Rangers climbed to their highest league position of the season with a nervy 3-2 win against a spirited Blackpool side at Loftus Road. This was a game that the R’s should have cruised home in but the fragile confidence was once again all too evident as the visitors clawed two goals back. 

Following the disappointing showing at Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, De Canio made one change. Camp was in goal behind Mancienne, Hall, Connolly and Delaney. Buzsaky, Leigertwood, Rowlands and Vine were in midfield with Blackstock and Agyemang up top. 

The wind was the most influential aspect of the opening exchanges as both teams struggled to adjust. It was swirling around the ground so they had little idea whether it was going to be into their faces or from behind when it came to using the ball. The ball was spending too much time in the air also as both keepers often wanted to just batter it up field rather than try and retain possession. 

There had been very little action of note until Rangers hit the front after ten minutes. Agyemang chased a ball down the left flank and turned back inside before firing a long cross past the back stick. Buzsaky had a swing at it with his left foot and the ball looped up and over Rachubka and into the far corner. It looked as though the ball dipped on him as he was about to strike it and the keeper was completely kippered! 

The game then settled back into its scrappy pattern as neither side managed to put much together in terms of attacking threat. Blackpool were having plenty of the ball in the middle of the park and Rangers seemed quite content to let them potter about as they never seemed to come up with that crucial killer pass. Indeed, Camps only action worthy of note in the first half was to claim a corner under pressure. 

It was clear that Vine had the beating of Seasiders skipper Barker at right back but time and again he worked inside rather than blasting him for pace down the outside. Agyemang was working harder than he had in recent games but he still has that disinterested air about a lot of what he does.  

Five minutes before half time Rangers doubled their advantage with an excellent goal. Rowan Vine picked up the ball on the left saw a gap and accelerated through it. The Blackpool defenders were powerless to intervene as he steadied himself before firing a fine left footed strike across Rachubka into the bottom corner. 

Finally Rangers seemed to have their tails up and they could have had a couple more before half time. First Buzsaky brought an excellent save from Rachubka with a good strike from twenty yards that skipped up off the turf in front of the former Manchester United youngster. Buzsaky again went close moments later but this time his shot flashed wide of the post after he pounced on some indecisive defending. 

The away side forced Camp into his first meaningful action of the game after the break when Taylor-Fletcher fired straight at him. Rangers then promptly scored their third of the evening with another rampaging break. Vine headed the charge and he skipped past Barker before slipping the ball inside to Agyemang. Agyemang had his obligatory two touches to trap it and failed but had the presence of mind to move it into the path of the onrushing Rowlands who stroked home from six yards.  

This should have been the signal for Rangers to really open the taps and wipe the floor with a Blackpool team that simply hadn’t been in the game at this point. Simon Grayson decided that his team needed to be more direct and to this end he sent Ben Burgess into the fray in place of Andy Morrell and instructed his players to hit him at every opportunity. 

Within six minutes of coming on he had pulled one back but it was the type of goal you don’t really associate with the big striker. A corner was cleared toward the right flank and Delaney found himself penned in on the touchline. He showed some lovely skills to work space to clear and proceeded to pass the ball straight to Latvian Kaspars Gorkss. He immediately slipped the ball into the path of Burgess who had managed to stay onside and he slammed it across Camp into the bottom corner. 

As is now customary when Rangers concede a goal, it was absolute pandemonium. Suddenly everyone was chasing about after the ball and getting nowhere near it and every time they had the ball they just gave it straight back to Blackpool. Burgess was giving Hall and Connolly a torrid time, the former was struggling with his dodgy groin but was gamely battling on.  

The middle of midfield was once again being overrun and Leigertwood was having a nightmare. Rowlands was haring around all over the place trying to fill gaps and as he has done so often in recent weeks, was turning in a proper captain’s knock. Ian Evatt almost came up with a great goal as he hooked a volley over Camp’s bar. 

Rangers launched an all too rare foray into Blackpool territory when Buzsaky turned sharply on the edge of the box and cracked in a low shot that Rachubka managed to shovel behind for a corner. Then with fifteen minutes left the inevitable happened and the visitors pulled a second goal back. 

Having won a left wing corner, Parker’s ball to the back post was headed unopposed by Gorkss and McPhee pounced from three yards to head past Camp. Now it really was panic stations. De Canio had already sent Mahon on in place of Agyemang and gone to five in midfield and now he sent on Lee in place of Buzsaky. We now had four centre backs, two defensive midfielders and a full back on the left wing!  

Rowlands went close a couple of times as he seemingly fought a one man crusade to drag Rangers out of the hole they were quickly digging for themselves. First he fired a free kick over the eight yard wall but also over the bar. He then walked onto a deft lay off from Blackstock and thundered a drive inches wide from eighteen yards. 

As the game entered four minutes of injury time and with Blackpool still pouring the pressure on another negative change saw Rowlands replaced and Rehman sent off to make up a back five! It must have been the least attacking R’s XI for years at that point with just two players on the field that wanted to cross the half way line! Fortunately Blackpool seemed to be out of ideas other than lumping it and the final few moments passed without further threat on the Rangers goal. 

This might have been a horrible, panicky win but it is a win that has propelled Rangers into the top half of the table for the first time this season. Another win against bottom three Scunthorpe on Saturday will see us safe for the season and able to relax a little. There is still plenty of work to do though on the fragile confidence of the players, why they continue to collapse when they concede even one goal is a mystery that Gigi must solve and quickly. 

Man of the Match – Martin Rowlands. The skipper lead by example. He grabbed the crucial winning goal and when everyone was losing their heads he managed to stay calm and focused.

 simon@qprnet.com