Berwick R 1-1 Queens Park
Monday 16th November 2009
We escaped with a point on Saturday after being given a footballing lesson by a resurgent Spiders outfit at a damp and breezy Shielfield.
The black & gold were due an off day but Saturday's below par performance was still something of a surprise after some excellent recent work against Albion Rovers and Stranraer.Despite being outplayed in midfield for most of the game, with Queens identifying Rangers' tendency to channel virtually every attacking move through Stuart Callaghan as an opportunity to sever the supply lines, Rangers could still have won the game with two glorious openings late on, but an off-colour home attack squandered the chances that would have moved the Gers into top spot after Livingston's match was cancelled.
With Jamie Ewart going down with guffie fever (that's the local variant of swine flu for the medically-minded) and David Greenhill still crocked after last week's handsome victory at Stranraer,Jammy Crease was forced into giving an understandably ring-rusty Robbie Horn his first start of the season, with Paul McMullan filling in on the left side of midfield. Despite the changes, Rangers started with a bang and should have taken a first minute lead, Paul Currie volleying straight at a shaky-looking Hamilton after a bout of penalty box pinball.From that point on, the first half careered out of control like a stolen Ferrari driven by a leaden-footed dwarf. The most remarkable thing about the opening 45 is that only two goals were scored.
With 7 minutes gone,Robert Walker broke down Rangers' left and fired in a cross to no-one in particular.Graham Guy, the only man in the vicinity of the ball, tried to direct a cushioned header back to Mark Peat but succeeded in guiding it past his keeper and in off the post. I suspect that he did'nt mean to do that. Suddenly flustered by losing a daft goal, Rangers were all over the shop in the next few minutes and had a lucky escape two minutes later when Horn hauled back Paul Quinn as the striker broke through on Peat's goal. It was debatable whether Horn or McLean was the last man, but a less generous referee than Cammy Murray might well have brandished the red card and may also have awarded a spot kick. Fortunately for Rangers, young Andy McLean, who had an outstanding match, was on the ball and he equalised in the 12th minute, stealing in at the back post to head Callaghan's expertly flighted free kick beyond Hamilton for his first ever senior goal. This did not a presage a Rangers' resurgence, though Damon Gray clipped another header off the post in the 17th minute from a Callaghan corner.With 21 minutes gone, Rangers had another escape,Tony Quinn's goal-line header being chalked off for an alleged push.Despite McLaren and McMullan seeing relatively little of the ball due to the excellence of the Spiders midfield, ably supported by impressive left back Douglas, McMullan managed to hit the byline in the 39th minute to send over a peach of a cross which either Currie or McLaren should have buried, but they got in each other's way to give Hamilton an easy save.Five minutes before the break Rangers were inches away from taking the lead with another freak goal. Damon Gray closed down Hamilton as the keeper tried to make a clearance and the ball rebounded off Gray's back, clipped the post and rolled alonng the line before being booted clear by Brough.
Unfortunately for the punters, the second half was as dull as the first half was exciting. Queens tactic of hunting down Callaghan led to the Gers' skipper losing possession in dangerous positions on a number of occasions, and it was largely down to the diligence of McLean and Peat that the Spiders failed to add to their first half goal as a consequence. Tony Quinn was left in splendid isolation in the Rangers box in the 57th minute after the home side got caught upfield in numbers, but the striker failed to beat the alert Peat.Four minutes later Currie fired a 25 yard shot wide with Hamilton scrambling across his line,and the same player had another effort deflected inches wide in the 75th minute as Rangers finally began to press with Queens Park tiring. Alan Brazil, who had been uncharacteristically quiet for most of the match,burst into life as the match headed towards its denouement, shooting over in the 75th minute from Gray's clever knock-down. Despite being second best for much of the game, Rangers were presented with two gilt-edged chances to win it in the last five minutes. In the 86th minute, McLaren raced on to Currie's superb through ball but slid the ball wide with only Hamilton to beat, before Brazil missed the best chance of the match with two minutes remaining, somehow hitting the ball off Hamilton from point blank range after Ian Little's shot had been deflected to him. In truth,it would have been an undeserved victory. Rangers will play better this season and lose, so they will doubtless be grateful for the point after a period of reflection.
Andy McLean, Mark Peat and to a lesser extent Ian Little all deserve praise for their performances,particularly during the second half when Rangers were under the cosh for long spells. This was the first time this season that the squad has looked a bit thin and one suspects that Jimmy Crease will be looking to bring in some cover for injuries and the ravages of swine flu,particularly since Radzynksi looks like he'll be out for a while with an ankle problem. It also struck me on Saturday how much midfield traffic is routed through Stuart Callaghan, and how vulnerable Rangers are when opponents hustle him out of his usually composed stride. Rangers have a talented midfield,but they need to work out a Plan B to prevent Saturday's dificulties becoming the norm.
Peat 8; Guy 6; Horn 5; McLean 9; Smith 6; McLaren 6; Callaghan 5; Currie 6; McMullan 5; Brazil 6; Gray 5
Crowd - 487
LINK : League Table
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