The Luigi De Canio era at Loftus Road started in fine style as Rangers cruised to a routine victory over a lacklustre Hull City side at Loftus Road. Two tremendous goals did for The Tigers as Rangers made it five games undefeated and three clean sheets on the spin. 

Nobody really knew what to expect from De Canio’s first selection but he didn’t tinker too much and went with the team that has played so well recently with the exception of one player. Camp was in goal behind Mancienne, Stewart, Cranie and Barker. Rowlands, Leigertwood, Buzsaky and Ephraim were in midfield with Vine and Nygaard up front. It was a balanced looking side and the bench was also well balanced with a keeper, a defender, two midfielders and a striker. 

It was the away side that made the brighter start to the game and their game plan was clear from the off. Get the ball wide then go down and allow Okocha to get a set piece into the box. Okocha had already seen a shot blocked for a corner when his first ball in was nodded over the bar by former Brentford man Turner. Rangers dealt well with another couple of wide free kicks before they started to impose themselves on the game. 

Rowlands and Buzsaky were starting to get on the ball and the Hungarian playmaker almost grabbed a debut goal when his surging run ended with a low left footed strike that was well saved by Myhill. At the other end, octogenarian striker Dean Windass tested Camp with a strike that was also well saved.  

Nygaard headed a near post corner from Buzsaky wide of the post before Rangers hit the front in the 26^th minute. Rowlands turned tightly on the right and sprayed a raking cross field pass to Ephraim who immediately went at Ricketts. For some reason the full back showed him inside and the young Hammer fired in a low shot that took a slight nick off of Marney before spinning into the bottom corner.  

Rangers were buoyed by the goal and the confidence started to flow. Buzsaky was at the heart of everything now, playing neat, incisive passes to feet to keep the ball moving quickly. Not once in the match did he feel the need to lash a ball long or to ping a pass forty or fifty yards, he didn’t need to such was the accuracy of his short game. He also seemed to strike up a good understanding with Leigertwood and their styles seemed to compliment one another perfectly. 

Hull still had the threat of Windass though and he came close to equalising when he broke a tackle on the edge of the box only to see his shot deflected wide of the post with Camp scrambling. The R’s front two had been pretty quiet to this point but as has been the case in most of his games for the R’s, Vine came to life in the second half. 

Vine went on a typical run and sent a ball into the box that Hull skipper Ashbee hacked over his own bar. He then did the same again but this time he took the shot on himself and was unlucky to see it deflected wide of Myhill’s goal. Ten minutes into the half Rangers doubled their lead and killed the game as a contest. 

Barker, having by far his best game for the R’s, took a throw on the left and between him, Vine and Ephraim the ball was worked into the path of Leigertwood. The muscular midfield man ran forward and as he reached the edge of the Hull box he opened his body out and curled a beauty into the top corner. As soon as it left his foot you knew it was in, half the ground was up celebrating when the ball was still ten yards from the goal! It was Leigertwood’s fifth goal in over 150 games; you have to wonder how the hell he hasn’t scored a lot more give the two stunners he has bagged already in his ten Rangers games. 

De Canio had been calling Nygaard across to him frequently during the game so he could get his instructions to the players. A tactical reshuffle came not long after the second as Gigi went for some classic Italian tactics as Vine moved to the right of a five man midfield leaving Nygaard patrolling the front on his own. He clearly thought it was time to close the game down rather than going for a slightly more British approach of trying to give the opponents a hiding!  

Rangers seemed to be inviting pressure, Nygaard was trying to close the ball but it was proving difficult alone and by the time he came off late in the game he looked like he had just finished a marathon. A sheet of tin foil and a Mars bar wouldn’t have looked out of place on him. When Rangers did win the ball back they were still playing pretty football, it will take a while for the players to really get used to such play but when they do there could be some beautiful stuff played. 

Hull had done nothing in the half so far and it was something of a surprise when they actually fashioned a shot in anger. Marney turned neatly to leave Buzsaky in his wake and fired in a low shot that was well saved by Camp. Phil Brown’s side looked all out of ideas; he decided to haul Jay-Jay Okocha off with twenty minutes left after a dreadful display from the Nigerian. He was give warm applause by the home fans but it was more for his past exploits than anything he had done during this match. 

De Canio made three late changes with Nygaard, Buzsaky and Vine making way for Bolder, Ainsworth and Nardiello. Hull finally managed to get the ball in the net after Stephen McPhee swivelled in the six yard box and flicked home but the linesman’s flag had long since been raised. 

The final whistle brought great cheers of appreciation from the fans as this had been a very good display. Having won the game with over half an hour left the team tightened up and made sure there would be no dramas and no chance of Hull getting a sniff of a point. De Canio will have been delighted with every player; they all carried out their jobs as instructed. 

From back to front they all played their parts. Camp was solid, the back four looked pretty much impenetrable at times and the front two were tireless in their efforts. The real bonus was the midfield four though, each one of them was outstanding and you would love to see that quartet kept together for a long time to come. 

Unfortunately we could see changes in the next two games unless some hasty work is done to secure the services of Ephraim and Vine. Vine’s loan spell is now up and Ephraim plays his last game on Tuesday. Both have been pivotal to the improvements of late and surely we will be looking to keep both players for as long as possible. 

A win at home on Tuesday night could see Rangers power up the table with fourteenth place achievable depending on results. I will settle for another solid display though and a continuation of the defensive solidity that has been the hallmark of the R’s in the last month. 

Man of the Match – Mikele Leigertwood. For the third successive home game Legs was my pick as man of the match. He just seems to improve every week and if he keeps belting them in like that then he could be a firm fans favourite very soon.

simon@qprnet.com