| MILLER MULLERS GINO'S JAMBOREE
For the second
Saturday in succession Rangers followed up an excellent midweek win
with a lacklustre weekend performance. Last week it was Luton and
this week it was Bristol City that benefited. When you throw a
couple more injuries into the mix this makes the 1-1 draw a pretty
unpalatable result.
Holloway had wanted to retain the same
side that had done for Sheffield United in the Carling Cup during
the week. This luxury was not afforded to him though due to the
cruciate ligament injury sustained by Dan Shittu in this game. Day
started in goal behind a back four of Edghill, Forbes, Gnohere and
Padula. The midfield was Rowlands, Bean, Bircham and McLeod with
Gallen and Furlong up front.
The game started slowly and there was
little in the way of inspiration from players and fans alike as the
atmosphere inside Loftus Road was strangely muted. Christian Roberts
fired wide fro Bristol City after a couple of minutes whilst at the
other end Gallen couldn't take a chance fashioned by the rampaging
Kevin McLeod.
Rangers came within inches of taking
the lead twenty minutes in when Martin Rowlands rattled the bar.
Having been awarded a free kick twenty-five yards out Rowlands
stepped up to curl the ball over the wall and past Phillips. The
ball cannoned back off the bar and was cleared. This was the second
time in two home games that he had hit the woodwork at the School
End and he will probably hoping to scuff the next one and see it fly
in.
Referee Phil Prosser, the man that
ruined our home game against Wycombe a couple of seasons ago with a
host of bizarre decisions, was now well into his stride. He would
end up giving in excess of sixty freekicks in a game that was rarely
got above committed. This site dubbed him Prosser the Arse last time
and after being apart for nigh on two years I am able to report that
he is still an arse, if not a bigger arse, than he ever was.
Gallen should have scored when he
latched onto a Rowlands freekick only to fire over. Furlong was
stealing in behind him and would surely have scored if Gallen had
left it or maybe received a call. Gallen is really struggling in
front of goal at the moment and you cant help but think that if a
goal doesn't come on Tuesday against Barnsley he might find himself
watching the Grimsby match rather than playing in it. For all the
good work he does outside the box to bring others into play the fact
remains that one goal from ten starts isn't good enough from one of
your premier strikers and the one he scored has to be classed as a
fluke.
Furlong tested Phillips as Rangers
piled on the pressure in the hope that the breakthrough was just
around the corner. Gino swung in a right wing freekick and Furs met
the ball powerfully at the back stick. Phillips instinctively threw
up a hand to palm the ball away. Almost immediately Bristol City
were on the attack and Day produced an acrobatic save to turn away
an effort from Lee Miller.
Furlong was in the thick of the action
once again when he was fouled just outside the box. He lined up the
kick himself and when Bircham touched it into his path he belted a
shot that almost broke the bar in two yet once again the ball fell
kindly to a City player to clear the danger. After seeing the keeper
beaten twice only for Joey Woodwork to intervene you had to wonder
whether it was going to be our day.
Shortly before the break Richard
Edghill was carried off with a thigh injury and was replaced by
Gareth Ainsworth. The balance looked poor all of a sudden as
Rowlands switched to right back and the fact that he had already
been booked by Prosser the Arse for a nothing challenge meant that
he was severely restricted.
Shortly after the restart Gallen
headed an Ainsworth cross straight at Phillips and then Rangers were
effectively reduced to ten men. Kevin McLeod fell awkwardly and was
forced from the field with Steve Palmer replacing him. This was a
bizarre decision from Holloway as it forced Marcus Bean, a tough
tackling midfielder, onto the right wing. Beany will try his hardest
for you but he ain't no winger and it showed. By the same token
Palmer ain't good enough to play in this team at the moment and that
showed too. The bite had now gone out of the midfield and Palmer
seemed to be more adept at breaking up our attacks than those of
Bristol City. Surely it would have been far better to introduce Oli
for McLeod and play him wide right and Ainsworth wide left?
Palmer did manage an effort at goal
following a flap at a cross from Phillips whilst under pressure from
Furlong. The ball came on the volley but Palmer could only steer it
wide. Things were now becoming a touch fraught and it was difficult
to see where the goal would come from as the bar and Phillips had so
far denied every Rangers attempt.
Marc Bircham found his way into the
book after Prosser the Arse was fooled by a dive from Luke
Wilkshire. The former 'Boro player had more varieties of dive in his
locker than Greg Luganis and wasn't afraid to give them all a full
airing. The fact that Prosser the Arse was so easily fooled didn't
help matters but it amazed me that he fell for every dive made by
every player on both sides. Little wonder the freekick count was as
high as it was with this level of myopia on show.
With a little under twenty minutes
left Rangers finally took the lead. Yet another freekick was awarded
on the right and Gino stepped up to take it. His ball into the box
had pace and swerve and bent wickedly into Phillips opposite top
corner. Whether the Argentine full back meant it or not is open to
debate, no doubt he will claim he did but I am not so certain.
The lead must have lasted all of a
minute as some slack defending gifted City a soft equaliser. Palmer
missed out on a header in midfield and the ball broke to Miller in
the box. He held of the challenge of Gnohere and blasted past Day,
the ball hitting the net before the big stopper had a chance to
move. It was a terrific strike but he should never have been
afforded the time and space to make it count.
Bristol City now had their tails up
only to find themselves reduced to ten men with the dismissal of
goalscorer Miller. Having been booked in the first half he stupidly
pulled Bircham back as they broke up field. Prosser the Arse had
little option but to show a second yellow to Miller who had gone
from hero to villain in barely two minutes. This should have been
the chance Rangers needed to surge forward and grab the winner but
it never quite happened.
Dennis Oli finally entered the fray
with eight minutes left; with Bean the unlucky man to make way. He
wasn't able to make much impact on the game though as Bristol City,
to their credit, denied the space in midfield despite being a man
light and looked to use the blistering pace of Leroy Lita on the
break.
Despite this Furlong had a great
chance to notch the winner only to be thwarted twice by Phillips.
The bustling striker found himself space at the far post and when
the ball arrived he volleyed goalward only to see Phillips plunge to
his right to deny him. Furlong quickly looked to seize on the
rebound but once again Phillips was on hand to beat the ball away.
At the whistle it was difficult to see
what more we could have done to win the game and you have to credit
Bristol City, Phillips in particular, for going away with the point
they clearly came for. The performance was not great though and the
lapse for the goal was extremely disappointing.
Man of the Match for me was a close
call between Terrell Forbes and Gino. Forbes was outstanding for the
second match in succession and seemed to link well with Gnohere
almost immediately. The fact that he grabbed the goal though means
that Gino just edges it. He looks back to his best now after a shaky
start to the season and his delivery at freekicks and corner was
excellent.
Barnsley on Tuesday will be a tough
one especially as we will be without Furlong, Edghill, McLeod,
Shittu and possibly Thorpe. This should be a time for player to roll
their sleeves up and battle and we have to hope that Olly makes the
right decisions. One of these must surely be leaving Palmer out, as
he was nothing more than a passenger when he came on today. The left
side will be a problem and if I were in Olly's shoes I would be on
the phone to Gravesend cancelling Walshe's loan and getting him back
to LR. He has been excellent for them in the conference by all
accounts and deserves a chance.
simon@qprnet.com |
