Rangers' reserves shared the points and six goals with Brentford in a very good game at Griffin Park this evening. Pacquette was the R's hero with two stunners, the referee was very much the opposite, awarding The Bees two penalties.

Rangers fielded two trialists in this game, Brazilian keeper Adriano Basso and former Wimbledon reserve teamer, Des Byrne. Left back Byrne is more famous for his attendance at the alleged John Terry/bouncer/bottle incident. Marcus Bean and Richard Pacquette started the game as did teenage prodigy Scott Donnelly.

Arriving at the ground a couple of minutes after kick off there was soon a penalty awarded to Brentford. Somebody apparently did something to somebody else in the box, not that anybody appealed for it. The pen was a poor one and Basso saved easily but couldn't hold the ball. The rebound was rammed home to give Brentford the lead.

The Rangers equaliser was stunning and it was no surprise that Pacquette was the scorer. A ball dropped out of the air on the edge of the box and Pacquette met it with a left footed volley that crashed into the net before the keeper had a chance to think about making a save.

The scores were level at the break but just minutes into the second half Rangers hit the front. Scott Mulholland and Jack Perry combined well on the right and the ball was fed across the box where the waiting Donnelly crashed the ball home from eighteen yards. That is now two in two reserve games for the precocious Donnelly and on this form you would hope that he starts getting involved in the first team squad for pre-season.

It was 3-1 soon after when Richard Pacquette scored a quite incredible goal. Rangers hit Brentford on the break and Donnelly advanced toward the box. He fed a neat ball down the channel for Pacquette to run onto and everybody was expecting a cross. Instead Pacquette lashed the ball with such ferocity that it crashed into the stanchion with a shuddering thud. It was reminiscent of Marco van Basten's goal in Euro 88 such was the acute angle.

Rangers should have gone on and won the game comfortably but they allowed The Bees back into it. First a left wing corner was glanced home at the near post with keeper Basso nowhere to be seen. Then, as the game was drawing to a close Brentford were handed another penalty. This time Fletcher was adjudged to have felled a Bee in the box and this time the strike was much better as Basso went the wrong way.

A three all scoreline was probably a fair reflection on the balance of play even though Rangers scored the better goals. Basso had a shocker and looked everything you would expect a Brazilian goalkeeper to be. He is certainly not the answer to our current crisis. The back four all impressed though with Ifura particularly commanding. Des Byrne certainly looks worth another run out and with the injury to Padula this showing may be enough to persuade the management to take a chance on him.

In midfield Beany was as tenacious as ever. He thundered into a number of challenges, no doubt trying to give himself some peace of mind over his knee. He did come off after taking a heavy knock himself but this seemed a precaution more than anything. Scott Mulholland was once again full of running as was Sonny Farr on the opposite wing. Stefan Bailey also gave a good account of himself.

The two R's players that stood out though were Donnelly and Pacquette. They linked well, Donnelly playing just off of Pacquette, and they took their goals with aplomb. On this showing Pacquette would normally have expected to force himself back into the first team reckoning but with the strikers we have now I am not so sure.