With Gallen suspended Waddock was forced to change the side following the disappointing home stalemate with Brighton last week. Jones remained in goal behind Bignot, Shittu, Evatt and Milanese. Ainsworth, Bircham, Lomas and Cook continued in midfield with Youssouf brought in to partner fellow Dane Nygaard up front.

With the rain beating down on the players both sides struggled to get going. Defences were on top in the opening exchanges as the centre back pairings of Shittu and Evatt and Purse and Loovens got the better of their opponents. Evatt in particular looked well up for this one after a shaky display last week. He seems to perform much better against a bigger striker and he was having a real ding dong with Steven Thompson. One clash left him sporting a Basil Fawlty head bandage for the rest of the match; he didn’t let this deter him from his work though.

The first real chance of the game was worked by Cameron Jerome on the right flank. He managed to get away from Milanese and flashed a ball across the six yard box that evaded the outstretched legs of Thompson and Evatt. Next to try his luck was Joe Ledley and the young Welsh international clipped the side netting with a shot that Jones had well covered.

At the other end of the park Youssouf and Nygaard were having a bit of bother with the lino as he kept flagging them offside. You could argue that two experienced strikers should know better although some more incisive service from the central pairing of Bircham and Lomas might have helped matters along.

Rangers suddenly sprung into action with a flurry of chances in quick succession. Bircham, Ainsworth and Lomas all had efforts that didn’t cause Alexander any undue worries before Youssouf had a shot saved by the Scottish keeper before quickly arching into a bicycle kick that tested Alexander once more.

The players were grateful to get out of the poxy weather at half time and it seemed to be the away side that came out a bit more fired up for the start of the second half. Ainsworth was starting to get into the game more against his former employers and he went close with a freekick.

Bircham was shoved to the floor as he looked to run onto a ball only half cleared by the Cardiff defence. On a wet day it was always likely to be a case of power over guile and Ainsworth stepped up to take the kick. He drove an effort round the wall and forced Alexander into a fine save at his left hand post.

Back at the other end Paul Jones was finally forced into a piece of meaningful action when a couple of defensive slips allowed Jerome a sight of goal. The England U21 striker seemed to take too long to get the ball under control but he still seemed favourite to score. His strike was powerful but Jones rushed him and seemed to block the ball with his face!

Back at the other end Rangers worked their best chance of the game when Ainsworth won the ball on the right and scruffily worked it across the box via Youssouf to Nygaard. As Jerome had done before he took his sweet time about getting it under control before he cracked a shot against the base of the post. The ball spun across the goal just inches from the line before going out of play.

With just under twenty minutes left Waddock made his first change when he replaced Youssouf, who had been the livelier of the two strikers, with Furlong. The veteran almost had an immediate impact when he tried to turn Purse in the box only to scuff his shot. Nygaard had another excellent chance when a corner into the box bounced into his path in the six yard box but the big man contrived to produce an air shot with the goal at his mercy.

Evatt and Shittu were restricting the impact Thompson and Jerome were having on the game and the Ninian Park crowd were getting a bit restless. They had been strangely subdued for most of the match in a ground where the atmosphere is normally nothing less than partisan. The fact that they were getting soaked to the skin probably wasn’t helping their mood. Maybe when they move to their luxury pie in the sky stadium they will be a bit happier.

Late on Nygaard was forced off with what seemed to be cramp and replaced by Richard Langley. He got the hate filled reception he expected; at least he wasn’t spat on as he was in the reverse fixture in December! He didn’t really get a chance to influence the game in the five minutes he was on the pitch and the final whistle brought a few jeers from the home fans.

This wasn’t much of a game to watch but it was definitely job done for Rangers. Waddock has made them a hard side to beat since he took over. That is always the first objective of a new manager and now it is time for him to crank up the flair a little as we go into our final seven games. If he wants the job full time then I think the board will want to see a little more going forward in the final few matches, he cant afford to let the players get into the usual end of season malaise that happens all too frequently in the pro game when there is little to play for.

The midweek game against Stoke may well be the usual spiky encounter and no doubt the temptation will be to play Lomas and Bircham in the middle again. I would love to see Langley or Donnelly get a game in there so we can really try and hurt a side that has failed to win a game on the road since mid-December.

simon@qprnet.com