Coca Cola Championship
Tuesday February 23rd
Attendance 15,029
Queens Park Rangers 1	Wolverhampton Wanderes 1
K.Gallen	C.Cort

Ian Holloway celebrated his fourth anniversary as QPR manager with a home game against Wolves as Rangers looked to get back in the playoff race.

Before the game it was announced that Chris Day was to be loaned out to Preston North End for a month. Day was on the bench for the Wolves game though but his career at QPR looks to be over.

Holloway made several changes after the disappointing defeat to Preston a fortnight ago. Marcus Bignot replaced Gino Padula with Edghill switching to left back whilst Matthew Rose was recalled to partner Dan Shittu now that Andrew Davies has returned to Middlesbrough. In midfield Martin Rowlands replaced Ainsworth whilst Kevin Gallen was moved back up front to give Marc Bircham his first start since January 3rd.

The changes seemed to work as Rangers kicked off during a downpour of snow which had the fans frozen to their seats. Gallen looked sharp back in his preferred position and he was linking well with Furlong and Cook as we looked to get an early lead.

Martin Rowlands tried his luck from out wide but his shot flew well wide. Paul Furlong then got on the end of a Lee Cook cross but his effort was saved by the keeper.

Rangers then grabbed the lead with a quality goal. Lee Cook played a good ball down the left for Gallen to race on to. Gallen picked up the ball and put it through Craddock’s legs before placing his shot into the bottom corner.

It showed exactly what Gallen can do when played up front and the Rangers captain fully deserved the adulation that followed.

Wolves were offering very little as an attacking force and Rangers continued to look the better side. Kevin Gallen easily outpaces Joleen Lescott only to be brought down. Lescott was so slow it was unbelievable and Furlong and Gallen were made to look like Olympic sprinters against him. Lescott was having a nightmare and his mistake gave Furlong a half chance but he was denied by the keeper.

Wolves first real chance came after neat work on the left and Seol aimed a header towards goal which was easily saved by Royce. Wolves got more into the game as the half wore on but they didn’t look like scoring and Rangers almost extended the lead right on half time.

Again it was a mistake by Lescott which led to the chance as his back pass was cut out by Furlong but his shot was blocked by the keeper. At half time there only looked one winner and it seemed only a matter of time before we got a second goal.

The second half though was not one that Ian Holloway will want to see again. He started the half with a tactical switch which saw Kevin Gallen move to the right wing and Rowlands into the middle as we went with a 4-5-1. The result was Rangers didn’t really threaten but we did stifle the Wolves midfield and the game became very scrappy and dull. Edghill and Bignot also seemed to be swapping wings which was odd but it seemed to be in a bid to stop Leon Clarke.

We began to hand the initiative to Wolves but they couldn’t find a way past the excellent Rose and Shittu. It was suicide though and we really should have been looking for a second goal.

We still had chances and should have killed the game off. Paul Furlong had two of the best chances. A good run saw him hold off several challenges but his shot was deflected wide for a corner. Furlong had another chance as he got space in the box but his effort was well saved down low by the keeper.

Martin Rowlands also had a chance after a decent passing move but he hit his shot first time flying wide when he possibly should have taken a touch past the full back who had dived in.

Despite the chances Rangers were looking tired and a chance was badly needed. Miller and Ainsworth warmed up and it should have been just a matter of time before they came on. Santos was dire in midfield and was then moved up front where he got even worse. Bircham looked exhausted and Gallen was wasted out wide.

Glenn Hoddle made a few changes including the introduction of Carl Cort who scored both goals against us earlier in the season. Rangers were defended further and further back and Gallen ended up back in central midfield where he was looking very uncomfortable.

As the minutes ticked away Cort went close to an equaliser. His header beat Royce but hit the post before rolling along the line for Bignot to hack away to safety.

A goal was looking inevitable and still Holloway didn’t make any changes. The goal came with five minutes left and promoted several boos from around the ground. Carl Cort did well to get past Bignot and smashed in a shot from 20 yards out past Royce to make it 1-1.

Holloway reacted with a change at last taking off Bircham with Adam Miller coming on. It was too late though and a long range effort was well saved by Royce as we looked like losing the game. Edghill also came to the rescue in the dying minutes heading away a dangerous cross which Cort was inches away from.

Gareth Ainsworth was brought on for another tactical switch but it was all too late and the manager was booed at the final whistle following an inept second half performance.

That has to be Holloway's worst performance as manager, it was just painful to watch.

Wolves were dire and I've no idea how they were a Premiership side a few months ago. We should have had the game won by half time but the managerial decision to put Gallen back in midfield was disastrous.

Santos was awful in midfield and then up front and should have gone off around the hour mark when we still had the time to get back on top. After his booking he couldn't make a tackle and was just a waste of space.

I thought we lost the plot spectacularly. The full backs were swapping positions, Gallen was all over the place as was Rowlands and Bircham could hardly walk but stayed on the pitch. Miller was only on for five minutes but played in two different positions. The equaliser was inevitable.

We should have got the message when Cort hit the post and we scrambled it away but we still did very little. Even when the changes came we kept Santos up front who was hopeless. I don't mind Santos up front for the last ten minutes if we want a goal but he wasn't needed yesterday and we had the right partnership in Gallen and Furlong working well for 45 minutes so why change it.

Wolves could even have won it in the end and they must have been laughing all the way home. That's five points thrown away in two home games and we can't afford to do that with some tough games coming up.

A frightening performance by Holloway and to then moan at the fans after the game was laughable. I don't like booing and on paper it wasn't a bad result but the boos were justified for the way Holloway threw two points away.

I still think he's the man to take us forward but he'll need to take a good look at himself and get back to making changes to win games as he did earlier in the season if he is to finish the job he has started.

On the plus side Gallen did well back up front and I thought Rose had a good game back in central defence. Hopefully Gallen will stay up front for the next few games as he was excellent in the first half and it was good to see him back amongst the goals.