In the week leading up to the match Waddo had indicated that he would be picking an experienced side for his first game. He didn’t disappoint and even had time to bring a player back that had virtually been shown the door by the old regime. Paul Jones made his debut in goal behind Bignot, Evatt, Shittu and Milanese. Ainsworth, Lomas, Bircham and Cook were in midfield behind Furlong and Nygaard. There was a first place on the bench for youth team keeper Sean Thomas.

It was the visitors that made the brighter start to the game and they forced a very early corner. The delivery had to be tipped away by Jones. This was just about the only ball that came within his reach in the game that he didn’t gather with ease in a confident and assured debut.

You could see immediately that the ethos of the team had changed as Jones began to look quickly for a full back or winger to bowl the ball to and they in turn would give it short rather than just aim one up the line. It was taking some time to get everyone attuned to this though and a few passes were going astray.

Rangers’ first effort on goal came from the revitalised Lee Cook but he dragged a right footed shot wide of the post after a jinking run brought him inside his full back. The two wingers almost combined soon after but Cook couldn’t quite make contact with a cross from Ainsworth.

Furlong should have given Rangers the lead just after the twenty minute mark after more excellent work from Cook. The winger surged past three Millwall players and sent a perfectly weighted pass into the path of Furlong. The veteran hitman had the goal at his mercy and beat Marshall with his shot but contrived to drag it a foot past the post.

Rangers were putting the Millwall defence under all sorts of pressure and forcing corner after corner. To their credit The Lions seemed to have developed the happy knack of always having a head or foot in the right place to clear some, what has to be said, pretty average deliveries. With players such as Shittu, Evatt, Nygaard, Furlong and Ainsworth there is plenty to aim at and hitting the first man or missing everyone completely is criminal.

For all the positive play from Rangers the age old problem of fashioning clear cut chances for the strikers was still in evidence. I think this is something that will come about as the team becomes more confident and the strikers start making runs in response to a different style of play.

There were still more chances as the half drew to a close but Marshall was being seriously under worked. Ian Evatt got round the back of the Millwall defence only to see his header blocked away for a corner. It appeared to come off of the defenders arm but at that range it would have been incredibly harsh to give a pen. It would also have been reliant on Alan Wiley paying attention to what was going on, something he did little of for most of the afternoon.

Ainsworth came close with a stinging drive after working himself an opening but again it was off target. As the half time whistle went the crowd rose to acclaim this revolutionary style of football! After the break it was Millwall that again started the brighter but as was the case in the first half, this didn’t last too long.

Milanese found himself cautioned for a foul on Barry Cogan as the Italian warhorse found himself done for pace near the corner flag. After weathering the early Millwall pressure Rangers started to pass it again and scored a beautifully worked goal.

The ball was fed into Nygaard and he in turn passed to Furlong on the edge of the area. He looked to set Ainsworth clear on the right and his first time ball to the far post was perfect for Nygaard to head at goal. Andy Marshall produced an excellent save from point blank range but luck deserted him as the ball sat up for the big Dane to volley the ball into the empty net.

The idiot factions of both clubs then tried their level best to spoil the afternoon as they bombarded each other with coins and anything else they could get their hands on. This provoked an incredibly slow response from the Met Police, most of which seemed to be camped up outside the ground in one of the heaviest police presences ever seen at Loftus Road. Fortunately there was no need for the game to be stopped and order was eventually restored.

It was all Rangers now and Millwall were not being helped by the actions of Alan Dunne in the middle of the park. He had lashed out at Milanese off the ball in the first half and Wiley had missed it. He then lashed out at Bircham off the ball in the second and Wiley had missed it. After seventy minutes he was finally booked after fouling Lomas but this didn’t curtail his thuggery.

Marcus Bignot came close to scoring his first goal for Rangers since January 2002. Yet another sweeping move downfield saw Bignot link up with Nygaard on the edge of the area and go one on one with Marshall. Biggy’s bottle then deserted him as he shanked his shot wide of the post without troubling the exposed Millwall keeper.

Moments later any hopes that Millwall held of getting back into the game were ended when Dunne was dismissed. A ball was bouncing in the middle of the park and Lomas and Dunne contested it. Lomas got there first and was met with an elbow in the face from the Millwall man. It should have been a straight red, as it was it was his second yellow. It is not often you see someone sent off for four bookable offences!

Paul Jones had to put his paper down briefly late in the game when Ben May managed a header on target that was easily gathered. Jones’ positional play was exemplary and the first minute aside, he was never forced to extend himself.

Baidoo replaced the goal scorer Nygaard with twelve minutes left but the young striker seemed strangely short of confidence. He had a chance immediately to show his blistering pace and outrun Paul Robinson but he chose to pass instead. I think a prolonged and fruitless spell in the side earlier this year has left him a little bit scarred and he needs an arm thrown round him to remind him what he is good at again.

With the game coming to a close the Loftus Road faithful launched into a chorus of “Thank You Ian Holloway” and the ground was filled with applause acclaiming the outgoing managers contribution to saving this great club. Even Waddock was stood on the touchline applauding a touching moment that I hope Olly gets to hear about. His time at the club had run its course and although his departure was certainly a contentious one, nobody associated with the club will ever forget what he achieved and what he gave to us.

Furlong should have scored when he took a ball into the box and worked an opening before crashing a shot over the bar. Baidoo then almost got the goal he was looking for when he struck a left footed shot at goal only to be denied by an excellent block from Liverpool loanee Zak Whitbread.

The young American almost blotted his copybook as the game entered the final moments as he flew in with a high elbow on Ainsworth which resulted in the belligerent winger clumping him! Both players should probably have been sent off but only Ainsworth was booked as Wiley once again missed a potential flashpoint in the game.

This was a far more palatable style of football to watch than we have had for most of this season. Once the players have had a few games at it then I think we will start to see the goals come back as the confidence starts to build. Waddock and Macca now need to work on their first choice eleven and word is that there may be wholesale changes for the Crystal Palace game as he gives people a chance to stake their claim. For the Sheffield United game we will probably see something closer to their ideal line up.

Well done Waddo, the King is dead, long live the King.

simon@qprnet.com