| Ccoca Cola Championship | |
| Tuesday September 13th | |
|
Attendance: 13.492 |
|
| Queens Park Rangers 1 | Luton Town 0 |
| L.Cook T.Doherty Sent off |
|
Luton
were in town last night to become the first
visitors to Loftus Road for two and a half
weeks and given the recent history between
the two sides this wasn’t likely to be one
for the purists.
Ian Holloway made just one change to the team. Dean Sturridge was rested as he continues his return to fitness so Gareth Ainsworth started on the right wing with Moore moving up front. New signing Steve Lomas and Richard Langley were on the bench with the later ridiculously booed by some in the crowd when the teams were read out.
At the start of August I did a season preview and tipped Luton to go down, since then they’ve made a mockery of that prediction with a fantastic start and as the game kicked off they looked more likely to threaten the top end of the division than we did. Within the first two minutes they could have been 2-0 up. Rangers struggled to get out of our own half as they poured forward.
One of Northern Ireland's heroes from last week Wayne Feeney almost put his club side in front after 45 seconds after a smart passing move and his shot was parried wide by Royce. From the corner Howard got a header in which looked to be flying into the top corner but Royce pulled off a fantastic save to deny him but the linesmen’s flag would have ruled it out anyway.
Luton were all over us, knocking the ball about well whilst we just looked a shambles. The midfield was all over the place and the front two hardly got a touch. Luton’s captain Kevin Nicholls had a crack from one of several free kicks given away by Santos but the QPR wall stood firm. Brkovic looked impressive for the visitors who were full of confidence. They cut Rangers apart several times but the final ball was usually a poor one meaning Royce had little to do.
Several times they got into great positions but chose the wrong option with shots into the loft rather than passes to unmarked players. On one of these occasions Brkovic was unmarked on the right and fired wide when he should have scored but Steve Howard was fuming as a simple cut back to the big forward and t would have been 1-0. This really was a dire start by Rangers and we were lucky to be level before we even ventured forward.
Furlong missed a half chance before our first decent passing move of the game almost brought a goal. We knocked it about nicely on the right before Doherty latched onto the end of a one touch passing move and sliced his shot wide. It didn’t worry the Luton keeper but at least it showed some intent to score a goal.
Gareth Ainsworth had been quiet but almost created the opening goal. A fine run down the right saw him skin his full back and chip a lovely cross for Furlong who connected with his outstretched foot but his effort was saved. The flag happy linesman had given offside anyway.
Furlong was in the book soon after for a foul on the keeper which seemed harsh but this referee was pretty woeful. His second booking of the game to Shittu was farcical. Santos lost a header and conceded a foul and as the ref blew his whistle Shittu smashed the ball clear as you’d expect him to. Shittu was booked for kicking the ball away, an unbelievable decision as the player had about 2 seconds to react after the whistle went and just instinctively booted it clear. It was hardly time wasting.
The set piece came to nothing and the incompetence of the referee saw him booed at half time. It was a poor half though and Luton should have been a few goals up. They look a very useful outfit under Mike Newell who has done a brilliant job. Rangers certainly needed a boot up the backside and seemed to have got it as we came out a different side in the second half. Santos was still making mistakes but was no longer being dragged out of position and needing Milanese to come across and cover him. Cook and Ainsworth were staying out wide allowing Doherty and Bircham an option to spread the play rather than everyone being in the middle and us.
We were getting stuck in and winning the back quicker and chances began to come. A lee Cook corner almost brought the opening goal. A good delivery was met by Ainsworth but his header was very well saved by the keeper. Paul Furlong then had a go after good work by Doherty, Furlong smashed in a shot from 30 yards out but it was straight at the keeper.
Furlong then won a free kick on the edge of the box and Rangers fans began to sing for Richard Langley. Sadly this didn’t go down to well with some of our fans who decided to boo and sing Langley is a wanker. After watching us create virtually nothing all game and have a player who can create and score goals warming up it seemed to me that we badly needed him on the pitch but Langley seems to be the latest hate figure for reasons I just can’t fathom.
The anti Langley song was soon silenced as we took the lead. Lee Cook exposed a dire wall set up by the Luton defence and curled the free kick around the wall and into the bottom corner. A cracking finish from Cook and we had the lead.
The goal seemed to inspire the team and we were on top now, Furlong was looking more alive than he has in recent games whilst Doherty was getting more involved in the game. It was still a scrap though and Shittu found himself knocked spark out by Howard but the ref deemed that booting the ball clear was more worthy of a booking than trying to take someone’s head off.
Holloway then made a change and it was great to see Richard Langley back at Loftus Road in the hoops. As he stood waiting to come on the Q and R blocks began to boo him which saw the rest of the stadium react angrily and give the player a fantastic reception. The boos continued though and even the chants of Langley plays for Rangers didn’t seem to sink in. It honestly beggars belief that these idiots are booing one of our own.
Whatever your thoughts on Langley as a player and the way he left you don’t boo your own players. Moan about him in the pub afterwards if you want but I don’t care who wears the hoops they should get our support during games. I would have thought after the booing of Paul Furlong a few years ago that wouldn’t happen again but I was sadly wrong.
Anyway Langley was played on the right wing and almost created a second goal. He found himself in space in the box and with the ball sitting up nicely for a volley I expected him to shoot, instead he unselfishly rolled a perfect ball back to Furlong but the big striker ballooned his shot over the bar when he really should have scored. Furlong badly needs a goal and this was a great chance.
Luton were no longer knocking around as they had done in the first half and we looked comfortable. They’d resorted to long balls which Shittu and Santos were happy to head away. Shittu was having a brilliant game at the back again. Luton’s only real chance came when Bignot sliced a clearance from a corner but they couldn’t capitalise on the mistake. They were restricted to long throws which Shittu was happy to head out.
With time running out a win looked on the cards for Rangers but a moment of madness saw us down to ten men. We got a free kick and Nicholls looked like he had a dig at Furlong. Doherty didn’t like it and although I didn’t see it apparently he threw an arm at the Luton player and was sent off. Not a clever thing to do and he will now face a three match ban.
Holloway had to change things around and we went to a 4-4-1 formation. Marc Nygaard replaced Furlong and Lomas came on for Stefan Moore. It was a back's against the wall job now as Luton poured forward but we almost grabbed a killer goal on the break. A clearance fell to Nygaard who was one against one and ran through on goal, his second touch was Devon White like but he showed good pace to get away from his man but his shot was poor and easily saved.
Langley then had the ball in the net but was ruled offside. It was a lovely finish though as he brought he ball down and lobbed the keeper from the right wing. He did look offside though.
The referee then put up four minutes of injury time which seemed to go on for about six minutes. Georges Santos did his best to gift Luton a point as he stupidly tried a back heel in the edge of his own area to Langley who looked as surprised as the rest of the ground that it hadn’t been booted out but thankfully we managed to get away with it.
We faced another injury time scare when a pretty clear penalty appeal was turned away. Bignot pulled a Luton player shirt as he attempted to get the ball for a blatant penalty but the referee was so incompetent he managed to not give it.
The final whistle was greeted with much relief around the ground and our first win in five games was achieved.
This was a good result for Rangers against a good side but the performance wasn’t the best. We defended well at times with Shittu immense and the full backs playing well. Santos got better in the second half but was at his worst at times and gave away far too many free kicks.
The midfield was non existent in the first half but got better after the break when Bircham and Doherty began to get on the ball and try to pass it. Doherty had a decent game but the sending off was a real blow to us and could have cost us the game. He really needs to sort his temper out.
Up front we were poor, Furlong worked hard but didn’t get much help from Stefan Moore who is still learning the game. We missed Gallen again more for his link play than anything else and the substitute Marc Nygaard didn’t look like the answer during his brief appearance.
Rangers now face another in form side on Saturday when Leeds come to town. We’ll need to play a lot better if we want to win that one.
Ian Holloway made just one change to the team. Dean Sturridge was rested as he continues his return to fitness so Gareth Ainsworth started on the right wing with Moore moving up front. New signing Steve Lomas and Richard Langley were on the bench with the later ridiculously booed by some in the crowd when the teams were read out.
At the start of August I did a season preview and tipped Luton to go down, since then they’ve made a mockery of that prediction with a fantastic start and as the game kicked off they looked more likely to threaten the top end of the division than we did. Within the first two minutes they could have been 2-0 up. Rangers struggled to get out of our own half as they poured forward.
One of Northern Ireland's heroes from last week Wayne Feeney almost put his club side in front after 45 seconds after a smart passing move and his shot was parried wide by Royce. From the corner Howard got a header in which looked to be flying into the top corner but Royce pulled off a fantastic save to deny him but the linesmen’s flag would have ruled it out anyway.
Luton were all over us, knocking the ball about well whilst we just looked a shambles. The midfield was all over the place and the front two hardly got a touch. Luton’s captain Kevin Nicholls had a crack from one of several free kicks given away by Santos but the QPR wall stood firm. Brkovic looked impressive for the visitors who were full of confidence. They cut Rangers apart several times but the final ball was usually a poor one meaning Royce had little to do.
Several times they got into great positions but chose the wrong option with shots into the loft rather than passes to unmarked players. On one of these occasions Brkovic was unmarked on the right and fired wide when he should have scored but Steve Howard was fuming as a simple cut back to the big forward and t would have been 1-0. This really was a dire start by Rangers and we were lucky to be level before we even ventured forward.
Furlong missed a half chance before our first decent passing move of the game almost brought a goal. We knocked it about nicely on the right before Doherty latched onto the end of a one touch passing move and sliced his shot wide. It didn’t worry the Luton keeper but at least it showed some intent to score a goal.
Gareth Ainsworth had been quiet but almost created the opening goal. A fine run down the right saw him skin his full back and chip a lovely cross for Furlong who connected with his outstretched foot but his effort was saved. The flag happy linesman had given offside anyway.
Furlong was in the book soon after for a foul on the keeper which seemed harsh but this referee was pretty woeful. His second booking of the game to Shittu was farcical. Santos lost a header and conceded a foul and as the ref blew his whistle Shittu smashed the ball clear as you’d expect him to. Shittu was booked for kicking the ball away, an unbelievable decision as the player had about 2 seconds to react after the whistle went and just instinctively booted it clear. It was hardly time wasting.
The set piece came to nothing and the incompetence of the referee saw him booed at half time. It was a poor half though and Luton should have been a few goals up. They look a very useful outfit under Mike Newell who has done a brilliant job. Rangers certainly needed a boot up the backside and seemed to have got it as we came out a different side in the second half. Santos was still making mistakes but was no longer being dragged out of position and needing Milanese to come across and cover him. Cook and Ainsworth were staying out wide allowing Doherty and Bircham an option to spread the play rather than everyone being in the middle and us.
We were getting stuck in and winning the back quicker and chances began to come. A lee Cook corner almost brought the opening goal. A good delivery was met by Ainsworth but his header was very well saved by the keeper. Paul Furlong then had a go after good work by Doherty, Furlong smashed in a shot from 30 yards out but it was straight at the keeper.
Furlong then won a free kick on the edge of the box and Rangers fans began to sing for Richard Langley. Sadly this didn’t go down to well with some of our fans who decided to boo and sing Langley is a wanker. After watching us create virtually nothing all game and have a player who can create and score goals warming up it seemed to me that we badly needed him on the pitch but Langley seems to be the latest hate figure for reasons I just can’t fathom.
The anti Langley song was soon silenced as we took the lead. Lee Cook exposed a dire wall set up by the Luton defence and curled the free kick around the wall and into the bottom corner. A cracking finish from Cook and we had the lead.
The goal seemed to inspire the team and we were on top now, Furlong was looking more alive than he has in recent games whilst Doherty was getting more involved in the game. It was still a scrap though and Shittu found himself knocked spark out by Howard but the ref deemed that booting the ball clear was more worthy of a booking than trying to take someone’s head off.
Holloway then made a change and it was great to see Richard Langley back at Loftus Road in the hoops. As he stood waiting to come on the Q and R blocks began to boo him which saw the rest of the stadium react angrily and give the player a fantastic reception. The boos continued though and even the chants of Langley plays for Rangers didn’t seem to sink in. It honestly beggars belief that these idiots are booing one of our own.
Whatever your thoughts on Langley as a player and the way he left you don’t boo your own players. Moan about him in the pub afterwards if you want but I don’t care who wears the hoops they should get our support during games. I would have thought after the booing of Paul Furlong a few years ago that wouldn’t happen again but I was sadly wrong.
Anyway Langley was played on the right wing and almost created a second goal. He found himself in space in the box and with the ball sitting up nicely for a volley I expected him to shoot, instead he unselfishly rolled a perfect ball back to Furlong but the big striker ballooned his shot over the bar when he really should have scored. Furlong badly needs a goal and this was a great chance.
Luton were no longer knocking around as they had done in the first half and we looked comfortable. They’d resorted to long balls which Shittu and Santos were happy to head away. Shittu was having a brilliant game at the back again. Luton’s only real chance came when Bignot sliced a clearance from a corner but they couldn’t capitalise on the mistake. They were restricted to long throws which Shittu was happy to head out.
With time running out a win looked on the cards for Rangers but a moment of madness saw us down to ten men. We got a free kick and Nicholls looked like he had a dig at Furlong. Doherty didn’t like it and although I didn’t see it apparently he threw an arm at the Luton player and was sent off. Not a clever thing to do and he will now face a three match ban.
Holloway had to change things around and we went to a 4-4-1 formation. Marc Nygaard replaced Furlong and Lomas came on for Stefan Moore. It was a back's against the wall job now as Luton poured forward but we almost grabbed a killer goal on the break. A clearance fell to Nygaard who was one against one and ran through on goal, his second touch was Devon White like but he showed good pace to get away from his man but his shot was poor and easily saved.
Langley then had the ball in the net but was ruled offside. It was a lovely finish though as he brought he ball down and lobbed the keeper from the right wing. He did look offside though.
The referee then put up four minutes of injury time which seemed to go on for about six minutes. Georges Santos did his best to gift Luton a point as he stupidly tried a back heel in the edge of his own area to Langley who looked as surprised as the rest of the ground that it hadn’t been booted out but thankfully we managed to get away with it.
We faced another injury time scare when a pretty clear penalty appeal was turned away. Bignot pulled a Luton player shirt as he attempted to get the ball for a blatant penalty but the referee was so incompetent he managed to not give it.
The final whistle was greeted with much relief around the ground and our first win in five games was achieved.
This was a good result for Rangers against a good side but the performance wasn’t the best. We defended well at times with Shittu immense and the full backs playing well. Santos got better in the second half but was at his worst at times and gave away far too many free kicks.
The midfield was non existent in the first half but got better after the break when Bircham and Doherty began to get on the ball and try to pass it. Doherty had a decent game but the sending off was a real blow to us and could have cost us the game. He really needs to sort his temper out.
Up front we were poor, Furlong worked hard but didn’t get much help from Stefan Moore who is still learning the game. We missed Gallen again more for his link play than anything else and the substitute Marc Nygaard didn’t look like the answer during his brief appearance.
Rangers now face another in form side on Saturday when Leeds come to town. We’ll need to play a lot better if we want to win that one.
Man
of the Match: Dan Shittu
Players Ratings: Royce 7, Bignot 7,
Milanese 7, Shittu 8, Santos 6, Ainsworth
6 (Langley 7), Bircham 7, Doherty 7, Cook
7, Moore 6 (Lomas 7), Furlong 7 (Nygaard
6)