RANGERS PAY THE PENALTY
| BIRMINGHAM CITY | 2 |
| Furlong (pen 44, pen 63) | |
| RANGERS | 0 |
RANGERS were unable to grab their first away victory in the League this season as they paid the penalty for some rash defending in either half. Gerry Francis' men were denied a hard earned point by two Paul Furlong penalties either side of half-time, despite some valiant defending by the R's. The Rangers' defence posed a formidable barrier for the home side's attack to pass, and for the majority of the first half, Birmingham were forced to shoot from distance. Hyde, Lazaridis and Andrew Johnson all tried the luck but failed to present Ludek Miklosko with any serious problems. The R's gradually eased their way into the game and beginning to carry a threat of their own with Rob Steiner looking particularly sharp up front. The closest the visitors came to breaking the deadlock was from an Ian Baraclough free-kick which curled over the wall but was tipped round the post by Poole in the home goal. But Birmingham regained control of the match with Bryan Hughes having a goal disallowed for offside, and Hyde saw his shot rebound of the post. And on the stroke of half-time, the home side grabbed the lead when Paul Furlong scored from the penalty spot. Hughes was again a thorn in the side of the Rangers defence and as he burst into the area, he was brought down by Peacock, and Furlong slotted home the resulting penalty. After the interval, Rangers were again put on the back foot by the home side and were unable to make any significant headway into the Blues rearguard. And the match was put beyond Rangers grasp in the 64th minute after Furlong despatched his second penalty after the striker himself was pushed by Maddix. The late introduction of Kevin Gallen almost ignited things, but in the spark flickered out of Rangers' performance.
 Matt's QPR Page Man Of The Match- Matthew Rose |
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