The first home game of 2003 was hardly a classic. Rangers faced Stockport in freezing cold conditions with Ian Holloway naming an unchanged side after we beat Peterborough on Wednesday.

Rangers started the game slowly with Stockport looking the brighter side. They soon worked out our weaknesses taking on Rose on his weaker left side and beating him time and time again.

Luckily Stockport were a pretty poor side and the final ball was usually cut out quite easily. Rose was struggling at times and not having his best game but a right footed central defender is always going to struggle whilst playing left back.

The game was truly awful in the first half with Shittu hoofing the ball to Carlton Palmer and he then hoofed it back. It was like watching paint dry quite simply the dullest 45 minutes of the season so far. When we did get the ball down on the floor we looked quite good but it was all too rare.

Langley must have hurt his neck in the first half watching balls being pumped high over him and when he did get the ball to feet he looked so shocked he usually gave it away pretty quickly.

Gallen and Cook were the two bright lights of the game though. Both looked excellent on the ball with Cook causing problems for Stockport with his trickery on the ball and his pace created a few half chances. His crossing was also good but we never really got anyone into the middle to get on the end of these chances.

Our best chance came midway through the half after a good breakaway, Gallen and Cook linked well before Steve Palmer stormed into the box and did well to cross for an unmarked Bircham. Bircham had time and space but didn't seem to know what to do and dwelled on the ball to long before being pushed off the ball and the chance was gone.

It summed up Bircham's performance on the day, he never seemed to settle on the right wing and looked knackered after half an hour. But like so many of our better players he needs the ball to his feet and chasing a long ball forward then chasing a long ball back again is never going to get the best out of our players.

Stockport were even worse than us but almost took the lead after a Shittu slip but we recovered well to get away with it. A few corners almost brought a goal as Carlisle went close and a Langley free kick in injury time was close to giving us the lead.

It was uninspiring stuff though and the game had 0-0 written all over it. We all hoped for an improvement in the second half but it didn't come. Stockport looked happy to take a point and we didn't seem to have any idea how to break them down.

A free kick from Langley almost brought a goal as Carlisle headed across to Cook but his volley was headed off the line. A ball into the box from the left found Bircham but again he got it caught under his feet and the chance was gone. It was still pretty poor stuff though and the long ball to Angell wasn't working. He was eventually taken off to inject some pace up front. Richard Pacquette came on and we soon had a good spell of pressure.

A good move on the right saw Gallen race clear but his volley was brilliantly saved by the keeper. Gallen did everything right and it looked a certain goal but full credit to the Stockport keeper for an excellent save.

Langley then came to life and played a one two with Gallen before curling a shot just over from 25 yards out.

Finally we looked like we might win the game but we soon lost momentum and went back to the we'll hoof to you and you can hoof it back to us style which had bored us senseless for most of the game.

Bircham then put in a good cross for Pacquette and the ball seemed to take an age to reach his head as Pacquette's header beat the keeper but came back off the post. As the ball sailed back into the keepers arms it looked certain that we wouldn't win the game now. Pacquette had a shot from outside the area soon afterwards but the keeper comfortably saved it.

Holloway then made another change with Oliver Burgess on for Marc Bircham. Burgess got straight in the action bursting into the box but he was soon crowded out by several defenders when he needed some help.

Time was running out and the game looked over before Pacquette found Gallen with a good pass and he drove into the box before being hacked down for a penalty.

The initial foul may have been outside the box but who cares we had a penalty and some excitement for the first time all afternoon. Kevin Gallen picked the ball up and confidently walked to the penalty spot.

Oh Gawd said most of the Loft in unison with one Rangers fans shouting out "It's like Beckham, it's redemption time". Well as that was said memories of those two missed Gallen penalties came back, the one against Leeds being the one I'll never forget as it was such an awful penalty and a goal then could have won us the game and kept us in the Premiership.

It all flashed before my eyes again but Gallen soon made us forget all those images by blasting the ball into the back of the net and setting up jubilant scenes as Rangers fans celebrated with as much relief as joy. Gallen looked delighted and his was mobbed by his teammates.

We still have four minutes to play though and in that time we looked more likely to score than they did. Another good break saw Langley on the ball with Burgess and Pacquette in space but Langley dwelled to long on the ball and ended up losing the chance when we could have killed the game off.

So another win and another clean sheet but that doesn't tell the full story. If we continue to play as poorly as this then promotion is a distant dream. We are playing as badly as we were on our poor ruin in November and December but at least we are winning again now. Sadly I don't think we'll play many more teams as poor as Stockport.

Man of the Match: Kevin Gallen

Players Ratings

13. Nick Culkin: didn't have much to do but he gives far to many heart stopping moments by staying on his line. Several times in the second half he should have come out to help the defence but just put us under more pressure. 6/10

2. Terrell Forbes: Defended well again and looks to be getting back to his best form. 7/10

7. Matthew Rose: Struggled badly at left back being beaten on is left side all afternoon. He ended up moving across into the middle leaving far too much space out wide but let's face it, he shouldn't be playing in this position. 6/10

5. Clarke Carlisle: Not his best game as he looked nervous at times clearing the ball and miss timing a few headers but he dealt well with the threat of Beckett and Burgess. 6/10

6. Danny Shittu: Hoofs far to often when he doesn't need to. If only someone from midfield would come and get the ball off him and we could start passing the ball from the back. Defensively he was solid though. 6/10

8. Marc Bircham: Looked knackered when he went off and didn't have his best game. Again he's wasted on the wing. 5/10

9. Richard Langley: When he had the ball at his feet he was usually a threat and created some good passing moves. It was pretty rare that he got the ball though as he spent most of the game watching long balls. 6/10

4. Steve Palmer: Worked hard in midfield and was better than he has been recently. Still a waste of space in this role though. 6/10

15. Lee Cook: He looks very dangerous when he runs at players and was a very close second for man of the match. 7/10

31. Brett Angell: Exactly what you'd expect from him. He wins headers and looks slow. You have to laugh that he had scored fro every club he has played for expect us. 5/10

10. Kevin Gallen: Worked his arse off and was the only one who was going to score. He can play better than this but deserves man of the match for having the bottle to take that penalty after what's happened to him from that penalty spot in the past. 8/10

Subs:

24. Richard Pacquette: His loan spell seemed to have done him some good and he looked fresh and hungry. Unlucky not to score with a good header but he need to learn to attack the ball rather than wait for it to come to him. 7/10

18. Oliver Burgess: His rest from the first team seems to have helped restore some confidence. He looked more like the Burgess who tore Swindon apart last season than the one marked out of the game against Vauxhall Motors. 7/10

16. Danny Murphy: On after the goal and didn't get the chance to do much. 6/10