Another one of those must win
games against a struggling side and you just knew
Rangers would struggle to break the opposition down.
Rangers started with the same team that drew with
Cardiff and the good news was Peacock and Thomson
were on the bench so we had options if the game was
going our way. The opening twenty minutes or so belonged
to the weather as the wind totally ruined either side's
chances of good attacking play.
Shittu struggled at times
against the wind, which seemed to make the ball move
like one of those flyweight balls you used to play
with in the park. With the wind a major factor I was
amazed to se Chesterfield not take advantage and they
looked happy to put everyone behind the ball and nick
a point.
We tried to attack but
Leroy wasn't having his best game on the left and
Gallen was being marked by two players, which made
his job a lot more difficult. I've seen players man
to man marked but even Michael Owen doesn't get two
men on him but it worked and Gallens threat was diminished
and I honestly couldn't see Pacquette scoring despite
all his hard work.
We still created a few
chances though, a good move on the right saw Forbes
cross for Pacquette to head just wide and the young
striker also had a shot well saved.
Once again we looked quite
dangerous from corners, which is a first in recent
years. The height of Palmer and Shittu causes problems
and our best chance fell to Palmer whose shot was
pushed onto the bar by the keeper. The first half
ended goalless but I think everyone was quite confident
that with the strong wind in our favour we would get
that crucial opening goal.
The second half saw only
one team wanting to win the game as Chesterfield started
time wasting from the start of the half. Langley was
getting in the game more showing some brilliant skill
ion midfield to create a few half chances and Pacquette
had our best chance of the half so far when put through
and his shot was well over when he perhaps should
have done better.
The fans began to call
for Doudou which was strange considering Thomson was
on the bench but Holloway made a bold change bringing
on Thomson, Doudou and Peacock and taking off Forbes,
Pacquette and Griffiths. I found it strange that he
took Forbes off as Rose is not as good at right back
but the change woke the fans up and we began to look
a lot stronger going forward. Gallen and Thomson linked
quite well and Thomson had three chances to win it
for us.
A great cross by Langley
saw Thomson's header well saved and he was put through
for a shot but the keeper saved again. Time was running
out and it was becoming a very frustrating afternoon.
We were playing similar to last week but just couldn't
convert one of our chances.
Then came the moment which
could define our season. A great passing move through
midfield ending with Gallen producing a quality pass
for Thomson who spun off the last defender and only
had the keeper to beat. I felt relief as the ball
fell to him, this was it 1-0 no problem yet for some
reason the crowd didn't erupt and celebrate and Thomson
put his head in his hands.I couldn't see from my seat
buy somehow he missed as the ball rolled inches wide
of the post. A few months ago Thomson would have buried
that chance but this just wasn't going to be our day.
Askar had a half chance
to win it but produced an air shot with the ball sitting
up nicely for him and then we almost lost it after
Chesterfield broke out of their half for the first
time in ages and their forward found himself clean
through but fell over his own feet much to the laughter
of our fans. It summed them up but thank god he didn't
score as it would have been a terrible result had
we lost.
One last attack in injury
time saw Langley on the left cross but it was deflected
off for a corner yet the ref blew for a goal kick.
Decisions like that and Thomsons miss let you know
your not going to score and the full time whistle
blew almost immediately.
Rangers fans were gutted,
we'd played pretty well again but just couldn't get
that vital goal which could mean the difference between
the playoffs and another season in division two.
Man of the Match:
Richard Langley
Players Ratings
33. Rhys Evans: Had nothing
to do and his kicking was pretty good at times. 6/10
17. Terrell Fobres: Was
better going forward and I was disappointed when he
went off. 7/10
11. Marcus Bignot: Gave
the ball away more often than he usually does but
was solid defensively. 6/10
31. Danny Shittu: Solid
game at the back, he is forming a good partnership
with Askar. 7/10
28. Aziz Ben Askar: Like
Shittu he was solid and didn't do anything wrong.
7/10
4. Steve Palmer: Worked
his socks off in midfield and tried to make things
happen but it just wasn't his day. 7/10
12. Matthew Rose; His
late runs into the box just didn't happen today and
he was very poor when he went to right back. 6/10
9. Richard Langley: Showed
some moments of pure quality and he was the only one
who was going to open up their defence. 8/10
14. Leroy Griffiths: Tried
his best but it just wasn't happening for him and
the crowd was on his back almost from the start. 6/10
22. Richard Pacquette:
Worked very hard and almost grabbed a goal but like
Leroy the fans were on top of him early on and it
seemed only a matter of time before he went off. 6/10
18. Kevin Gallen: Not
at his best but did work hard and produced a few moments
of quality that shows why he is so highly rated by
a lot of supporters. 6/10
Subs
27. Andy Thomson: On
another day he would have scored a hat trick but his
movement up front helped us create more chances. 7/10
8. Gavin Peacock: I'd
forgotten he came on until I wrote this report. I
can't remember him doing anything. 6/10
29. Doudou: Ran at players
as he always does but his final ball is terrible.
6/10