| FURS FIRES TO SILENCE HATEFUL
HATTERS
A vital last gasp
goal from Paul Furlong grabbed a deserved point against Luton Town
at Kenilworth Road. The game was played against the backdrop of
bitterness and hatred from the Luton fans over the sale of Tony
Thorpe and the bizarre sight that is The Uriah Rennie Show.
Following the victory against Wrexham
in midweek many thought that there may be a few changes as Holloway
suddenly had a fit squad to choose from. As it was, there was only
one. Day remained in goal with Richard Edghill getting his first
start at right back. Shittu, Gnohere and Padula accompanied him.
Rowlands moved to right midfield to replace the benched, and
seemingly unfit, Ainsworth, with Palmer, Bean and McLeod alongside
him. Gallen and Furlong were in attack.
Tony Thorpe, the man Luton wanted this
day to be about, was only on the bench and from the moment he ran
out to a torrent of abuse he had a massive smile on his face. It was
also a nice touch that he didn't bother with a training top and made
sure everybody could see Thorpe 9 on his Rangers shirt. The fact
that he didn't start knocked the wind out of the bitter Lutonian's
and the atmosphere was not quite as hot as I had anticipated.
It was clear from the start that
Luton's front pair of Howard and McSheffrey were going to be a
handful. Big Dan was battling manfully against them both but Gnohere
was having one. It didn't matter who he was against they had too
much for him. Shittu was alert to hook away from Howard as he bore
down on goal, he smashed the ball straight into the Luton fans
sending them scattering. Perhaps the fella at the front with a
target on his t-shirt with think better of it next time.
Rennie had already stamped his own
bizarre version of authority on the game by booking a player apiece
in the first quarter of an hour. Bayliss and Bean both found yellow
cards waived at them for slightly mistimed challenges. There was no
malice in either of them but if you can't notice Rennie then he is
not happy. His languid style means that he never really gets hold of
a game and as such has to resort to petty bookings to get his point
across.
Rangers could have taken the lead
midway through the half through Paul Furlong. Kevin McLeod broke
well down the left and swung in a beautiful cross. Furlong was up in
front of his man to steer the ball past the impressive Beckwith only
to be denied by the linesman's flag. Furlong would later have a
second ruled out for offside, although in truth, the whistle had
gone long before he tucked it away.
Chris Day made an excellent save to
deny Ahmet Brkovic as the winger volleyed at goal from outside the
box. Edghill blocked another shot soon after and it was becoming
clear that Luton were started to grab much of the initiative in the
game. This was largely down to Steve Palmer having possibly the most
ineffective game I have ever seen him have in his whole time at the
club. Marcus Bean, despite being on a yellow, was tackling for two
and Spring gave Palmer the real run around all day.
Palmer did manage one contribution of
note when he blocked away Coyne's header back across goal with his
chest. The Luton players went up for a penalty but thankfully Rennie
managed to get this one right. The lively McSheffrey hit the bar
with an over hit freekick, although I think Day would have stopped
it had it been on target.
Rennie showed Gnohere the yellow card
on the stroke of half time for kicking the ball away. This just
about summed him up as Arthur must have given away ten freekicks in
the first half and then he books him for that!
Things needed to change n the second
half and Rangers simply had to find a way of denying Luton so much
of the ball. Bean was still playing for two and both of the wide
men, McLeod and Rowlands had been strangely subdued. Luton though
still flooded forward and Gnohere was on hand to produce his one
moment of class in the game to thwart two Luton attackers. A ball
came in from the left and Gnohere managed to take the ball and both
players to clear the danger. All three needed treatment following
the shuddering collision.
Luton took the lead on the hour mark
is fortuitous circumstances. Steve Howard somehow managed to find
space in the box and had time to pick his spot past Day. Day seemed
to have read his intentions and as he dived for the ball it hit
McSheffrey in the back to wrong foot the big keeper and leave him
helpless as the ball crossed the line.
Holloway had seen enough now and
quickly moved to change things. McLeod and Rowlands were withdrawn
and replaced by Ainsworth and Luton's favourite son, Thorpe. His
welcome onto the pitch was that of a family greeting a long lost
relative such was the love pouring out of the dilapidated stands at
homely Kenilworth Road. It almost brought a tear to the eye.
Thorpe was immediately involved as
Rennie came to admonish him before play had even restarted. Thorpe's
crime, well, your guess is as good as mine. Maybe the cretin Rennie
had seen something he didn't like about the way he ran or his
haircut or something equally trivial. Minutes later he managed to
book Thorpe much to the delight of baying Hatters.
David Bayliss gave Thorpe a two handed
shove in the back, off the ball. Thorpe reacted as any player would.
Rennie strolled onto the scene as quick as his lolloping style would
allow and took action. He sent all the Luton players away and booked
Thorpe! Not even a word to Bayliss who was already on a caution and
would have had to go. I think two words would sum up this decision
from Uriah, bottled it.
Undeterred Thorpe set about getting
Rangers back into it and his introduction lifted the side. He had a
couple of half chances held by Beckwith and almost connected with a
sublime cross from Edghill as he slid into the six-yard box. Then
Holloway made the change that completely altered the team and the
style of play. Palmer was taken off and Marc Bircham returned in his
place. Suddenly the team started to pass rather than hoof and
chances started to flow.
Kevin Gallen had the first chance to
shine. Wearing the skipper's armband after Palmer's departure, he
had found himself shunted to the left wing. This meant that he
couldn't get a real sight of goal but he was working hard and
linking superbly with Gino. The award of a freekick though saw him
step up. He bent the ball round the wall only to see Beckwith plunge
low to his right to turn the ball away. From the resulting corner
Thorpe managed to find space and powered a header over the bar from
close range.
Beckwith was soon on hand to deny
Gnohere with another quality save. Apparently Arsenal have been
sniffing around him and it can only be a matter of time before he
swaps Luton for more salubrious surroundings. No doubt he will also
have to endure the vitriolic hatred of the Luton fans should he ever
set foot in the town again. I can't think why anybody would want to
leave this place, it is great!
Time seemed to be ticking away and
another defeat looked on the cards until Furlong showed his class.
Tony Thorpe flicked the ball into his path and Furlong burst past
Coyne to get a sight of goal. As calm as you like, he slotted the
ball right footed past Beckwith and the away terrace exploded. His
teammates mobbed him to a man and Marc Bircham showed a cool head to
deflect the attentions of Rennie who was no doubt looking to waive
the cards again.
The final whistle soon followed and
Thorpe had to run the gauntlet to get back down the tunnel. The
Luton fans surged at him, knuckles scraping and slack jaws hanging
wide but luckily police and stewards moved quickly to stop things
getting worse. It is a shame their fans are not so passionate about
their own team as they are about petty agendas against players that
want to better themselves.
This was not a classic and not a great
performance by any means. For Rangers Day, Edghill, Shittu, Bean and
Gallen all played well. Bircham and Thorpe were both excellent when
they came on and really helped turn the game. Man of the Match for
me though was Furlong. Despite being kicked to pieces again he found
himself booked for persistent fouling. He had three sights at goal
all day and all three of them ended up in the net. His finish for
the goal was coolness personified and Furs is playing as well as he
ever as.
The game against Sheffield United on
Tuesday will be a strange one. I think how we get on will largely
depend on the team they put out, but I am not expecting to be in the
hat come Wednesday morning. The most important thing is the massive
game against Bristol City on Saturday so Holloway should not think
twice if he thinks people need a rest.
simon@qprnet.com |
