Rangers plundered their first home league victory of the season against Plymouth Argyle. This was hardly a match for the purists, but after losing two at home on the spin it was absolutely vital that a win was secured, whether it was easy on the eye or not.

The twelve day break since the last game had given Holloway the chance to get some, though not all, of his walking wounded back into contention. Day remained in goal behind a back four of Bignot, Santos, Rose and Padula. The midfield four were Rowlands, Bean, Bircham and Cook, with Gallen and Furlong partnered in attack. There was no place in the sixteen for Dan Shittu though and this was something of a surprise given the noises that were coming out of LR all week.

Rangers started the game poorly and found themselves a goal down after only six minutes. Plymouth have built a reputation on being superb on set pieces and they showed why when Paul Wotton’s in-swinging corner was met at the near post by David Friio and he glanced the ball home. It was stinking defending but something that we have become accustomed to since the start of the season, the amount of chances we are allowing at set pieces is criminal.

Rangers responded in the right way though and Paul Furlong immediately went close with a screamer just over the bar. He also had another decent chance from a direct freekick but his effort was a poor one and he dragged it well wide of Luke McCormick’s left hand post. Both teams struggled to put any decent football together and all too often seemed happy to lump it to their respective big men. Gallen and Furlong were having a rare old battle with Wotton and Coughlan, with the latter moaning to referee Marriner about even the slightest bit of contact. At the other end Rose and Santos were also involved in a real scrap with Scottish international Stevie Crawford and Sunday league look-a-like Micky Evans.

Just before the half hour mark Rangers were back on level terms courtesy of grizzled war horse Paul Furlong. Marcus Bignot sent in a cross from the right wing that found Cookie at the far post. He seemed destined to head for goal but cleverly directed the ball down into the path of Furlong who fizzed a shot past McCormick to bulge the net at the Loft end.

Rowlands nearly gave Rangers the lead just minutes later when he whipped a freekick over the wall and just over the Plymouth bar. In truth I was never convinced that he would score as I have seen little evidence that he is any good on freekicks, yet he still gets a bash. This is something that we really need to get into the side as it seems every team has someone that can hit one, expect for us!

As the half drew to a close it was Plymouth that were finishing the stronger. Evans headed straight at Day when a better placed header would surely have restored their lead. Straight after the break David Norris managed to get through one-on-one with Day but pulled his shot wide of the post. It was a glaring miss and one that seemed to instil some extra confidence in Rangers and they took up the baton.

Both Gallen and Furlong had efforts at goal before Furs grabbed his second of the game. Breaking up a Plymouth attack Georges Santos sent an enormous clearance steepling into the White City sky. Furs and Wotton were neck and neck going for the ball and McCormick was racing from his line to try and intercept. Furlong got their first though and snaked out a boot to send in a huge lob that seemed to take an age to get to the goal. The Plymouth defenders could only help it into the net and Loftus Road erupted and the crowd suddenly sensed that we may actually be in with a chance of rolling this lot over.

A one goal lead is still a precarious thing though, especially where Rangers are concerned, and we had to rely on some top class defending from Santos to keep things in check. He produced one challenge that was Bobby Moore-esque on the edge of the area as he put his foot on the ball and Crawford flew right past him. He also nearly dropped a clanger when he left a ball in the six yard box that could easily have been converted. He does have his mad moments but from what I have seen of him the good far outweighs the bad.

With only two minutes left Rangers added their third and it was all about Kevin McLeod. Santos calmly nodded the ball into Macca’s path well in his own half of the pitch. He knew he had the beating of Worrell for pace and knocked it up the line and set off after it like he was on a Honda! He brushed Worrell aside, a touch illegally mind you, and bore down on the Plymouth area. He looked up and saw Gallen and Furlong loitering with intent, the ball found the former and he took it in his stride before slotting past McCormick.

It should have been all over but there is always a drama and whilst we were still feeling pleased with ourselves Plymouth grabbed one back. A quick break caught everybody napping and a Chris Day found himself in a three on one situation, short of having his pants pulled down Day couldn’t have been more exposed! It was easy for Crawford to draw him off of his line and for the ball to be shifted into the path of Marino Keith who slotted home with ease. From a position of comfort we were now clinging on and the three minutes injury time seemed to last an eternity.

The final whistle brought huge relief on the pitch and in the stands and at the fourth attempt, Rangers had picked up three points at home. In a week that contains two tough away games it was vital that we got something here as there could be slim pickings at Crewe and Brighton. Although it was not a great display there were some good displays, namely from Santos, Bean, McLeod and Furlong.

We must take confidence from this win, Plymouth were top four when the game started and were there on merit and that makes this an excellent win. Granted, we knew more about Plymouth than most sides in the division but that does not make them any easier to beat. We went about it the right way, got at them physically and knocked them out of their stride. Crewe will be different, they play a bit more than The Pilgrims and hopefully that will give us a chance to show that we can do the same rather than having another war like this.

simon@qprnet.com