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Rangers advanced into the second
round of the Carling Cup following a
3-2 win at Swindon Town. This was a
decent game between two sides that
wanted to have a game on the deck;
the truth of the matter is that had
Rangers been more clinical this
could have been an absolute
massacre.
Dowie used the game to rest a couple
of players ahead of a visit to
Sheffield United and give some of
the fringe players a run. Camp was
back in goal behind Connolly,
Stewart, Gorkss and Delaney.
Ledesma, Leigertwood, Parejo and
Cook were in midfield with Balanta
and Blackstock up top. For the first
time Rangers were able to name seven
subs following a rule change for
this seasons competition.
The movement of Ledesma and Balanta
was causing issues for the Swindon
players from the off, the two of
them seem to have a decent
understanding going already and time
and again they managed to pick one
another out. Ledesma saw an early
shot blocked away for a corner
before Blackstock fired straight at
ropey keeper Peter Brezovan when he
should have done better.
At the other end Camp produced a
fine save after Billy Paynter struck
the sweetest of volleys from the
edge of the box that was destined
for the top corner. Connolly whipped
a dangerous ball through the box
that evaded everyone before Brezovan
once again saved from Blackstock.
It was all Rangers now with the
rampant Ledesma involved in
everything, including, as I suspect
will be the case for the majority of
the season, getting right on the
wick of the opposition fans! The
abrasive Argentine floated a superb
ball to the back stick that
Blackstock could only head onto the
roof of the net.
Parejo was next to test Brezovan
after Swindon conceded a free kick
twenty five yards from goal. He took
a lazy swing at it and forced the
big Czech to beat it away from
beneath the bar. Leigertwood and
Ledesma both sent low shots fizzing
wide of the right hand upright
before Blackstock got the better of
Brezovan but couldn’t find Cook with
his cross with the goal gaping.
Swindon were struggling to create
any chances of note. The livewire
Anthony McNamee had already drawn a
booking from Connolly with his
blistering pace and he was the main
source of consternation for Rangers.
Rangers finally took a deserved lead
shortly after the half hour mark.
Parejo took a left wing corner and
to be honest, struck it terribly.
The ball scuttled into the six yard
box where Delaney missed it before
it fell at the feet of Balanta who
prodded it over the line from all of
a yard. It was a horrible goal but
one that was richly deserved.
Then in classic Rangers style,
having murdered their hosts, they
were pegged back within two minutes!
It was no surprise that McNamee was
at the heart of it, his ball into
the box wasn’t defended well at all,
neither Stewart nor Gorkss really
seemed to know what to do and the
ball fell at the feet of Simon Cox
who beat the exposed Camp with
ease.
Undeterred Rangers resumed their
relentless attacking and Ledesma
missed three brilliant chances to
put the game to bed. First he drove
into the box before dragging a shot
wide. He then combined well with
Balanta and tried to slip the ball
through the legs of Brezovan only to
see him smother the ball. Then Cook
sent a perfect cross to the far post
and it seemed easier for Ledesma to
score but he somehow planted his
header wide.
Then in classic Rangers style,
having murdered their hosts, they
fell behind! Once again McNamee was
involved, another terrific cross
came in from the left, Billy Paynter
left the poor Stewart for dead with
a great piece of movement and then
planted a superb diving header past
Camp into the corner. Rangers were
now a goal down in a game they had
dominated totally.
There was still time for one more
Rangers chance before the break.
Swindon conceded another free kick
in Parejo territory and this time he
beat the keeper with his strike only
to see it strike the outside of the
post. The whistle came but there was
no booing or grumbling from the
Rangers fans, they knew how well the
team had played and were as
perplexed as the players themselves
as to how we were behind.
Rangers started the second half
superbly and were back level within
forty seconds. Cook collected the
ball on the angle of the box and
sent a brilliant ball to the far
post where Blackstock arrived on cue
to send a textbook header into the
bottom corner. How Dexter must have
been yearning for some service like
that last season.
Leigertwood came close to scoring
the third after he seized on a good
knockdown from Ledesma but he saw
his first time strike screw wide.
The third goal wasn’t long in
coming. Ledesma sent in a corner
that wasn’t dealt with properly and
it fell to skipper for the night
Damien Delaney twelve yards from
goal and he drilled it through
Brezovan and in.
Balanta was the next to try his luck
after breaking away from the Swindon
defence but he could only find the
midriff of Brezovan from eighteen
yards. Balanta had been lively all
evening and looks a very different
player from last year’s model. He
still has the touch and looks great
with the ball at his feet but he
looks bigger, stronger and quicker.
If Dowie wants a front two for the
weekend then this is the one.
Swindon then saw a goal of their own
disallowed. A shot struck from the
edge of the box was touched in by a
player in the six yards box,
unfortunately for him the only other
two players in their were Camp and
one of his mates and the goal was
rightly disallowed.
The home team certainly weren’t as
bright second half and this was in
no small part due to a far tighter
marking job on McNamee. Ledesma was
helping Connolly now where as he was
pretty exposed in the first half.
The young Argentine had managed to
get himself booked for throwing the
ball away so he was only one foul
away from first use of the bath
water but he stuck to his guns
well.
Di Carmine replaced Blackstock with
twenty minutes left and should have
opened his account when Cook whipped
a low ball into the box that he
appeared to miss completely. With
twelve minutes left Dowie took
Ledesma off to a rapturous ovation
from the R’s fans and Alberti took
his place.
Luckily for Rangers, Swindon weren’t
able to make the most of a late
spell of pressure. Camp hadn’t
really been tested at all second
half aside from having to take the
odd cross and sweep up the odd
through ball. It was a shame for the
home side as they looked as though
they were going to make a real game
of it during the first half.
This was a good workout for Rangers
and the nature of their attacking
play in the first half especially
will have heartened Dowie. I don’t
think for a minute that the amount
of space Ledesma and Balanta had to
operate in will be in evidence on
Saturday but displays like this can
only boost the confidence of a team.
simon@qprnet.com |
