish and sent the ball wide.
Sabin was soon taken off though and
replaced with Cureton who had a little over fifteen minutes to show
what he could do. He certainly did that with some excellent movement
and close control that suggested that once he regains full match
fitness he will be quite a handful.
Cureton came close to opening his
Rangers account following a neat turn in the box. A square ball may
have been the better option but he tried the shot and saw it fly
over the bar. He managed to create a chance for Furlong as the game
drew to a close but this time the Brentford making was much tighter
and the danger was easily cleared.
Neither side could manage to create
another goal scoring chance after this and a share of the spoils
seems fair in the end. The game had threatened to be sidetracked by
the constant sniping at Rowlands but he showed great maturity not to
rise to the bait of the paltry Griffin Park crowd. A little
foresight could have netted Brentford some extra cash today but they
hadn't factored in the sudden apathy of the Bees fans and the best
part of two thousand seats remained empty.
The loss of McLeod was an undoubted
blow and will have upset the game plan enormously. Sabin tried hard
to fill the void and probably had his best game in a Rangers shirt
in the process. Granted this was after he played on the right side
and Rowlands was shifted to the left and unfortunately, onto the
periphery of proceedings.
The defence was a little more solid
today although there were still moments of indecision that would
surely have been punished by a more potent attacking force. Palmer
was once again a passenger in midfield and the potential signing of
Richard Johnson should see him left out of the side and not before
time. The formation as a whole didn't really work as Furs was left
isolated for much of the time although he still chased and harried
the four man defence as best he could. Curo had an excellent fifteen
minute cameo and certainly looked the part.
With Bristol City winning yet again we
must hope that Grimsby do us a favour in the week and turn them
over. This is extremely unlikely though as we have had precious
little help off of any other team whilst our own form has been so
patchy. We simply must beat Peterborough on Friday and then hope
that our away form improves dramatically or I think we will miss out
on an auto promotion place that looked nailed on earlier in the
season.
simon@qprnet.com |
