After the good win over Colchester on New Years Day it was always likely that the bilk of the starting XI would retain their places and that proved to be the case. Royce was in goal behind Kanyuka, Stewart, Mancienne and Bignot. Ward, Lomas, Smith and Cook were in midfield with Blackstock and Jones up front. 

The flank in front of the Ellerslie Road stand was already beginning to fill with water as the game kicked off and the incessant downpour that continued for most of the first half didn’t help matters. You wouldn’t have thought it was Lee Cook weather but he had a whale of a time and gave the out of position Leon Barnett a right chasing. 

Rangers were in the ascendancy from the off with Smith cracking a left footer over the bar before Ward fired wide from outside the box. Smith also tried his luck from a freekick and Luton keeper Marlon Beresford showed some good handling to stop it getting away from him in the downpour. 

Smith was looking livelier than he had for a few weeks in the middle of the R’s midfield and it seemed clear that the couple of games rest he had had served him well. He should have won a penalty for Rangers but referee Bates thought otherwise. He had seen a shot blocked by Luton skipper Coyne and as he went to strike the loose ball Coyne took him out. I can’t quite fathom what Bates thought had happened but he didn’t think it was a foul. 

The game was fully half an hour old when the visitors finally splashed their way toward a meaningful attack. Northern Ireland international Warren Feeney shot from twenty yards and Royce had to be alert as the ball skipped up off the sodden turf. Almost immediately afterwards a combination of Mancienne and Stewart blocked a Brkovic effort wide of the post. 

Lee Cook almost scored straight from a corner when his vicious in swinging ball forced Beresford to flip it over the bar. From the resulting corner Rangers took the lead as Cook whipped one in to the near post and Dexter Blackstock arrived on cue to head home his first goal since the winner at Kenilworth Road on November 11^th. It was no less than Blackstock has deserved as he has turned in some grafting displays of late without getting much luck in front of goal. 

The goal had been coming and in truth it should have come a lot earlier such was the almost total domination exerted by Rangers in such atrocious conditions. The R’s defence had barely been tested and Mancienne had managed to keep his kit in almost pristine condition until the last ten minutes of the half. Kanyuka got Royce out of some bother when a corner slipped from his grasp but just before halftime the R’s keeper was beaten. 

A ball from midfield tempted Mancienne into the interception but he slid straight past it and Feeney was able to knock the ball into the feet of Cardiff target Rowan Vine. The former Pompey striker got the ball out of his feet and fired it past Royce. Royce seemed to have over dived as the ball passed over his elbow rather than his hand, maybe he expected it to be more in the corner but it looked like a shot he should have at least got something to if not saved. 

Some less charitable R’s fans booed the team off at the break despite Luton scoring with only their second shot on target. Gregory’s half time team talk had been changed somewhat and immediately from kick off it was being completely ignored as Luton took the lead. 

Brkovic found space on the right and sent a cross into the Rangers box. Mancienne didn’t attack it as he saw Royce coming to claim it, Royce then stopped halfway and the ball skidded between the paid of them, smashed Feeney in the chest, and flew into the net. Somehow Rangers were behind in a game that they had totally dominated until the 45^th minute. 

Rangers had a great chance to hit back minutes later when a shot from Smith somehow ended up with Blackstock at the far post but it arrived to quickly to him and he couldn’t get his feet sorted out and only managed to spoon it over the bar. Blackstock did much better soon after when Cook’s great out swinging corner found him at the far stick and he powered a header goalward. Only the positioning of Dean Morgan averted the danger as he headed the ball clear from under the bar. 

Luton were having the better of the possession now and Langley was getting himself on the ball as Smith and Lomas went missing. In truth Lomas had yet to turn up at this point and it was a surprise that it took until 72^nd minute before Gregory gave him the hook. For all of Luton’s possession though they weren’t having much luck breaching the R’s defence. Kanyuka was doing well at right back and Mancienne and Stewart were back to being thoroughly solid. 

Ray Jones was forced off after taking a knock in a heavy collision with Coyne and Furlong came on to replace him. Furs seemed livelier than he has of late and there were signs that his sharpness is returning. He hit the target with a tumbling left footed volley that Beresford held well in conditions that had improved but were still fairly heart stopping for the keepers. 

With a little under twenty minutes left Bircham and Baidoo were on for the poor Lomas and Ward and almost immediately Bircham had wrestled back the midfield initiative. Baidoo made an equally startling impact as he put Rangers back on level terms only four minutes after his introduction. 

A Lee Cook corner was headed goalward by Damion Stewart and the ball seemed to be batted off of the goal line by a hand that wasn’t gloved. Furlong shot and the ball was blocked again before it hit the hands of Baidoo and flew into the net. Shabba was away like he had just bagged goal of the season whilst the Luton players to a man surrounded referee Bates. The lino had marched onto the field at this point so everyone assumed he must have seen it, seems not though as he only wanted to tell the ref it was ok! Quite why he couldn’t do this in the normal fashion is beyond me, perhaps he wanted to get a rise out of Newell, if so, job done and well played sir! 

The two sides both seemed keen to prevent the replay and went for it as the game came to close but neither keeper was forced into action. Luton picked up three late bookings, one for Barnett’s attack on Furlong’s old fella before Steve Robinson went in high on Bircham and then moaned his way into the book. Langley also went into the book for a foul on Bircham before he got a chance to ram the taunts of a minority of R’s fans down their throats. 

Langley had been baited by many throughout although I have still yet to fathom why. Perhaps people still can’t forgive the fact that he was sold to Cardiff to enable us to strengthen our squad and ultimately gain promotion? Baidoo conceded a freekick outside the R’s area and Langley stepped up with many fearing one of his specials. The result was anything but special as the ball flew high over the bar and into the crowd.  

At the final whistle you felt that this was a game Rangers should have won and had it not been for three minutes of lax concentration then they would have, pretty comfortably. A replay is the last thing either side would want and I can almost sense Arsenal or Manchester United at home coming out of the velvet bag on Monday and then us getting dumped out on our arses on Tuesday week. 

Man of the Match – Lee Cook. Cook excelled in the wet and turned Leon Barnett inside out for much of the first half on a treacherous left wing. He was quiet at the start of the second half but finished the game strongly as Rangers sought the win.

simon@qprnet.com