The games keep coming thick and fast and the latest outing for Rangers saw promotion chasing Stoke City visit Loftus Road for Sunday lunchtime kick off.

The game was switched for Sunday due to it being shown live on Sky, a move that would have had us throwing the towel in a few months ago but this season has seen us not only turn up for live television games but actually win a few as well.

The visit of Stoke promised to be a big test for Rangers though after two hard fought draws in a row it was time for us to get back to winning ways. Last season when Stoke visited Loftus Road their fans claimed that the 3,000 seats given to them wasn’t enough and they take that and more away from home every week. The harsh truth was shown up on Sunday though as they failed to even fill the upper tier of the school end.

It was a strange feeling though to be going to a Sunday lunchtime game. The pub and surrounding area was pretty empty before the game and walking to the ground it would have been hard to know there was a football match on the streets were so quiet.

The atmosphere picked up inside the ground though as the teams came out with a few changes for De Canio’s men. Hogan Ephraim and Rowan Vine returned to the side to replace Balanta and Blackstock whilst Stoke were without long throw specialist Rory Delap which would prove to be a relief.

Stoke City kicked off and started as they meant to go on by putting all the players on the left wing and hoofing a high ball forward. Stoke looked to use the strength and pace of Fuller and Sidibe from the off which to be fair to them is a tactic that has worked brilliantly for them all season. They won a few early free kicks in a bright start but surprisingly for them the delivery was not the best and turned out to be catching practice for Lee Camp.

Rangers looked to catch them on the break with the pace of Ephraim and it was clear from the start that we were looking to attack down the left wing with Delaney bombing forward on the overlap and Vine was drifting out to off an extra option for Ephraim.

It was Stoke who had the first real chance of the game and really should have taken the lead. Lawrence got the ball on the right and put in a dangerous cross that Leigterwood directed past Camp onto his own cross bar before Connolly scrambled it clear. It was hearts in mouth time but within 90 seconds we were in front.

Leigterwood got control of the ball in the middle and spread it wide to Buzsacky who played it back to Leigterwood but his first touch appeared to take it away from him. As it turned out though the first touch teed the ball up for a volley and Leigterwood took aim and smashed a shot low and hard into the bottom corner with an unstoppable effort. It was another great goal from Leigterwood who was putting a few poor performances behind him to really shine against Stoke.

The goal really calmed Rangers down and we went on to produce one of our best performances of the season. When we had the ball we moved it quickly with precision and pace and when they had the ball the midfield were charging around like mad man to close them down and win the ball back. Delaney was like a man possessed on the left always looking to bomb forward and cause problems which really helped to nullify the threat of Lawrence who was forced to play far deeper than usual.

In central midfield Rowlands was once again having an excellent game getting stuck in and using the ball well whilst Leigterwood was having his best game for a long time.

The second goal was inevitable and it was another belter. Akos Buzsacky got the ball on the right and picked out a deep cross to the far post which Vine knocked back for Leigterwood to run onto and smash a volley into the top corner to make it 2-0.

It was a dream start for Rangers and Stoke looked absolutely shell shocked by it all. The attacks continued with our best work coming down the left where Ephraim was tearing Griffin apart.

Rowlands looked to get on the score sheet with a cheeky chip from the edge of the box before Leigterwood went close with a powerful header straight at the keeper.

Rangers were looking very impressive on the attack with Vine again a joy to watch running players with the ball at his feet whilst Agyemang was working hard up front again.

The only downside was some of the nonsense coming from the Q Block where fans were hurling abuse at anyone who wouldn’t stand up if we hate Chelsea and accusing fans in the Loft of being Chelsea fans. The songs about Tottenham were bizarre to say the least and I do wonder what the point is of turning the attention to hurling abuse at fellow fans rather than sing about the team. The unwelcome return of the racist Drogba chant was also disappointing to hear.

Back to the game and the referee then had a mad five minutes which ended up grabbing the headlines. First up he booked Mancienne for his first tackle of the game, no doubt it was a foul but the booking appeared harsh to me. The next decision beggared belief to be honest.

It was hard to see at full speed but it looked to me that Griffin slid in on Ephraim and won the ball. I didn’t even get up to moan for a foul so was shocked to see the red card come out. I assumed it must have gone in with two feet but the television pictures showed it was as ridiculous as it looked at full speed with Griffin getting nowhere near the player and actually winning the ball. I expect he’ll win his appeal but the red card did little to affect the game with rangers so comfortable at that stage.

It was interesting to see how we’d react against the ten men and we almost made the same mistake we did against Burnley by switching off before half time to allow Fuller space in the box and his shot beat Camp but hit the post. I thought he should have scored to be honest but at half time our two goal lead was intact and all we needed to do was get that third goal to really kill the game off.

The second half continued in the same way as the first with Rangers on the front foot and looking very comfortable.

Stoke were looking to go direct but had very little joy against the excellent Hall and Connolly. Rangers wrapped up the game with an incisive counter attack.

Liam Lawrence had a free kick on the edge of the box but fired it straight at the wall and we went on the counter attack. Vine ran forward and found Ephraim who took the ball into the box before sliding the ball to Agyemang and he showed great awareness to pick out Buzsacky on the right and the Hungarian placed a shot into the bottom corner for his eight goal of the season. It was a swift and incisive breakaway goal and a move that Rangers have been clearly working at in recent weeks.

The game was now pretty much over and we continued to create chances as we looked for a fourth but the foot came off the gas and made for a quieter last half an hour.

Lee Camp was forced into a brilliant save when Whelan curled a lovely shot from distance which looked like a goal from the moment it left his foot but Camp threw himself across the goal and tipped it wide before getting back to his feet and making another excellent save from the rebound.

De Canio then made a few changes bringing on Blackstock, Stewart and Ainsworth for Vine, Hall and Rowlands. The later of the three Ainsworth was given a great reception and he remains a very popular player among the fans.

We had a few late chances to get the fourth goal but an excellent save denied Blackstock for a much needed goal and in the end we had to settle for three goals.

This was arguably our best performance of the season and once again we’ve now beaten the top three sides in the division convincingly.

It was hard to pick a man of the match but I went with Leigterwood not just for his goals but for the improvement in his performance. Special mentions much also go to Delaney and Mancienne who were excellent at full back. Martin Rowlands was again inspirational as captain whilst Ephraim’s recent good form continues. Buzsacky also showed moments of skill having a hand in all three goals and up front the partnership of Vine and Agyemang continues to look dangerous.

The problem now for Rangers is maintaining that standard of performance, something we’ve struggled to do this season. Talk of the playoffs will rear it’s head again but Rangers will want to avoid defeat in two tricky away games this week to ensure we don’t suffer any nervous times near the bottom of the table.

It’s Coventry next for Rangers and they are a side who are either excellent or woeful so we’ll need to be at our best to ensure we come away with all three points on Wednesday.

Man of the Match: Mikele Leigterwood

Players Ratings: Camp 8, Mancienne 8, Delaney 8, Hall 8 (Stewart 7), Connolly 7, Buzsacky 7, Rowlands 8 (Ainsworth 7), Leigterwood 9, Ephraim 8, Vine 8 (Blackstock 7), Agyemang 8