Rangers’ sparkling home form continued as “joint top” or “second placed” as everyone else calls it, Bristol City were comprehensively crushed at Loftus Road. The R’s were the better side from first whistle to last and nobody could deny that they deserved their win. The fact that it was achieved in the absence of Gigi De Canio made it all the more impressive. 

News filtered through before the game that De Canio had headed back to Italy following the death of his father. He had picked the team and set the tactics already so left Joe Dunbar at the helm. Changes were made to the side, some enforced, some not. Camp was in goal behind Mancienne, Stewart, Rehman and Delaney. Buzsaky, Mahon, Rowlands and Ephraim were in midfield with Vine and Agyemang up front. Rehman’s name was once again booed when read out by the shit for brains minority that inhabit Loftus Road. 

Rangers started the game at a hell of a lick and Bristol City were firmly penned in their own half. Rowlands saw a shot deflected wide and a flurry of corners saw Marvin Elliott somehow hack the ball high into the London sky and see it bounce off the top of his own bar. Agyemang missed the target after another corner wasn’t cleared properly and Bristol City launched a rare foray into Rangers territory that ended with Michael McIndoe firing home long after the referee’s whistle had sounded. 

Robins left back Jamie McAllister had a speculative effort from twenty five yards whilst at the other end Agyemang was knocking seven bells out of the cumbersome centre half pairing of McCombe and Vasko. They had no answer to Agyemang’s pace all afternoon, he created a chance for Buzsaky that the Hungarian made a mess off before he opened the scoring with less than twenty minutes on the clock. 

Vine had drifted wide to the right, as he did effectively many times in the first half, and he turned the ball into the path of Agyemang who charged away from the away defenders. He took a touch to steady himself before calmly slotting the ball past Basso into the far corner for his fourth in four games. It just goes to show what a happy footballer can do, back in his native London rather than some grim northern outpost and all of a sudden he can’t help but hit the net. 

Vine almost scored the second minutes later when he drifted to the right once again and cut in. As he tried to go past a defender the ball ricocheted back to him and he fired a low left footed shot inches wide of Basso’s post with the keeper scrambling. 

Bristol City were offering next to nothing going forward. Rangers, as they have done often in recent weeks, were happy to let them have the ball on halfway but as soon as it came forward the door was slammed shut. Adebola was his usual physical self on his City debut but he was being superbly marshalled by Rehman and Stewart. Out wide the usually threatening McIndoe was being totally snuffed out by a majestic display from Mancienne. The on loan Chelsea man was turning in easily his finest display of the season, he was totally unflappable. 

Adebola did his usual trick of smashing his forearms into people’s faces when he challenged Camp for a high ball and the keeper was left in a crumpled heap on the deck. The referee didn’t seem that bothered and let the away side play on for a minute or so despite the fact that it was clearly a head injury. Had they managed to score whilst Camp was lying prostrate on the ground there would have been some serious questions to be answered. 

The Robins managed another rare effort at goal shortly afterwards when Aussie midfielder Nick Carle shot wide, Rangers then went to the other end of the field where Agyemang showed how it should be done as he bagged his second of the afternoon. 

The ball was fed into Agyemang from the left and he in turn moved it on to Buzsaky on the right edge of the box. Instead of just standing and admiring his link up play he spun off and moved into the danger zone. Buzsaky shot for goal only to see his shot deflected but straight into the path of Agyemang who made no mistake on his left foot from four yards. Five in four now!  

Rangers kept pressing forward and Buzsaky crunched one inches over the bar from twenty five yards. City seemed to be struggling to pick Buzsaky and Vine up as they both drift into positions you don’t expect them to be in. when Vine drifted wide, Buzsaky drifted in and nobody really seemed to want to take responsibility for picking them up.  

It was no surprise that Gary Johnson dragged Hungarian defender Vasko off at half time and replaced him with Liam Fontaine, just as he had on the opening day of the season. I can only assume that Vasko has been impressive in the interim as he looks little better than a pub player on the two occasions I have seen him now. Mind you, so poor were he and McCombe in the first half that he may as well have made the decision about which one to take off using a tombola!  

McCombe missed a gilt edged chance to get Bristol City back into the game five minutes after the break when he got on the end of a well worked free kick. It is a set piece that City use a lot, two players shield the ball and one then rolls it off to the other for a shot or cross. This time it was a cross from Carle that found McCombe at the back stick but he managed to miss the target when he had the whole width of the goal to aim at.

Normal service was quickly resumed through with Rangers fizzing the ball about. Rowlands had done his usual trick of trying to be a bit flash in the first half before settling down and playing superbly in the second. Mahon alongside him seems to have that happy knack of being wherever the ball breaks, he will never set the world alight with his ability but he does the crappy jobs that let the others get on and play. 

The half was a little under twenty minutes old when Rangers killed the game off with number three. Buzsaky picked the ball up and drifted in off his wing before feeding the ball into the feet of Agyemang on the edge of the box. He immediately laid it back to the Hungarian and he smashed a left footed volley past Basso with the aid of a slight deflection. That was his seventh goal for the R’s and he is now only two behind his entire haul for Plymouth and it took him a little over a hundred games to get those! 

Being three goals down seemed to prompt the visitors into a rare attacking flurry and Dele Adebola missed two great chances in ten seconds. For once he managed to bustle past Stewart and his low shot cannoned back off the far post straight into his path again. This time he hit the target but Camp somehow managed to stick out a foot and boot the ball off the line when a goal seemed certain.  

Camp then had to make only his second save of the game when the diminutive Lee Johnson somehow managed to get his head on a Sproule cross and with McCombe steaming in, Camp bravely plunged on the ball. Rangers were forced into a change in the back four when Rehman picked up a knock and Connolly came on in his place. Rehman was afforded a standing ovation for his superb display, no doubt the usual idiotic knockers will say he was crap again but credit where it is due. He may not be everyone’s cup of tea but you cannot argue with a performance like that. 

Lee came on for the quiet Ephraim and as usual showed some neat and tidy touches, this time from a left wing berth. The changes did seem to upset Rangers fluidity a touch and the away side probably had more possession in the last ten minutes than they managed in the eighty that preceded them. Connolly was in the way of absolutely everything in that period. Mancienne was still cruising about like a Rolls Royce at right back, time and again he showed superb touch in tight areas to make a yard of space and stroll away with the ball. 

The referee awarded five minutes of injury time which seemed a bit steep to me! Rangers’ time wasting didn’t seem to be as chronic as usual but the added time passed without incident and Rangers wrapped up a well deserved win. This was as comfortable a three points as they had taken all season and against a side pushing for promotion. 

The whole team did well, sure a couple of the displays were solid rather than spectacular but some of the performances were absolutely superb. Agyemang caused havoc for the Bristol City back four, none of them had an answer to his pace and power and he took his two goals superbly. In midfield Buzsaky was mugging people for fun in the second half and Mahon and Rowlands were an excellent combination in the middle. The back four (or five including Connolly) were tremendous throughout. Adebola and Byfield will cause plenty of defences plenty of problems this season but they were marked out of the game and I can’t remember the latter actually making any sort of mark on the game whatsoever.  

This is a result that needs to be built on, a trip to Southampton is next on the horizon and they aren’t any great shakes at St. Mary’s. It will be tough though; they are only two points ahead of us and will probably have a new man in charge so the new manager syndrome may come into play. If we can play like this though then I won’t have any complaints. 

Man of the Match – Michael Mancienne. In his first start since an age out with a dodgy hamstring the youngster was absolutely outstanding. He defended brilliantly, supported the attack when he could and showed what we have been missing whilst he has been out.

simon@qprnet.com