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Rangers crashed to their third successive defeat at a rain sodden Saltergate against lowly Chesterfield. This was a stinking display from Rangers and will no doubt have had many of the people in the ground wondering just how they had managed to get into second place in the division.
The crushing blow of losing Dan Shittu for nine months meant that changes to the side were forced. Day remained in goal behind a reshuffled back four of Rose, Forbes, Carlisle and Padula. Rowlands switched to the right of midfield with Gallen dropping in on the left. Palmer and Bircham filled the middle slots with Thorpe returning to the starting eleven to partner Furlong.
From the start Rangers made it seemed as though the two previous defeats were going to banished as distant memories. Chesterfield were rocking from the off and Steve Palmer should have done better with a free header at the far post. Padula's corner caught the wind and Muggleton tipped Palmer's header over the bar.
Minutes later and Rangers were in front. Marc Bircham threaded a lovely ball into the path of Thorpe and his perfectly timed run carried him away from the Chesterfield defence. He calmly drew Muggleton before rounding him and slotting home. A great start and something we should have been able to build on, but things started to turn sour.
The conditions were not conducive to pretty football and Chesterfield to their credit coped with the conditions much better than we did. Knowing that the ball would be flying all over the show in the howling gale they kept the ball on the deck as much as they could and a great this coupled with some tenacious defending caught Rangers cold.
It was from an R's attack that they grabbed the equaliser. Rowlands dallied on the ball instead of feeding it into the box and Chesterfield launched a lightening raid. A through ball found Glynn Hurst and he managed to hold off the attentions of Padula before firing across Day and against the post. Day seemed slow getting off the floor and nobody looked to close down Leeds loanee Jamie McMaster and he gleefully hammered the ball high into the net for a deserved equaliser.
Rangers could have been back in the lead before the break. A cross from the left was deflected against an upright by a Chesterfield defender and the ball fell to Thorpe. It seemed a formality as Thorpe took aim but he contrived to send the ball wide with Muggleton well out of position.
The second half couldn't have started any worse as Rangers handed Chesterfield the lead. Alan O'Hare swung over a right wing corner and Ian Evatt was left unmarked at the far post to nod past Day. Day seemed to have confused everybody by coming halfway toward the ball before turning back. As a result the marking turned to crap and Day was in no position to make an attempt at stopping the close range header.
Chesterfield were hammering us now and making good use of the blustery conditions. They knew full well that set pieces were going to cause problems so they looked to get corners and freekicks around the box whenever they could, something Rangers had failed to do in the first period. It was something of a shock when Rangers managed to grab an equaliser.
Having already seen a corner turned away by a combination of Muggleton and the bar a further set piece fell at the feet of Palmer twenty-five yards from goal. Nobody could have predicted what would come next as the skipper lashed it past Muggleton to put the R's back on terms. This was the chance to build on the platform they had managed to grab but instead they contrived to concede another appalling goal barely two minutes later.
Chesterfield won another freekick near the box, even though it wasn't a foul but that is neither here nor there, and McMaster swung in a dangerous ball. Hurst, a constant threat all afternoon, got the faintest of touches to send the ball in at the far post. Once again Day was nowhere to be seen as a ball came into his six-yard box. For one of the division's premier keepers some of his decision making over the last couple of months has been terrible.
Just to put the tin hat on it Rangers then gave away another shocking goal as the game entered the final ten minutes. Terrell Forbes failed to deal with a simple clearance and managed to pick out Mark Hudson twenty five yards out. The talented Chesterfield playmaker didn't need asking twice and he thumped the ball past Day leaving the Rangers stopper helpless.
Rangers couldn't manage anything like a reply and the game ended with Rangers having been comprehensively outplayed by a team languishing in the bottom four. Something is not working at the moment and it is hard to say what it is after a showing like that. Not one area of the team functioned well from keeper to strikers and it was no surprise that the manner of Chesterfield's victory was such an easy one.
Changes need to be made to freshen the side as some of the players look like they are either on easy street or on their last knockings. Palmer and Furlong were simply too slow and wholly ineffective and should be left out. Palmer may have scored but he failed to find a colleague almost every time he passed the ball. He doesn't get to the ball quick enough to be an effective defensive midfielder. We miss Beany badly. Furs' latest injury seems to have robbed him of any pace he had left and I think he needs to be rested until he is 100% again.
As for the others, Rowlands and Gallen in midfield were poor as were Rose and Padula at full back. Bircham tried hard but he was battling alone for much of the game and Forbes and Carlisle failed to gel as an effective pairing. Day was all over the place for a lot of the afternoon and Culkin must be thinking that he will get the call sooner rather than later. The person I felt sorry for was Thorpe as he was forced to watch his defensive and midfield colleagues give the ball away time and again before they could get it anywhere near him. On this showing, the signing of Cureton has come at the right time, as a fresh face might be just what is needed to pep things up as this lot looked seriously jaded.
simon@qprnet.com
