MK 2 Good 4 Us

Today the R's fans had a rare occasion to enjoy as the FA Cup 4th Round, for once, saw the R's take part. The visitors to Loftus Road were MK Dons in a repeat of last years 3rd Round tie, in which a Danny Gabbidon goal settled the replay at Loftus Road.

The R's have not been in the 5th Round for over 16 years and there was a great sense of optimism around the ground and within the gang that maybe we could venture just a little further and enjoy a little break from our relegation battle in the Premier League.

Jess made a rare appearance in the Loft and took PK's seat for the game today. Joining us in the stands were Lofty, Jenson and Luke. Also in attendance was Tony on his birthday game, along with Alan and Rob.

Redknapp made nine changes from the side that drew at West Ham last week. The line up wasn't our best eleven, however the quality in the side should be enough to see of League 1 opposition.

Rangers' won a corner in the opening 13 seconds and then in the second minute Jay Bothroyd headed back to DJ Campbell and he was happy to despatch the ball into the back of the net. However the linesmans flag was raised and offside was given. Frustratingly enough tv replays have shown that Campbell was onside, another piece of luck that has gone against us.
A minute later and the visitors were in front through a massive slice of luck!
Dean Lewington's corner was wildly met by Armand Traore's swinging leg and the ball sliced into the back of the net. All against the run of play as well.
The R's were knocking the ball around well in midfield but after the early goal we saw MK had 9 players behind the ball, frustrating the R's every time they tried to launch an attack.
The R's should've then had a penalty when Otsemobor pulled down Mackie after the Scottish International beat him in the area, however Mike Dean (one of a number of referees that never gives us any decisions) deemed this as not a foul and the R's continued to chase the game.
Disaster soon struck after one of the worst pieces of defending I've seen this year.
A long ball should have easily been dealt with by Ferdinand but he let the ball drop over his head and allow Ryan Lowe to go one on one with Rob Green and  finished superbly well in all fairness.



At half time the R's were 2-0 down and were at fault for their own downfalls. MK did not offer much in terms of an attacking presence but defended well and took their chances.
The gang had all but given up on the game but it would've been nice to see a bit of grit and determination to get us back into the game during the course of the second half.

Within the first five minutes all that hope had disappeared as another shocking piece of defending saw the team from MK extend their lead.
The offside trap was beaten as Lowe found himself in acres of space and then laid the ball of a plate for substitute Harley to tap into the empty net from three yards out.
Jenson had seen enough and headed straight for the exit. The rest of us were not far behind him as it got even worse five minutes later when Darren Potter slotted home after some awful Rangers' defending from a free kick.

After we left there were two consolation goals from Bothroyd and Fabio. You will have to watch the highlights to see what the goals are like as I haven't a clue.



Well what can I say about today?? We did not play too badly and MK took their chances when they come their way. MK come with a game plan and it worked, that's why they are in the fifth round and we are here wondering what the players on the field were thinking today.
Ji-Sung Park once again showed what an absolute waste of space he is! He is clueless, has no pace, no sense of positioning, cannot pass the ball over 5 yards and continuously falls over. The sooner he is ditched the better!
Anton Ferdinand was hopeless today, his mistake was one you would usually see in League Two! He has been awful for a few months now and if an offer does come in for him then I would not be surprised to see him go.
Ali Faurlin had a dreadful game, somany of his passes were misplaced which is very unusual. I hope that Faurlin picks himself back up from this and comes back stronger.

No Man of the Match will be awarded from today after a result like that, however I have three mentions to give as I feel they deserve it.
Firstly Armand Traore was superb down the left flank today and was largely our biggest threat there with Park leaving him alone down that side. Traore made several great runs and was unlucky not to of gained an assist or two for his efforts.
Tal Ben Haim was easily the better of the two centre backs today and was in control of every situation. With more match fitness we could be seeing a lot more of him before the end of the season.
Jay Bothroyd has received a lot of grief in his short career here but today his effort was there to be seen and was unlucky not to of got an assist from the disallowed Campbell goal in the second minute. He got his goal and fair play to him, at least he showed a lot more heart than some of the useless twats out there today.

We will return on Tuesday as the R's have the daunting task of taking on current Premier League Champions Man City.

U R'SSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!