Waddo kept the same starting XI that was on duty at Burnley but with a slight change to the formation. Jones was in goal behind Bignot, Stewart, Rose and Milanese and the midfield four were Ainsworth, Lomas, Rowlands and Cook. This meant that Ward could play in the hole behind lone striker Czerkas.

Rangers started the game at a storming pace and Adam Czerkas nipped in behind Kilgallon to shoot wide in the first couple of minutes. Some good football then saw Ainsworth freed in the centre for a one on one with Warner. The winger should have taken his shot left footed but instead took it with the outside of his right and fired straight at the on loan Fulham man. 

Lee Cook was the next to try his luck. First his deep in swinging freekick was palmed wide by Warner; he then worked some space for himself before blasting a swerving thirty yarder over the bar.  

To this point it had been all Rangers but then as was the case on Saturday, some suspect defending started to creep in and the chances started to come. Firstly Rose played a terrible ball to Rowlands and put him in all sorts of bother, he could only send a weak pass at Paul Jones who hacked the ball against Horsfield before clearing his lines. 

Jones then produced an excellent save with his legs after a point blank effort from David Healy. Healy then missed a simple chance before Jones showed why he is the king of the double save. Steve Stone found the ball at his feet following a poor attempt at clearing a corner yet both of his blasts found Jones unbeatable. 

Leeds were ripping Rangers to shreds now with Eddie Lewis giving the limited Bignot a real going over. Good play from the American wide man saw full back Gary Kelly played into space but his shot flew past the post when he should have at least hit the target. 

Just before half time Damion Stewart found himself the victim of a bizarre decision from referee Friend. Having launched into a blockbuster of a tackle on Eirik Bakke which saw the ball end up on the halfway line he was shown a yellow card. The tackle was hard and nothing more; in fact until rent-a-gob Paul Butler stuck his oar in there wasn’t even going to be a freekick. From Lewis’ kick Jones saved well at his left hand post. 

At halftime Bakke was alleged to have squirted a bottle of drink into Stewart’s face in a clear attempt to goad the big Jamaican into a second yellow card. As it was Bakke was forced out of the game soon after the restart as he couldn’t run off whatever injury the fair challenge had left him with. 

It was something of a mystery how Rangers had managed to get in on level terms at the break as some of the defending had been nothing short of dire. Rose in particular was having one of those games where he ducks out of headers and just gives the ball away for fun. He wasn’t making things easy for Stewart who wasn’t having the greatest night himself. 

Ward went close shortly after the restart when he cut inside full back Crainey and sent a low shot into the midriff of Warner. Some good interplay then saw Cook feed a great ball into the path of the rampaging Milanese but some brilliant tracking back from David Healy saw the ball toed away for a corner. 

Leeds came back though and Geoff Horsfield had a shot blocked during a scramble which led to a brilliant break from the R’s. Ward was as calm as a millpond on the edge of the box and he picked out Cook who belted up the wing before flighting a cross in that Ainsworth hurled himself at only to see the ball headed over the top for a corner. 

When this came to nothing Rangers were finally made to pay for some more terrible defending. A long ball from the left was allowed to bounce and Healy looped a header over Jones and off of the face of the bar. Bignot appeared to have the rebound under control but instead of just heading it out he tried a ridiculous back header and it went straight to Eddie Lewis. He didn’t need asking twice and he coolly steered the ball into the top corner. 

For the second match in a row Bignot had been the catalyst for a goal by trying to be too clever. Just defend man, that’s what you’re paid for! The goal brought a change in formation with Ainsworth moving up front to partner Ray Jones who had come on earlier for the isolated Czerkas. 

Nothing was happening for Rangers now and it seemed that it was a matter of time before Leeds added another. Luckily they seemed to be struggling to create the clear cut chance despite the best comedy efforts of our back four. 

Baidoo was thrown on and sent to the right wing for some reason as Waddock kept Ainsworth up front. Then suddenly Rangers were handed a lifeline when Leeds gave away a needless penalty. Cook slung the ball into the box and as Ainsworth tried to win the header Crainey took a ride on his back and the spot kick was given. Rowlands stepped up, not before Warner had been booked for gamesmanship, and smashed the ball powerfully into the bottom corner. 

Back on terms and the ground was now rocking, or at least it was for about ninety seconds, until we gave away a goal with yet more rank bad defending. A ball from the left was deflected into Horsfield’s path by Stone and the big striker, having finally managed to stay onside, gave Jones no chance as he placed his volley into the corner. Stewart seemed the guilty party on this occasion as his misjudgement of the ball across gave Stone an easy ball. 

Ray Jones then missed the best chance of the game after Lee Cook had slipped him in on goal with a terrific pass. Jones steadied himself and looked to be in control before he lashed wildly at the ball and it flew into the Lower Loft. That looked to be the best chance of an equaliser gone but Shabba was having none of that.

A hopeful punt looked to be going out for a goal kick but Ainsworth chased the lost cause and managed to drag the ball back into the six yard box. Warner was moving to gather before Baidoo came from nowhere to cross his path and flick the ball home to send the ground into raptures. It was his first of the season and his first at Loftus Road. 

Rangers were flying now and Baidoo created another fantastic chance for Jones. His blistering pace left Crainey for dead and his ball in was perfect. Giant Ray was in again but just lost his footing and Warner blocked his shot, the ball came back to Jones again but Warner completed the job second time round. 

Jones still had time for one more effort as the clock ticked down the final few seconds. With the ball pinging about in the box it fell to the big man and he turned a lashed a searing volley wide of the post with Warner seemingly well beaten. 

The final whistle brought great relief from the stands as it was nice not to lose a game that we could so easily have tossed away. Some of the defending was dire at times and but for some profligate Leeds finishing it could have been a massacre. Saying that, we had plenty of chances ourselves but they only seemed to come when Shabba and Giant Ray were doing their thing. 

We must carry on from here and turn Southend over on Saturday. Rehman will walk into the side and with a bit of luck there might be some movement up front if a rumoured move for Dexter Blackstock comes to fruition. Let’s get at them as it seems that with the way we are defending we are going to need to score a few to win!

Man of the Match – Martin Rowlands.
Rowly has started the season in fine form and shown how much we missed him last season. He played centre mid, right wing and right back tonight and showed he can do any of them with aplomb. Great pen too!

simon@qprnet.com