There were plenty of disappointed faces in the R’s contingent when it became clear that Ainsworth and Rowlands hadn’t won their battles against injury. There were still changes though after the poor showing against Ipswich. Jones was in goal behind skipper for the day Rose, Stewart, Rehman and Milanese. Oliseh, Bircham, Ward and Cook were in midfield with Blackstock partnering Nygaard up top.  

You could see from the off that this wasn’t going to be much of a spectacle for the supporters. Both sides seemed to be struggling to put any meaningful attacks together and neither side had any more than a header off target apiece to show for the early exchanges. Ward nodded a Cook freekick a mile wide before Hayles went closer at the other end but again Jones wasn’t forced to intervene. 

When Rangers took the lead it seemed more than a little fortuitous from where we were sitting. Cook had started brightly, but was already getting starved of the ball, slung in a cross toward Blackstock, who had stolen a march on his markers. As He slid in and you couldn’t tell whether he had got a touch and it seemed as though McCormick had slung it in his own net! Replays later revealed a deft touch from Blackstock to divert the ball on target and he will be delighted to have got off the mark. 

Rangers were having some problems in the tackling department already in that every time they did referee Marriner penalised them. On one such occasion Hayles looked set to burst into the box but Bircham slid in down the side and sent the ball out for a corner. Incredibly the referee deemed this a foul and the ever dangerous Akos Buzsaky curled the ball over the wall and onto the roof of the net. This decision was pretty much standard as Marriner and his linesman turned in dire displays that clearly favoured the home side. 

Rangers were having all sorts of problems down the left side of the defence. Milanese was almost rooted to the spot and Rehman wasn’t much better. The two of them weren’t communicating at all and seemed to be leaving everything to each other. Barry Hayles noticed this and took the opportunity to leave Milanese for dead and only Rehman’s block averted the danger. 

On the half hour though it all went to pot and for the umpteenth time this season already we gave a goal away due to a sloppy individual error. A long punt upfield seemed meat and drink for Rehman and he should have just powered his header away but he didn’t, he ducked it. This left Jones exposed and he then took an age to get off of his line. Former Manchester United striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake stole in and tip toed round Jones before firing into the empty net. 

Both Ebanks-Blake and Hayles were getting themselves into the left hand channel time and again and Milanese was just giving away foul upon foul. He seemed to have a problem with Ebanks-Blake because if you ended up behind him it was almost impossible to get back the other side of what must be the biggest arse in football (apart from Simon Jordan perhaps)!  

Jones was called into action after another foul on the Rangers left. Buzsaky tried to whip the ball in but it caught Cook’s head and deflected goalward. Jones had to be alert to get down at his near post and avert the danger.

The half time whistle brought blessed relief and Waddock was able to get them in the dressing room and try and sort out what the bloody hell was going on at the back. The right side hadn’t been an issue with Rose and Stewart but the other two were a shambles and there didn’t seem to be much direction coming from behind them. 

Rangers created a rare clear cut opening at the start of the second half when a Ward ball into the box found its way to Nygaard and his snap shot was brilliantly blocked by Aljofree. The ball bounced out to Bircham and he lashed a wild left footer high over the bar. Bircham had probably been the pick of the R’s players in the first half as he scurried about in midfield like a man possessed, when he plays like this he is a valuable member of the team, it’s a shame he can’t produce more regularly. 

Buzsaky then stormed up on a slaloming run through the R’s defence before firing a mile wide of Jones’ goal. Plymouth had their tails up now though and they seemed to be finding time to cross the ball at will. Luckily the crosses didn’t quite find their target and when they did some of the finishing was dire. Ebanks-Blake will be able to count on two hands the number of times he found himself in the six yard box and failed to find either the target or on some occasions, the ball itself. 

Rose and Stewart both produced brilliant covering tackles to deny Hayles and Norris respectively. At the other end Rangers almost hit Plymouth with a classic sucker punch as they swept the length of the field to create a chance for Nygaard. Oliseh collected the ball near halfway and waited for his runners before delivering a perfect pass to Nygaard. The big Dane got the ball out of his feet before crashing a shot toward the near post that McCormick saved well. 

The traffic going into the box was incessant and wasn’t being helped by the number of freekicks awarded for seemingly nothing offences. The poor schmuck of a lino on the R’s left in the second half was struggling to get throw in decisions right and the concept of the foul throw seemed to be totally alien to him. 

With the game entering injury time Plymouth almost grabbed a late winner when a corner to the far post found Hayles but his fierce header crashed into the back of Stewart’s head and flew away to safety. Rangers sub Ray Jones almost grabbed an even later winner when Lee Cook broke clear and found him with a searching cross. The young striker had managed to get just ahead of the flight of the ball though and this meant that he couldn’t generate sufficient power to beat McCormick. 

At the final whistle the R’s players and fans were certainly the happier with the point but we need to see some marked improvements in the display. We just didn’t pass it at all well and we seem to struggle to do so without Rowlands in the middle. As well as Bircham played in a defensive capacity today he is not going to unlock teams with a searching through ball. 

In the first half the defence was embarrassing to watch, they were better second half but I can’t help but think that this is going to be a theme for the season and unless it is sorted out soon then we could have a long season ahead of us. As much as I like Milanese he seems to be going backwards, I had put it down to a lack of early season fitness but he can have no such excuse now. 

Up top Nygaard and Blackstock both worked hard but the service into them was average at best. Ward was largely anonymous and looks to be struggling with the rigours of English football. Mind you, a midweek trip to Kuwait probably didn’t help matters much! Oliseh couldn’t get into the game, he doesn’t look like a right sided midfielder to me, and Cook was starved of the ball but brilliant when he had it.  

Nygaard did most of his best work in a defensive capacity, covering deep in midfield when he needed to and always on hand to throw a head or giant leg in the way when needed. Blackstock, whilst he scored, seemed to spend a lot of time face down on the turf pleading for freekicks, he needs to be stronger. 

As for the officials, turgid wouldn’t really do them justice. 50/50 challenges turned into Plymouth freekicks. Plymouth fouls turned into non-existent advantages and some fouls were simply ignored. Nygaard was hammered on halfway in the closing stages and Marriner didn’t even bat an eyelid, less forceful challenges had been met with yellow cards earlier in the piece. 

We will have to play better against Birmingham, if we defend like we did in the first half then we will be torn to ribbons. We have to find a way to play through midfield, it was bypassed all too often at Home Park, if Rowly isn’t fit then it may be a better idea to try someone like Oliseh in there, or even Gallen. Waddock has banged on about passing football, maybe its time to see a bit more of it. Panic seems to set in too easily at times and when that happens it goes route one, but not in a controlled way. Perhaps work needs to be done on concentrating and keeping the focus rather than passing the ball? 

Man of the Match – Marc Bircham. I am certainly not Birch’s biggest fan but when he produces displays like this you can see why people like him. He ran his socks off in midfield and only left the field when he simply had nothing more he could give.

simon@qprnet.com