Thomas' very late QPR match report - part one

Sorry it's late. Been with QPR friends in Kent and just got home last night late.

I was in amongst the Rangers’ faithful for this one, but at least had a better view of the goals and major incidents than most Reds fans, who were away behind the goal.

The following side took the pitch, lining up in clear 4-4-2 formation:

Butland
Wiseman Cranie Ramage Kennedy
McCourt Fox Perkins Mellis
Scotland O’Grady


For the purposes of analysis of the way the game went, it is also worth noting the QPR team and formation, which started as:

Green
Simpson Dunne Hill Essou-Ekotto
O’Neill Carroll Barton Kranjcar
Faurlin
Austin

Effectively, this gave them five in midfield, none of whom were wingers, and only one out-and-out striker in Charlie Austin. This helped us in that a) there were no speedy wingers to stretch our defence out wide, which has been so much our undoing this season; b) only one striker, which limited their striking power and explains why, even with their midfield dominance, they only had five shots on target all game; c) a surfeit of midfielders, which gave them control of midfield, but not the threat you might otherwise have expected. They did have Hoilet on the bench and I could see him causing us trouble if brought on at any point during the game – I was to be proved right!

So, sitting on my hands amongst the QPR faithful, I witnessed the game get under way and QPR’s dominance of possession become established from the start. However, our 4-4-2 formation was highly disciplined and rarely caused too much trouble for most of the first half. Cranie looked calmly in control as captain in the centre and was well supported by Ramage (ex-QPR and my mates tell me they used to call him ‘Damage,’ but he was doing fine in this game). Wiseman was equally alert and quick to anticipate a run and close down space. Kennedy was not being too tested down the right. The midfield four also held their shape and, although out-numbered, were forming a more than adequate shield in front of the back four. What was good in the first half was the alertness of all four at the back, as well as the key midfielders in Fox and Perkins, all of whom were reading the QPR game well, such that we were not over-whelmed, even though we had much less possession. There were exceptions, as when Butland made an outstanding save from a shot (I thought it was from Austin), which seemed a cert for the top left corner – top-class save. He followed that up with another excellent double stop, aided by his defenders, to deny QPR a first half lead.

We did have forays into opposition territory, especially as Fox was, at times, marshalling centre midfield with growing confidence, but we lacked pace up front to make the best use of the breaks we got. As our formation and game-plan seemed designed to defend and keep QPR at bay, at least one pacy front-man would have been a distinct threat to QPR’s defence, the central two of whom are now ageing and not too quick. O’Grady stuck to his task manfully as ever – it was an intriguing physical battle with Dunne and seemed to go with honours even, Chris winning about half his headers and holding the ball up well. Our best first half chance came when Fox’s free kick found O’Grady unmarked beyond the far stick. Chris headed back across goal and, in the ensuing melee, the ball could have gone anywhere, but just would not fall to a Reds’ foot. Scotland was doing his bit in chesting balls down to midfielders and linking the play as best he could, but his lack of pace limited his threat in breaking forwards and that showed once or twice. I would like to have seen more of a threat from Mellis down the left, who has the necessary pace, but, like most of our midfield, out-numbered 4 to 5, he was being quickly closed down by QPR’s extra man and his threat was limited therefore. Worthy of note was Kennedy’s cross-cum-shot, which was dipping under the bar until Rob Green palmed it to the safety of a corner – it was intended as a cross, I am sure, but wide players can often do worse than aim for the far stick, so fair play to Tom.

At 0-0 at half time, I thought that we deserved that score and that we looked comfortable. You could not help thinking that QPR were bound to up the ante in terms of attack and pace during the second half and it was a question as to how our defence would continue to cope.

 

No changes in personnel at half time, which did surprise me, as I thought that QPR might be thinking of the width of Hoilet and we might be thinking of the additional pace of Pedersen. QPR did try to put us under pressure, but it was really not very convincing. We were still composed at the back and the midfield was keeping its shape.

The move to bring on Pedersen for Scotland was a good one, as it would give us more pace up front, to which QPR looked vulnerable. However, Marcus did not make the impact we might have hoped, like he had done against Reading in mid-week.

We then suffered a treble blow. Firstly, Redknapp brought on Hoilet for the disappointing and almost anonymous Faurlin, who had made little impact playing behind Austin. I said to my QPR mate, “this will be trouble for us” and it was so within four minutes. We had done so well up to now, so that we had to adapt to cope with Hoilet, who was coming down our right. The only way was for McCourt to drop back and pair with Wiseman in keeping him out. A corner allowed Hoilet to regain possession and he hoped past a poor tackle from Paddy to set up Austin, who just doesn’t miss those chances. The goal should have been stopped, because Hoilet should have been stopped. Too late. The damage was done and we were obviously going to struggle to chase the game against five in midfield and four at the back. Within moments, Ramage had to depart with an injury (hope its not too bad, as he and Craine looked to be developing a good understanding in the middle), which also restricted what Flicker could do regarding substitutions. Bobby ‘Mr Reliable’ Hassell came on and did creditably in his place, as always. A little later, the rather ineffective Mellis was replaced by the greater threat and directness of Cywka.

This phase of the game was hard for us, as we really had not looked like scoring and it was hard for us to up the pace and put QPR under pressure through the crowded midfield. However, Perkins started to appear everywhere and looked to be getting us going and there was glorious chance to get Kennedy away down the left, where he was unmarked, but the pass was poor and the chance was blown. Cywka boiled and tricked his way around and got a shot away, but it was not looking likely. If Ramage has not had to be replaced, I would have liked to have seen Noble-Lazarus given a chance down our left to provide the extra pace. Pity.

QPR now played with a swagger, but few real threats. Chevanton came on – a good substitution by ‘Arry, as we were pressing and leaving space at the back. He nearly got one with his first kick, but it went over. You had a feeling that, if there were another goal against us, it would come from a fast break and so it was that Austin found himself against Cranie in the penalty area. Down he went under the softest of challenges and everyone, including all the QPR supporters around me, were stunned that the ref saw it as a penalty. It looks a bit more like one on the tv replay, but it was soft and the 2-0 scoreline did not do justice to the way we had defended overall.

So we lose another away game and QPR get another clean sheet with their 4-5-1 formation. Slightly tough on us, as, whilst we had not done enough to win, we scarcely deserved to lose either.

 

PLAYER RATINGS:

Butland 9: brilliant save and double-save in the first half and looked really condifent in his handling all through. Very sound performance and no criticisms.
Wiseman 7: very alert in defence and read the game well, closing down space and anticipating QPR attacking options. Also showed a good motor in getting forwards with pace, which we sorely needed, from time to time.
Cranie 8: looked really in command as captain at the centre of defence. Won his key headers and tackles and marshalled the defence very well throughout. Pity about the ‘push,’ which gave QPR their ‘penalty.’
Ramage 7: looking solid alongside Cranie, the pairing starting to develop a good understanding. Good in the air and in the tackle. Generally sound passing. A pity he was injured and I hope he is not out for long, as the pairing in the middle is starting to look good. Got a great ovation from QPR fans when he left.
Kennedy 5: we really needed someone down the left, who could do the same as Wiseman down the right, but Tom did not really have the pace for that. He was not really tested by QPR down that flank, which surprised me. His cross-cum-shot might have been a fluke had it gone in, but we would have deserved the luck.
Fox 6: he is just starting to show what he is capable of. Although QPR dominated, on the occasions we did get a foot-hold in the game, Fox was starting to look good, holding the ball; waiting for the runner and making the pass. Admittedly, a lot of this was ‘keep ball,’ but he is the style of player we need at the heart of midfield and he will get less rusty as every game passes. He was distinctly better at the set pieces than against Reading and his set-up for O’Grady at the far post could easily have put us ahead.
McCourt 5: playing wide right and trying his usual trickery, dribbling and close passing, sometimes to good effect, as he seemed to ghost past a player from time to time, but his talents were rather swamped by the QPR five-man midfield and his lack of pace meant that our penetration down the right was limited. At fault with the QPR goal, but he will know it and needs to focus on the importance of improving his defensive skills as well as attacking, at which he is potentially ace.
Perkins 7: always in the action and he was one player who notably upped the pace after we had gone behind, his non-stop running often regaining the ball for us, or picking up a poor QPR pass. He caught the eye more than once, as he gave us that pace which was the only way we were likely to find a way through the ‘clean sheet’ defence. Good game for Perks.
Mellis 5: we needed a performance from him and, as he was playing in London, I thought we might get one. He did threaten occasionally, but often found himself crowded out by a couple of QPR midfielders and his impact on this occasion was limited.
Scotland 5: did his bit in chesting down passes and linking with midfielders, but, on a day on which we were counter-attacking, his lack of pace was an issue. He did find himself in space more than once, but the QPR defenders were able to get back and cover the danger. He has great value for us as an impact substitute and he will always score goals when the ball gets into the box. His service on this occasion was limited and the sort of chances on which he thrives were just not there.
O’Grady 8: great physical battle with Dunne, which I was looking forward to before the match and which did not disappoint. Chris came out with honours even, which is good against such a proven international. He more than did his bit in winning headers and generally found a red shirt which header, or pass. Good header from Fox’s set piece to create a chance for us. Not a day on which he looked likely to score, but that was because of the balance of the game and the fact that he had very few chances. He took on defenders towards the end of the game and was looking to get shots away, but the defence was good enough this time to prevent him doing so. A poor pass which would have put Kennedy away late on, but that was not typical of his otherwise sound performance.

So that is it.

We have four games coming up now, from three of which we really will need to take maximum points if Flicker is recreate the confidence that we can not only win games, but that we can go on to the sort of run we will need to get into mid-table and keep Flicker in the job. On this evidence, the team is capable of doing so. I would start with Pedersen and O’Grady up top at least in the home games. We have plenty of other options. We need some options for additional pace some crucial areas of the pitch.

Hopefully – “it’s gonna be all right” in the end.

Keep the faith.

 

Good write up. Did you not see their handball in box just before half time , one of their fans wrote and thought it was a pen

 

I saw the some of our players appeal, but did not see clearly enough if it was a penalty. i was not surprised it was not given.

 

Great report thanks

 

Thanks for the detailed report, Thomas. Very helpful for those of us who couldn't get to the game.

Quite a few Reds' fans seemed to think that O'Grady didn't play to his usual high standards, but you thought he did okay.