Olly had intimated that there would be changes after Tuesday night’s performance and he wasn’t kidding! Poor form and injuries meant that there was a cull and only five players survived and one of these was shifted into a different position. Phil Barnes started in goal three hours after joining on loan behind a new look back four of Kus, Wolves loanee Keith Lowe, Shittu and Taylor. Ainsworth, Lomas, Bignot and Cook were in midfield behind a strike force of Moore and the other man from Wolves, Leon Clarke. Furlong and Baidoo didn’t even make the bench although there was a place for new striker Sammy Youssouf.

From the start it was clear that defences were on top which was something of a surprise given the fact that four of our back five were making their first starts for the club. Lowe and Shittu seemed to form an understanding early in the game and looked to be coping with Healy and Creswell fairly comfortably. It was a similar story at the other end though as Butler and Gregan weren’t unduly worried by Clarke and Moore.

Both keepers were having the luxury of an easy afternoon early in the piece as shots on goal were non existent. Crainey gunned an effort over the top for Leeds whilst Rangers struggled to create anything clear cut. Ainsworth seemed out of sorts and well off the pace, mind you this was his second game in a week and he generally can’t do more than the one. He did have a willing ally in Kus though and the Polish full back showed that he has good feet and a great engine as two or three times he went flying past Ainsworth on the overlap.

Referee Walton turned down a Leeds penalty appeal after Lewis had hurled himself theatrically to the floor under challenge from Kus. It was never a pen and it was a good decision, it was slightly out of keeping as he would make an absolute howler before the end of the half. Cook squandered Rangers’ best chance of the half when Taylor and Clarke combined to put him in. The ball fell to Cook on the edge of the six yard box and he smashed it over the bar, it is likely to have taken a bobble on a terrible Elland Road pitch.

Six minutes before half time Leeds took the lead when the lack of understanding amongst the R’s rearguard finally came to the fore. Lomas conceded a freekick midway in the Rangers half and Lewis sent in a left footed delivery toward the penalty spot. Barnes thought he could get there but wasn’t even close and Creswell’s backward header went in via the top of the post. It was a surprise that something like this hadn’t happened earlier to be honest and Barnes knew he was to blame immediately.

A couple of minutes later Rangers should have been handed a lifeline when a blatant elbow by the tight wearing Derry went unpunished. He and Lomas had gone up for a header and the Leeds man clearly thought Lomas had caught him as when they went for the loose ball on the deck he rammed his forearm into Lomas’ face. The Ulsterman went spare and in the end Walton booked both men for their part in it. Perhaps he thought Lomas had attacked Derry’s arm with his face? Maybe he thought that a man in his wife’s hosiery wouldn’t be capable of such rough play?

If Rangers had managed to get in at the break on level terms then it would have been deserved, such was the nature of the game neither side really deserved the lead and Creswell’s header was the only effort on target of the half. Shittu had been in majestic form and was being ably assisted by Lowe. Kus and Taylor were also doing well, although the former certainly had his hands full with Lewis, one of the best wingers outside the Premiership.

The first genuine chance of the second half fell to Rangers and we should have been on level terms. It came from a set piece and Cook sent in a freekick that found Lowe in space on the edge of the six yard box. He didn’t get enough purchase on his header though and Sullivan gathered it gratefully.

At the other end Phil Barnes produced an excellent save from a Miller strike before Creswell managed to head a Lewis cross five yards wide when well placed. Barnes then denied Lewis a goal as Leeds started to turn the screw on the new look Rangers defence. Holloway threw caution to the wind when he took off Ainsworth and Cook and threw on Nygaard and Youssouf. The formation moved to a fluid 4-3-3/4-2-4 type of affair with the four strikers playing wherever they ended up rather than being limited to certain positions.

Spendthrift Kevin Blackwell made some changes of his own when he took off Healy and Creswell and sent on Hulse and Blake! It is another world from the one that we currently find ourselves operating in as they sent on £2m worth of strikers to replace £2m worth of strikers! With a little over five minutes left Leeds killed the game off when they grabbed their second.

A set piece into the Rangers box was cleared initially but the ball found its way back to the ever dangerous Lewis. His cross into the area was inviting and Paul Butler got the better of Andy Taylor to send an unstoppable header past the helpless Barnes. In truth it might have been a little more than Leeds deserved but it stirred Rangers into a final effort to get a goal they deserved.

Youssouf launched a raid down the left flank and left a host of Leeds players trailing in his wake. He fed a ball along the edge of the eighteen yard box into the path of Nygaard but he hammered his shot well wide. Then fellow sub Langley slipped a good ball through to Nygaard but he could only shoot straight at Sullivan. Lomas also went close a couple of times with one effort that Sullivan saved and another that dipped just over the bar.

At the final whistle the travelling Rangers fans rose to acclaim the effort put in by this new look side. It was a world away from the terrible showing against Leicester and although the outcome was the same there was much to take heart from. Lowe, Kus and Taylor all slotted in well at the back in what were difficult circumstances. Keeper Barnes did well considering he would not have had any sort of training with his colleagues.

Youssouf looked lively when he came on and Clarke worked very hard but with little impact. With his size he should look to be far more aggressive as he could do some serious damage. It will be interesting to see how many of these players start the next game against Millwall and if Sunday papers are to be believed, it will be interesting to see who is picking them.

simon@qprnet.com