A third game in seven days for QPR and a third different competition. After a defeat in the Carling Cup last Tuesday followed by a win in the league it was onto the LDV last night for a second round game against non-league Dagenham and Redbridge.

Not the most glamorous of ties but one with a good QPR connection as former players Tony Roberts, Paul Bruce and Tony Scully returned and Dagenham have a very good record in the cups having been close to beating Premiership Charlton in recent years. Rangers knew this would not be easy and in front of just over 3,000 fans the atmosphere was always going to be one where players may feel that can take their foot off the pedal.

With this in mind Holloway opted for a few fringe players as they hope to prove good enough for a regular first team start. Nick Culkin, Warren Barton, Eric Sabin, Richard Pacquette, Steve Palmer and Marcus bean all started as Day, Edghill, Bircham, Rowlands, Gallen and Thorpe were rested/dropped/suspended (delete where applicable) for this game.

The game was only four minutes old when we had our first change. Warren Barton hasn’t looked fit in many of the games he’s played for us so far and he went off injured after four minutes to be replaced by Richard Edghill. Disappointing really as I am sure Barton needed 90 minutes to get himself back to full fitness and Edghill could have done with a night off after just coming back from injury.

We were playing ok though as the midfield worked hard for the ball and out wide the pace of Sabin was causing them problems. Sabin went on several good runs using his pace to get past players but ended up winning free kicks on the edge of the box.

A chance to test Tony Roberts but both Edghill and McLeod wasted opportunities from 25 yards out hitting the wall and the School end with separate efforts.

We were on top without playing particularly well and the front two of Pacquette and Ainsworth were not creating too much in the way of chances. The best stuff was coming from Sabin and McLeod out wide but Roberts wasn’t really forced into a save until we got another free kick within shooting range. Padula hit it well curling towards the top corner but Roberts positioned himself well and tipped it over the bar.

The ref then made probably his only mistake of the night allowing Gino to take the corner on his favoured left foot rather than on the wing where Roberts had tipped it over. Padula whipped his corner in right under the bar and the linesmen flagged to say it had gone over the line. It was impossible to see if it had or not but despite some protests the goal was given and we were 1-0 up.

To their credit the Rushden fans continued to make all the noise singing and being backed by a fantastic band, which puts the England and Sheffield Wednesday mob to shame. Playing a variety of TV theme tunes from One foot in the grave to Steptoe and Son as well as the usual football songs as well.

They had their moments on the pitch as well with Scully looking to impress and a good run and shot went wide of the post.

Dagenham had Paul Bruce up front and you won’t be surprised to know that Terrell Forbes was having an easy night and marked the former QPR left back out of the game. Carlisle was also looking strong and we never looked like conceding during the first half.

Sabin and McLeod had chances to add to the 1-0 score line but Roberts denied them and at half time 1-0 was about right on the balance of play.

After the break though was a different story as sat back a bit too often and didn’t really threaten them. Sabin was our best attacking player and almost scored after a good run but his shot was blocked when he could have done better.

Pacquette was having a real mare up front usually falling on his backside every time he controlled the ball and never looking like he was going to trouble Tony Roberts, This was a big chance for him to get back in the first team plans but on this evidence he is falling behind Sabin in the pecking order.

Dagenham kept worrying hard and called Culkin into work with some long range shots which he did well to save but it was going to take a real cock up to lose the game at this stage. Holloway made two changes bringing on Thorpe and Gallen for Bean and the disappointing Pacquette and we soon got the killer second goal.

It was one of the few moments of quality all night as we won the ball in our own half and went on a quick counter attack. Ainsworth found McLeod out wide who ran towards goal and fired a cracking shot into the bottom corner. Game over and a welcome goal form McLeod who had been suffering with a lack of confidence recently.

McLeod then went for the spectacular with a shot from the halfway line, which beat Roberts but went just wide of the post.

But typical QPR we made hard work of the last five minutes. A foul on Gallen went unpunished and Gino was beaten by the wide player and a cross in found Tony Scully who scored from close range and in truth it was a goal that Dagenham deserved.

We had a game on our hands now though as we began to panic and they threw everything at us. Scully went close again and a corner was won in the 90th minute. Tony Roberts sprinted forward and was totally unmarked but Dagenham went for a short corner and the shot flew wide.

Roberts came up again for the next corner as we began to panic but again he was ignored and the ref blew his whistle to send QPR fans home happy.

Ian Holloway will have been pleased with the performance of his back four again but Nick Culkin may cause him a few sleepless nights if anything should happen to Chris Day. Eric Sabin, Kevin McLeod and Marcus Bean also did well but the main job of the evening was to avoid getting any injuries or yellow cards and to progress to the next round so all in all a good nights work.

Man of the Match: Kevin McLeod

Players Ratings

13. Nick Culkin: Made some good saves but his kicking was awful whilst it is frightening watching him deal with crosses. 6/10

20. Warren Barton: Seemed to inure himself doing stretches in the warm up which is not a good sign for his long term fitness. 6/10

3. Gino Padula: Quality deliver from the corner for the first goal. Had a pretty solid game throughout and made some very good interceptions. 7/10

2. Terrell Forbes: A good solid defensive performance and continues to impress in his new position. 7/10

5. Clarke Carlisle: Never out of first gear but still a good performance. 7/10

4. Steve Palmer; Struggled against a non-league side which says it all really. 6/10

17. Marcus Bean: Worked hard and played a few decent passes but can play better than this. 6/10

12. Eric Sabin: His pace and directness caused them plenty of problems and he looks a useful player to have as cover for the right wing position. 7/10

22. Kevin McLeod: Just edged man of the match from Gino due to the quality of his goal. He got better as the game wore on and was one of the only attacking players throughout the game who looked like he may create something. 7/10

15. Richard Pacquette: A terrible performance and his run of bad form couldn’t have come at a worse time with a place in the first team really up fro grabs now Furlong is injured. 5/10

11. Gareth Ainsworth: Worked hard and caused a few problems with his pace but never really looked like scoring. 6/10

Subs

23. Richard Edghill: another solid performance that should earn him a longer contract at QPR. 7/10

10. Kevin Gallen: Slotted into midfield and didn’t do much to be honest. 6/10

9. Tony Thorpe: Not on for long and didn’t do a lot. 6/10