A first round cup clash with a 1-0 away win should mean an nice easy night for Rangers. Especially against lower league opposition and with a more attacking line up which the supporters had been asking for.

But for the third time in four years, Rangers were eliminated from the League Cup at the first round stage. In front of just 4,000 supporters we started OK but the warning signs were there.

A young striker by the name of Lua Lua was causing fit again Matthew Rose problems and almost scoring in the opening minutes Karl Connolly should have put Rangers ahead in the 2nd minute of his full debut.

Jermaine Darlington evaded two challenges on a mazy run and pulled the ball back for Connolly, who fired wide of the near post when he should have hit the target.

Darlington decided to do it all himself five minutes later and after getting the better of three defenders, seemed to be tripped by Aaron Skelton but referee Dermot Gallagher ignored Rangers' appeals for a penalty. It looked a clear penalty but that was soon forgotten when the Lua Lua show began.

A long ball over the defence looked to be easy to cope with. Matthew Rose appeared to leave it to Harper when the defender should have been aiming for row Z or passing back to the keeper. Sadly he did neither and Lua Lua got in front of him and curled his shot under Lee Harper for the first goal of the night.

Most people in the stadium began to fear the worse. Rangers hit back when Chris Kiwomya shot straight at goalkeeper Simon Brown before Lua Lua scored his second on 16 minutes. Lua Lua showed why he is so highly rated by getting the better of Rose and challenges (albeit half hearted ones) from Perry, Breaker and Morrow and fired through Langleys legs and through Harper's hands into the far corner. The goal was greeted by a mixture of boos and abuse to the Rangers defence and some applause for the skill Lua Lua showed.

Karl Connolly wasted another good chance when he blasted his shot straight at Clark before our best move of the game saw Clarke Carlisle burst from defence hit a left-footed effort straight at the keeper. We also had a goal disallowed when Breackers cross appeared to go straight in but Koejoe was pulled up for a foul on the keeper.

Finally we got a goal which was not deserved. Koejoe flattered Breaker's misdirected cross by managing to head it back across goal and Kiwomya nudged the ball over the line from under the bar although it may have been an own goal.

That goal prevented the side be booed off and Rangers started the second-half brightly. Richard Langley shot wide after exchanging passes with Koejoe. Darlington then broke on the left and his cross found Connolly unmarked and he fired high over the bar.

Just as the game appeared to turn, Lua Lua tore us apart again in the 55th minute. He showed delightful footwork to take the ball into the box and find an unmarked Steve McGavin, who finished well into the bottom corner.

Lua Lua was making it a one man show, he sent a curling shot from the edge of the box inches over the bar and ten in the 75th minute, Harper was down quickly to save after Lua Lua again crept in behind Rose to shoot and was also grateful to see the unstoppable forward's 25-yarder fly wide of the target.

The match was turning into a farce with QPR making Colchester look like Brazil and Lua lua like Pele. And we still had time to be embarrassed again by Lua Lua, who cheekily skipped around Harper and tucked the ball into an empty net to complete his hat-trick with four minutes remaining.

The team were booed off in one of the worst ever performances under Gerry Francis and among the top 5 worst I have ever seen but the result should tell you that.

Man of the Match: Lua Lua

PLAYERS RATINGS 13. Lee Harper : At fault for the first goal and looked uneasy all night. 5/10

22. Jermaine Darlington : Looked good going forward but started to limp as more goals went in and wasn't at his best. 6/10

2. Tim Breacker : Just retire Tim. 2/10

4. Steve Morrow : Another who didn't play well and had no answer to Colchesters attacks. 5/10

12. Matthew Rose : Looked unfit and was made to look a fool by Lua Lua. Shouldn't have played and his confidence will be low after this. 5/10

18. Clarke Carlisle : At least he tried and was the only one to actually stop Lua Lua all night. 6/10

24. Mark Perry : Not a midfield player and found himself tracking back to help stop Lua Lua and left Langley on his own too often. 5/10

21. Richard Langley : On his own in midfield and had a poor game. Everything he tried went wrong but he was due a bad game. 6/10

10. Karl Connolly : Made his debut after many fans called for him to start. It took our loyal fans less than an hour to boo him. Didn't play well but looked unsure as to where he was playing. 5/10

31. Sammy Koejoe : Looked sharp at times but had no service. 6/10

11. Chris Kiwomya : Scored but was awful tonight. 5/10

28. Peter Crouch : See everyone other game he has played, tries hard but looks out of his depth. 5/10

30. Paul Bruce : Put a cross in and took a thrown in. Inspiring stuff. 5/10