Rangers slumped to defeat last night at the hands of relegation strugglers Leicester City following some dismal defending in what can only be described as a ?horror show?.
Leicester came to Loftus Road on the back of six successive league defeats and after only six minutes to looked like they could be heading for a seventh.
Lee Cook came tearing down the left wing and floated in an enticing cross from which Gareth Ainsworth climbed highest and directed the ball into the top corner of the net. A great start from the R?s in what was our first attack.
Most teams settle down after grabbing an early lead, not us. From the restart the Foxes began probing at our nervous defence and it looked like only a matter of time before the scores were levelled.
Just four minutes after Ainsworth gave us the lead we were level. A hopeful long ball from Foxes left-back Nils-Eric Johansson caused uncertainty in the home defence and when Danny Shittu decided not to head the ball clear Foxes forward Matt Fryatt pounced. Shittu muscled the 19-year old off the ball before his clearance was hit straight at centre-half partner Georges Santos and Fryatt smashed the loose ball comfortably past Simon Royce.
Fryatt and his strike partner Iain Hume were the only players of note for Leicester, looking sharp and eager to swoop on any defensive errors in the R?s defence.
Following the equaliser the game went flat in what was a dire first-half. Rangers enjoyed large chunks of possession but the final ball let us down on numerous occasions. Cook was causing Richard Stearman and Alan Maybury problems down the left whilst Ainsworth was winning his battle with Leicester?s Johansson and Hughes down the right.
Half way through the first half Rangers were unlucky not to net again following further good work from Cook. It was his cross which found Paul Furlong?s head, his knock down was almost seized upon by Marc Nygaard but Maybury got back to clear as the ball rolled past the Foxes keeper Rab Douglas.
On 38 minutes Maybury then tested Royce was from distance. His initial shot was blocked but the loose ball fell kindly to the Republic of Ireland international and his second effort had to be palmed away.
Coming close to half-time Lee Cook was again involved. His free-kick from the left was met by Paul Furlong, his header was tipped wide for a corner but a few Rangers players argued that one of the visiting defenders had handled the ball. A corner was given but nothing came of it.
The second half started even worse than the previous 45 minutes. Rangers were too predictable in there long ball approach whilst Leicester seemed happy with the scores even and enjoyed plenty of possession in non threatening areas.
The unfit Nygaard was then replaced by 17-year old Shabazz Baidoo on 64 minutes hoping to spark a response from the Rangers team.
But nothing of note was on the cards until Richard Stearman cleared what must have been a record fourth ball out of the ground. That brought about a sarcastic applause from the unimpressed home support.
With 20 minutes to play Rangers began to attack the Foxes defence and Marcus Bignot?s cross come shot swerved wickedly goal wards and needed to be touched over by Douglas.
Steve Lomas was firing his long throws into the penalty area and despite some nervous defending from the visitors Rangers failed to produce any effort of note.
On 79 minutes the visiting support went wild when James Wesolowski found space on the right-hand side of the penalty area. He was allowed to chip the ball to the far post where Stearman stole in to place the ball into an unguarded net.
Rangers responded well when the whole hearted Ainsworth was again fouled on the edge of the area. Cook whipped an inswinging free-kick from the right which was nodded in to the goal by Shittu at the back post unmarked on 83 minutes.
With just over five minutes remaining Ian Holloway gambled in putting Stefan Moore and youngster Scott Donnelly on for the unimpressive Furlong and fans favourite Ainsworth.
But with minutes to play Leicester stole an unlikely win when Stearman sprang the offside trap down the right-hand side and was allowed to cut the ball back for the unmarked Stephen Hughes to touch home.
Despite Simon Royce joining the attack for a last minute corner Rangers were not able to grab an equaliser and suffered there sixth home league defeat of the season whilst Leicester (who started the game 13 points behind the R?s) moved out of the drop zone.
Player Ratings
Simon Royce 6
Made some good stops but was not helped by the defenders in front of him. No super stops last night.
Marcus Bignot 5
Unusually poor. Mr reliable was caught out of position for two goals.
Matthew Rose 5
Like Biggy he had a very poor game. Couldn’t pass, clear or defend all evening.
Danny Shittu 5
Was his worst performance for some time. Looked to be unsettled (possibly by recent speculation over him leaving?) Who knows, he was poor.
Georges Santos 4
He will take the brunt of the trouble for the defensive display but even he would admit he was far below his best.
Gareth Ainsworth 6
Wild Thing made some encouraging runs down his right wing, wasn’t helped by the referee who refused to give Nils-Eric Johansson a second yellow card despite constant fouls.
Lee Cook 7
Our best player and only player to create anything of note.
Richard Langley 5
Went missing in the midfield, ducked out of a few 50-50 challenges, doubts over his fitness showed.
Steve Lomas 4
Did anyone know he was playing? Apart from his long throws he wasn’t in the game.
Marc Nygaard 5
Gave to many free-kicks away- some of which were harsh. Didn’t find positions in which to best use his height.
Paul Furlong 5
Furs can’t seem to find anything that brought him so much success last season. His touch, awareness, pace, strength- all seems to have disappeared.
Shabazz Baidoo 5
No real opportunities to shine.
Manager Rating
Ian Holloway (6)
Will be criticised for his late changes but could not do too much else, his players let him down.
Opponent Rating
Rob Kelly (6)
Huge amount of luck with this win, IF our defenders were switched on I coudn’t see such a result.