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QPR began with some selection problems. Matthew Rose, Danny Maddix and Rob Steiner all missed out so Steve Morrow came in as sweeper and new signing Peter Crouch began up front. Clarke Carlisle was also given a debut in the back three with Baraclough moved to left wing back. As is usual with the start of the season, hopes were high in both camps and both sets of supporters were in good voice in the build up to the game with us in the Q, P and R blocks making plenty of noise for the lads. Rangers started the game well but could not take any of the early chances. Clarke Carlisle was overlapping brilliantly and Jermaine Darlington and Richard Langley were oozing class and creating openings. The first of these came after good work on the right saw a cross whipped over by Ian Baraclough fired high over the bar. Baraclough had another half chance before a great chance came along. Peter Crouch lobbed a clever ball down the left for Peacock and his cross found Wardley unmarked but he fired wide from a position he scored from so often last season. The Loft was buzzing but Birmingham began to take control and push us back. Martin Grainger fired straight at Harper after a neat build up before Peter Ndlovu sent an effort over the bar having pounced on an error by Steve Morrow. Ndlovu the showed all of his qualities leaving Ready for dead at the half way line and going on a solo run with pace and skill but his finish was poor.
Half time came and it was time for the first pint of the new season. It was nice to see the huge cups we now get in the bar which gives more value for money but will probably mean more people missing the start of the second half in the rush to finish their beers. Back on the pitch and Birmingham stepped up their pressure after the break and in the 50th minute, Martin Grainger's corner was met by Ndlouv and Peacock headed off the line. Two minutes later Danny Sonner's 25-yard shot were saved by Lee Harper and he recovered just in time to keep out Bryan's Hughes' follow-up. Birmingham were well on top and the QPR fans responded to get right behind the team and try and inspire the team at a difficult time. Sure enough the team responded and Peacock combined well with Jermaine Darlington and crossed from the right for Crouch to head just over. Richard Langley turned his way out of trouble near the edge of his own penalty area and showed superb vision to pick out Kiwomya running into space. Kiwomya had a head start and was running towards goal with pace but he lost his balance and trod on the ball as Stuart Wardley and Gavin Peacock were running forward in support. Ready then gave away another free kick in a dangerous position especially with Stan Lazardis around. But it was Martin Grangier who curled it into the top corner but Harper produced another excellent save at full stretch. Harper was looking unbeatable catching every cross and he also did well to hold a Geoff Horsfield effort after he was left unmarked inside the box. Rangers were denied a clear penalty on 71 minutes. Peter Crouch nodded down to Kiwomya who ran wide and was tripped up by Darren Purse. the ref played on and Kiwomyas cross saw Peacock fire high over the bar. Rangers created another chance when Crouch headed down for Peacock to send his well-struck volley straight at Bennett. Baraclough was caught with two terrible late tackles but they were more poorly timed than intentional. As the game came to a close it was Birmingham who looked most likely to score without creating any more clear cut opportunities. Karl Ready escaped a deserved red card for his injury time elbow in the face to Darren Purse but the ref missed it. Readys performance was very different to that of Carlisle, who looks a promising new signing and became a big fan favorite after just 90 minutes. He was running up to the Loft trying to get the crowd going in the second half, something which always appeals to football supporters. So the first day of the season has come and gone. A draw was a fair result and both sides can play a lot better than that. QPR still lack up front and hopefully the arrival of Paul Furlong will help. Man of the Match: Lee Harper and Clarke Carlisle PLAYERS RATINGS 13. Lee Harper : An excellent performance. Safe with crosses and some excellent saves to keep us in the game. His distribution was a bit wayward at times but noone is perfect. 9/10 22. Jermaine Darlington : Showed some excellent skills going forward and was our biggest threat. Defensively he did OK but his crossing needs to improve as very few chances were created from his superb approach play. 7/10 3. Ian Baraclough : Defensively as good as ever, looked more solid than he has done in a while at left wing back. Caught out for pace a few times and his crossing was poor but a decent display. 7/10 5. Karl Ready : Where to start. Given the run around by Peter Ndlouv and spent the rest of the game fouling Horsefield giving away needless free kicks. When Rose is fit he should't be nowhere near the first team picture. 5/10 4. Steve Morrow : Did OK as sweeper, worked the offside trap well, as you would expect from a former Arsenal man, a typical Morrow performance, probably as good as he gets. 7/10 18. Clarke Carlisle : One of the best debuts I have seen in a while. Superb defensively, overlapped well and wanted to get forward all of the time. I was very impressed and he already looks a £3million player. 9/10 21. Richard Langley : Oozes class, his new role sees him holding in front of the back three and he did that well. Not his best game but he rarely gave the ball away and worked very hard. 8/10 8. Gavin Peacock : Always busy and showed some of his quality but his shooting was off today and he needed to spend much of the game defending. 6/10 27. Stuart Wardley : Had one chance to score but apart from that did very little. I was surprised he wasn't taken off as he was clearly struggling in the second half. 28. Peter Crouch : Very little service but he didn't look to good. He seems to make everything look difficult and was being praised for making a ten yard pass look impossible. In his defence though he was up against a good defence and is still very young. 6/10 11. Chris Kiwomya : Not his best game for the club, he looked tired late on and messed up a great chance to score in the second half. He should have been awarded a penalty but he won't be happy with his display. 6/10 Subs: 24. Mark Perry : On for 3 minutes and did nothing wrong. 6/10 BIRMINGHAM VIEW Well Birmingham looked a reasonable side. They tended to look for a long ball to Horsfield but they looked a better side when Ndlouv and Lazardis were running at us and from set pieces they looked very dangerous. Martin Graninger looked a good player whilst the central defenders Holdsworth and Purse were as solid as ever. From this performance they won't be far away from the playoffs again but I think the top two will be to much for them.
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A
new season kicked off in a blaze of sunshine in Shepherds Bush
as one of the favorites for promotion faced one of the outsiders
for the playoffs.
The
game was looking like a 0-0 though with both sides wanting to
avoid defeat rather than go for the win. The last 10 minutes of
the half saw both sides play at pre season pace whilst Geoff "the
Cart Horse" Horsefield spent most of the half fouling and moaning
at the ref. He was on borrowed time and should have been booked
earlier.