A solitary Adam Bolder strike was enough to secure a 1-0 win at Charlton in front of the Sky cameras. In truth, 1-0 probably flattered the home side as Rangers turned in an excellent display that showed some real attacking verve and some defensive bloody mindedness. 

Harford only made one change to the side that battled its way to a goalless draw at Preston in midweek. Camp was in goal behind Mancienne, Stewart, Cranie and Barker. Rowlands, Bolder, Leigertwood and Ephraim were in midfield with Vine playing slightly off of Nygaard. Ainsworth dropped to the bench to make way for the returning Dane. 

The home side had the first chance of the game when China captain Zheng Zhi burst through midfield and Camp had to plunge bravely at his feet to deny him. Camp failed to hold the ball though and Zheng was back on his feet only to see Camp block the ball out for a corner. 

Rangers were calling for a pen in their first meaningful attack after a left wing corner from Rowlands seemed to be blocked away by the outstretched arms of Chris Iwelumo. Referee Probert saw it as accidental though and waved away the appeals. The home side were making more of the attacking running though but found the R’s defence in solid form. 

Iwelumo managed to get up ahead of Stewart to knock a ball back across the goal but former Crewe man Luke Varney failed to make contact. A corner shortly after saw Sam Sodje head goalward and see his effort shave the angle of post and bar with Camp powerless to intervene. 

Varney should have scored when he powered his way past Stewart and entered the box. The Jamaican defender managed to do enough to put him off though and he smashed a wild shot high into the R’s fans behind Camp’s goal. The home side were seeing plenty of the ball but they weren’t making Camp work for his money. The same could be said of Weaver at the other end, his first meaningful action was to gather a Rowlands free kick that flew straight into his midriff. 

Varney broke the Rangers offside trap, aided and abetted by a linesman that didn’t seem to have read that far in his little rule book and he whipped a ball in that Iwelumo contrived to head high into the air from six yards. The game was starting to become far more end to end as the half wore on and Vine forced a save from Weaver, before Rowlands cut inside from the right and sent a left footer well over the bar. 

Charlton came back with a fierce strike from Zheng that was easily parried away by Camp before play switched to the other end again with Leigertwood sending a blooter into the stands. As the half was coming to a close, Cranie and Camp got in a muddle and Cranie ended up hacking a Basey cross over his own bar. 

Rangers will probably have been the happier side going in at the break, Pardew will have wanted his side to impose themselves on the division’s bottom team but it hadn’t panned out like that. The resilience that caretaker Harford has instilled in the team was very much to the fore and a tactical tweak at the break kicked Rangers up a gear. 

Nygaard had often found himself isolated up top as Vine seemed to be dropping quite deep to become a fifth midfielder. The second half started with him playing alongside the big Dane and within five minutes of the restart he had shown what he is all about. 

Collecting the ball on halfway he set off on a driving run at the heart of the Charlton defence. He breezed past Fortune and the big centre half snaked out a leg and cleaned Vine out completely. It was probably the easiest penalty decision Probert will have to make all season. Not one Charlton player moaned about the decision and Rowlands placed the ball. He stepped up and powered in a low strike only to see it crash back off the base of Weaver’s right hand post and spin to safety. 

It would have been easy for Rangers to fold now but the expected onslaught from the home side never came as the R’s stepped it up. A Rowlands corner from the right found Stewart at the near post and he applied a Zolaesque flick that forced Weaver into a good low save and allowed Varney to hack the ball clear. 

Ephraim had a great chance to fire home his second for the club as a deflected cross looped his way at the back stick. The young Hammer probably had too much time and looked to be caught in about eight minds when the ball finally arrived and he shanked a horrible shot wide.  

Vine was at it again with another driving run that ended with a shot being well saved by Weaver before Leigertwood seized on some terrible defending and should have given Rangers the lead. A ball was played to Danny Mills and he took an awful touch that allowed Leigertwood to power through him and find himself with only Weaver to beat. He looked to have plenty of time but he snatched at a left footed shot and contrived to fire it wide. 

Charlton finally mustered some sort of attacking threat of their own when Varney, Charlton’s most potent attacking threat on the afternoon, went between Barker and Cranie before forcing Camp into a comfortable save, waist high to his left. Only minutes later Rangers took a deserved lead from an unlikely source. 

A ball into the box fell to Ephraim but his initial effort was blocked away. He chased his own shot before dropping it off to Barker who was supporting from left back and his cross into the six yard box was attacked by Nygaard. The Dane was up before Weaver and the Charlton keeper couldn’t get anywhere near it as the ball glanced off Nygaard’s head and dropped to Bolder. The much maligned R’s skipper took a touch off his chest (and a bit of arm from where I was sitting) before calmly volleying into the gaping net. 

The goal seemed to wake the home side up and they had their first spell of pressure since midway through the first half. The imperious Cranie produced a fantastic block to deny Izale McLeod before Stewart was harshly adjudged to have fouled the same man. From the free kick Lloyd Sam fired in a curling effort that was saved in fine style by Camp. 

Late in the game a corner fell to Sodje again and for the second time in the match he failed to test the keeper with a header when well placed. Rangers held on for a deserved win and the first win on the road since the 1-0 win at Coventry in April. It made it eight points gained from the last twelve available and three clean sheets in four matches. 

As has been said after every one of the last few games, this looks sure to have been Harford’s final game in charge and he has done a grand job. Whilst I wouldn’t give him the manager’s job I would most certainly install him as number two to whoever does come in as the experience he has will be invaluable. He knows the squad, he knows the players and he knows what it takes to pick up points. Cheers Big Mick. 

Man of the Match – Martin Cranie. In the four games since he joined on loan Rangers have conceded once. This is in no small part to Cranie’s ability to organise the troops back there.

simon@qprnet.com