Olly didn’t spring any surprises with the starting XI for this one as the expected people dropped out and came in. Royce was in goal behind Bignot, Shittu, Santos and Milanese. Ainsworth, Lomas, Bircham and Cook lined up in midfield with Sturridge and Furlong up front. There was a place on the bench for Martin Rowlands following his recovery from a recent knee injury.

The opening half of the game was desperately low on quality from both sides. Any neutral that had a ticket for this one would have been giving a lot more thought to what pie to have at half time than to what was going on out on the pitch.

Both sides fluffed good chances in the opening twenty minutes. Rob Hulse managed to miss a low cross through the penalty area before Paul Furlong could only direct a weak volley at Neil Sullivan after an excellent ball to the far post from a Lee Cook freekick. This was the perfect demonstration of the form of Furlong, it wasn’t a difficult chance and last season it would have crashed into the net leaving the keeper helpless.

Jonathan Douglas, on loan from Blackburn, smashed a wild shot high over the bar before Sturridge was sandwiched in the box as he tried to get onto a return pass from Furlong. It would probably have been harsh to award a penalty, unlike the shout later in the game which should have been one without doubt.

Just before the half hour Mauro Milanese was forced from the action with a leg injury. Ian Evatt came on, Santos switched to left back and instantly Rangers lost any sort of shape or solidity at the back. Within a minute Santos had been totally mugged by Douglas and he was switched to right back with Bignot moving to the left after barely ten minutes.

Sturridge managed to work Neil Sullivan after galloping onto a ball over the top and sending in an early volley that dipped just before the plastic Scot and he did well to smother. At the other end Icelander Einarsson shot wide from the edge of the box. Then Rangers pressed the self destruct button.

Evatt tried to be clever and trick his way out of defence by lobbing the ball over Healy’s head and running round the other side. The ball went out for a throw. From the throw Santos lunged in and referee Walton gave a freekick. Gary Kelly stood over it as he marked out the wall and as soon as it was back ten he took it before the whistle was blown. Evatt and Santos were looking at each other as Hulse stood unfettered at the far post to roll the ball home. The lack of a whistle seemed to confuse them. I thought if the wall was marked out then you had to wait for the whistle to be blown. I’m probably wrong. The fact remains though that it was schoolboy marking from two players who should know better.

Leeds could have been two up shortly after the restart. Furlong failed to mark Einarsson properly at a corner and his header seemed goal bound before Bircham managed to get his shoulder in the way on the line.

Holloway threw on Rowlands and Moore in place of Ainsworth and Sturridge as he tried to inject some life into what was a desperately lacklustre showing thus far. In another positional reshuffle Santos was thrown up front and Rowlands was slotted in a right back in a cobbled together 4-3-3 formation.

Cook fired over from outside the area and then Rangers were handed a lifeline when Northern Ireland’s hero David Healy was dismissed. He and Bircham had clashed in the box and Healy ended up on the deck before the red mist descended. He rushed at Bircham and I think he saw him coming and he crashed to the floor clutching his ankle. In truth I don’t know how much contact was made, probably not a lot if we know Bircham, but the charge at him didn’t leave Walton anywhere to go other than for the red card.

Shortly after Steve Lomas shot over from outside the box, Furlong then also had a shot from distance as things became ever more desperate. Rowlands, who had seemed well off the pace when he came on, finally worked an opening on the right and his brilliant cross was headed over by the diving Santos at the far post.

Peter Walton and linesman Joe Ross then combined to deny Rangers a blatant penalty. Furlong showed good slight of foot to work his way into the box and he was just inside when Sean Gregan upended him. Gregan knew it was a pen, Furlong knew it was a pen; anyone within fifty yards knew it was a pen, except for the two people that mattered. He inexplicably gave a freekick on the very edge of the box and then marked the wall out seven yards! I don’t know why he didn’t get in it himself and then act as the charger for the kick! When the freekick was taken it was shifted to Furlong and his shot blocked barely two yards from his foot. He got onto the rebound but could only blaze it high over the bar.

In the last minute of the game Shittu came rampaging forward and unleashed a shot from thirty yards that moved all over the place and Sullivan couldn’t hold. Criminally nobody followed in for the rebound and what could have been a tap in. The final whistle blew and you couldn’t help feeling a bit mugged off. This was an awful game that had 0-0 written all over it and but for some inept defending we could have had a point.

The thing that was highlighted in this game was how thin we are up front. If Furlong isn’t scoring we are screwed, and he isn’t so we are! Sturridge is well short on fitness and at the moment Moore doesn’t look to be up to this standard. Nygaard was left on the bench but he is certainly not the answer. We are missing Gallen but he is hardly prolific. I just cannot see where the goals are going to come from and I think 1-0 either way may become a familiar scoreline this season.

The defending for their goal was farcical to say the least and if Milanese is injured then we are going to have a problem as there isn’t anyone to replace him properly. Bignot will do a job over there but then who do you play on the right? Santos? God help us if he does. I would shift Lomas there, he has played there before and is a solid performer, and he would be less of a fish out of water than most.

Things will have to improve before we travel to Leicester next week as we have to get that first away win on the board sharpish before we travel to a resurgent Millwall side the following Tuesday. If we play like this the only thing I can see are mug punters like me knocking out another fifty quid to watch us get nothing.

simon@qprnet.com