Rangers strolled to a comfortable 3-0 win against Stoke City in front of the Sky cameras. The Potters were blown away in the first half as Rangers cranked up the power and totally nullified the visitors’ aerial style. The home side played some terrific stuff at times and in truth the winning margin should have been wider. 

After battling their way to a point at Barnsley, De Canio tweaked the team slightly. Camp continued in goal with Mancienne, Hall, Connolly and Delaney in front of him. Buzsaky, Leigertwood, Rowlands and Ephraim were in midfield with Vine and Agyemang up top. Ainsworth returned the bench for the first time in ages. 

It was the away side that actually looked the brighter from the off as they forced some early pressure on the R’s defence. A couple of early set pieces, one of Stoke’s major strengths, were repelled without fuss as Camp came to collect confidently. At the other end Rangers got a shot away when Vine connected with a ball in from the rampaging Delaney only to see it blocked before Simonsen had to intervene. 

Rangers had a lucky escape after 11 minutes when a ball in from Lawrence was hacked against the bar by a combination of Sidibe and Leigertwood. Camp may have got the slightest touch but it bounced down on the line and Connolly swooped to hack it clear. That seemed to wake Rangers up and they were ahead within a minute. 

Leigertwood sent the ball wide and then found it played back into him twenty five yards from goal. His first touch saw the ball bounce up but his second touch was simply stunning. He swung the left boot at it and made the sweetest of connections to send the ball arrowing into the bottom corner with Simonsen beaten all ends up. There is nothing more satisfying than celebrating a goal when the ball is little more than five yards from the players boot and still has another twenty to travel! From the moment he hit it the end result wasn’t in doubt. 

The home side were moving the ball really well now. Ephraim on the left flank was giving Griffin a torrid afternoon and he and Lawrence were having to work overtime to stop he and Delaney running riot. Leigertwood and Rowlands were spraying the ball around and the constant threat of Buzsaky on the right created the second goal eight minutes after the first. 

Leigertwood moved the ball wide and Buzsaky took a touch to steady himself before curling a beautiful cross toward Vine at the back stick. Vine had a Stoke defender clambering all over him but he managed to nod the ball down into the box where Leigertwood walked onto it and simply battered it past Simonsen into the roof of the net. 

Stoke were really struggling now with Hall and Connolly playing Fuller and Sidibe well. They were judging what they could and couldn’t get very well and weren’t just trying to clamber over people to win balls. That was part of the problem in the game at The Britannia earlier this season, the constant conceding of free kicks round the box, De Canio had clearly learnt from that encounter and instructed the team accordingly. 

Rowlands tried a cheeky chip after being presented with the ball on the corner of the box. He could have tried to play Agyemang in but he only had eyes for glory! Agyemang turned in a much brighter display than he had against Sheffield United last weekend when he looked decidedly lethargic to me. 

Leigertwood almost claimed the perfect hat-trick when he headed a Mancienne cross goalward from the edge of the box. Simonsen claimed the ball comfortably, when one of those goes in you really know it is your day. Agyemang was next to be denied as Ephraim ducked and weaved to create an opening and his back post cross was headed away as Agyemang lurked menacingly.  

A couple of minutes before half time the wheels fell off for Stoke as Andy Griffin got first use of the bath water. There had been the odd fruity challenge in the game to this point but nothing you would describe as anything more than committed. Mancienne was harshly booked for a foul but that was nothing!  

Griffin and Ephraim attacked a ball near the touchline on the Ellerslie Road side of the pitch. Hogan seemed to see Griffin coming and in truth looked like he bottled it a bit, Griffin won the ball and it went out for a throw. All of a sudden D’Urso was hurtling toward the scene whistling like Roger Whittaker on speed and before you knew it the red was out and Griffin was gone. It looked harsh at the time and those that have seen it on TV back that up. Truth be told it didn’t affect that game as Stoke were already being well beaten but it certainly didn’t help their cause. 

In first half injury time Rangers almost conceded a sloppy goal ala Burnley as Fuller held off the otherwise impressive Connolly to roll a shot past Camp and off the face of the far post. It would have been richly undeserved had it gone in but Rangers have to get out of this habit of switching off before the half has ended. 

The second half started with Rangers well on top as they kept the ball and tried to make the most of the man advantage. For years now we have watched Rangers teams huff and puff against a team down to ten but this time they seemed to know exactly what was to be done. They switched the point of attack endlessly, probing for that opening.  

Vine saw another shot well blocked after Agyemang had played him in and when play switched to the other end Stoke won a free kick on the edge of the box. With Lawrence’s excellent strike in the reverse fixture in mind I was surprised to see him duff it into the bottom of the wall. Rangers made a meal of clearing their lines but suddenly they did and it was like The Charge of the Light Brigade as players piled forward. 

Vine carried it into the Stoke half and in turn fed the ball wide to Ephraim. He took his time before feeding it into the feet of Agyemang on the edge of the box. Agyemang turned out and looked to have taken the wrong option but suddenly Buzsaky arrived on the right and the ball into his path was inch perfect. He didn’t need a touch as he steadied himself and fired the ball past Simonsen into the opposite corner. It was a quite brilliant breakaway goal, when Rangers play with pace and precision like that I don’t think there are many teams that will be able to defend against it. 

Rangers were in easy street now and they just kept the ball and diffused the game. Stoke’s attacking bursts were few and far between now as the tired legs started to kick in. Just when it looked as though all the fight had gone they forced Camp into the save of the afternoon. 

Glenn Whelan, recently recruited from Sheffield Wednesday, managed to find some space between the midfield and centre backs and steadied himself before bending a great strike toward goal. The words “great goal” were already coming out of my mouth as Camp suddenly hurled himself across goal to claw it away. He was back up in his feet quickly to block Cresswell on the follow up.

De Canio made three quick changes late in the game as Hall, Vine and Rowlands were replaced by Stewart, Blackstock and Ainsworth. The latter received a thunderous reception as he entered the field. For all his limitations there can have been fewer more popular R’s players for years. He was of course his usual brand of infectious enthusiasm and endless running as he gave replacement full back Buxton and uncomfortable last ten minutes. 

Mancienne chipped in with a couple of heroic blocks late on before Blackstock came close to making it 4-0 only to see Simonsen plunge low down and make a fine save. A goal might have given Blackstock’s flagging confidence a much needed boost as he doesn’t look as though he could buy a goal this season. 

This was a richly deserved win for Rangers and was one in the eye for the purists against the battlers. Stoke came with their game plan but once we had sorted out how to stop them playing Plan B simply wasn’t there. Rangers on the other hand played some lovely attacking football when they got the opportunity and showed huge amounts of patience as they kept the ball and tried to make sure they played the right one without being wasteful. 

If you look at the top six, Rangers have now beaten four of them. In recent weeks two of them have been comprehensively dismantled at Loftus Road and it really does bode well for the future. De Canio mentioned after the game that the players have to find the ability to get up for games against the lesser teams also and this is vital for any team wanting to mount a promotion charge. 

Everyone played their part in this fine win. Camp came for everything he could and made a terrific double save in the second half. The back four were top class, Connolly and Delaney in particular were terrific and the both were in with a shout for man of the match. The midfield four were outstanding and Vine and Agyemang were much improved from their poor showing against The Blades last weekend. 

Two tough games now await Rangers as they go to Coventry on Wednesday and then Wednesday on Saturday… One win from either of those games would go an awfully long way to making sure the rest of the season can be enjoyed and not spent feverishly checking the scores throughout games!  

Man of the Match – Hogan Ephraim. This was a close run thing between several players but Ephraim probably had his best game for the R’s. He ran himself into the ground and his pace on the counter attack meant that Stoke simply couldn’t commit fully as an attacking force. 

 simon@qprnet.com