The Cook Report

David Cook reports from Starks Park...

This was Groundhog Day revisited,but with added misery.Another away match meant yet another defeat as Berwick Rangers slid to their 11th defeat in 12 away fixtures this season.Ok,so it was an improvement on the calamitous capitulation at Peterhead,but the plain fact is that a remodelled Rangers outfit including three debutants never looked like taking anything from the game once a pedestrian and uninspired Rovers side took the lead 11 minutes before the break.

Although Rangers were,by a slim margin,the better side during the opening half hour by virtue of the fact that Canadian Under-20 international and Hibs loanee Keegan Ayre brought a welcome touch of confidence to the midfield,and fellow debutant Peter Logan looked composed in goal,they quickly fell apart once Campbell gave the title-chasing home side (in their dreams,on this showing) a 34th minute lead.The triumvirate of new starts was completed by ex-Cowdenbeath reserve Andrew Howat,who worked hard but rarely saw the ball.The bench featured Grant McNicol,listed as a trialist,but a genuinely heartwarming sight nonetheless.Having watched his new colleagues for 71 minutes before replacing the stricken Robbie Horn,he should be under no illusions about what he's let himself in for.

A dull game on a bumpy pitch took a long time to spark into life.Brechin-bound Ian Diack put in another immense shift in the channels,highlighting the imminent loss of Rangers' only genuine cutting edge.Fairbairn looked lively down the right,and,together with Logan,Horn,Ayre and Diack,emerged as one of Rangers' best performers until his late dismissal for a petulant foul on Templeton.Rovers looked devoid of ideas and passed most of their possession across the pitch in homage to Ray "The Crab" Wilkins at his risk-free best.

Diack should have given Rangers a 4th minute lead but missed a free header,then worked his way in from the touchline to threaten Renton's goal in the 16th minute.Rovers eventually awoke from their slumber in the 28th minute,Hislop narrowly failing to get on the end of Templeton's cross.Logan made a brilliant save in the 34th minute to turn Sloan's 25 yard free kick around the post,but Campbell bundled the ball home from the resulting corner for the opener.With Rangers reeling,Horn hacked a Goodwillie shot off the line a minute later before Rovers had a second goal chalked off for an infringement.The siege was lifted by the welcome intervention of a partial floodlight failure (as if we needed more gloom) and the half-time whistle,though not before Logan made another good stop from Goodwillie.

Rangers began the second half sitting a lot deeper than they had in the opening third,and the instruction from the beleaguered Michael Renwick seemed to be damage limitation.Fairbairn embarked on a brilliant run down Rovers left in the 50th minute,his cross just too far in front of Diack for him to make the crucial connection,but Rovers killed the game off with a second goal in the 69th minute,Hislop flicking a long cross beyond Logan as Rangers failed to deal with another set piece.A minute later,Smith had to clear off the line from Davidson with Rangers still rocking from conceding the second goal.Rovers sub Weir ended the scoring with an 83rd minute header,from,you've guessed it,another Rovers corner.There was still time for Brian Fairbairn to cap another depressing afternoon by getting a straight red for a daft swipe at Sloan.It was an unedifying end to a desperate week for Rangers.

Off the field, the away support kept up a constant refrain of "Renwick out" and chants in support of fans favourite Gary O'Connor,apparently sent to detention for speaking up on behalf of his disenchanted team-mates.The message was clear enough and should not be lost on the board,though it will be interesting to see whether they persist with a manager who,at any other club,would be a dead man walking.Where do Berwick Rangers go from here? Supporters are clearly fed up with what is going on at the club,and another defeat to rivals Cowdenbeath on Saturday might just be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

Logan 7;McLeish 3;Horn 7;Smith 6;McGroarty 4;Fairbairn 7;Thompson 5;Ayre 7;Greenhill 2;Howat 5;Diack 7.

Attendance 1466