| Ccoca Cola Championship | |
| Tuesday August 30th | |
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Attendance: 22,426 |
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| Wolves 3 | Queens Park Rangers 1 |
| C.Cort (3) | K.Gallen |
Another live date with Sky TV as Rangers looked for our first away win of the season at one of the pre season favourites for promotion Wolves.
The day didn't start well for QPR fans that were stuck on the M40. Carly and me were among those on the M40 for over two hours and had to go via Coventry in the end turning a two-hour drive into a four and a half hour one. We just about made kick off (and even managed a pre match burger and pint) and sat with around 500 other QPR fans behind the goal ready for the game.
As the teams come out it took a few minutes to try and work out the formation and who was playing well, to be honest I was still trying to work it out when the game started.
As expected Holloway played a big man at right back. During last seasons game they played plenty of long diagonal balls to Cort who out jumped Bignot every time and got them back in the game. It's a tactic Hoddle often uses so it was god to see Holloway try something to counteract it. Evatt was the man to play right back but I expect it would have been Rose if he has been fit.
Georges Santos returned to play alongside Shittu whilst Marcus Bignot moved to the right wing where he never really looked comfortable when he played there last season and in his first spell at the club. Stefan Moore started on the left wing with Gallen and Furlong up front.
Wolves started like a team looking like promotion candidates and played some lovely football to tear Rangers apart. Kenny Miller was instrumental out wide with the movement of Ricketts and Anderton carving us apart. Ricketts almost gave his side the lead after a good passing move, Cort laid it off to Ricketts and his shot was fired towards the bottom corner but was well saved by Royce.
It was a warning to Rangers that we didn't react to. Shittu was looking all over the place against good movement whilst Santos and Evatt were left to save the day on a few occasions before the home side took the lead.
The goal came after a catalogue of errors at the back. Ricketts shot again from outside the box and this time Royce's save didn't take it out for a corner. Ricketts got to the ball first and cross for Clarke who missed the ball but Carl Cort was unmarked and on hand to score from ten yards out. Poor defending by Rangers but no more than the home side deserved.
It looked a certainly that we'd get hammered but to our credit we got back into the game and actually managed a goal away from Loftus Road for the first time since we lost at Sheffield United in April.
Stefan Moore did well down the left and lofted a cross into the box. Wolves looked uneasy to this type of ball and Gallen got in front of his man to head home from close range.
It was a simple goal but one we badly needed and the relief around the away end was only matched by the shock. We'd scored and it was a header from Gallen!
We began to get a bit more in the game with Doherty and Bircham knocking the ball around but as in the last few games we didn't hurt the opposition with our possession and badly needed someone to make a run at the back four or have a shot from distance. Bircham did manage one shot from the edge of the box but it was easily saved.
One team who did look like hurting the opposition was Wolves and they again hurt Rangers with a second goal. It was Kenny Miller this time who was the architect. He rolled a lovely cross into the box along the floor, which was a nightmare for us to deal with. Cort got on the end of it and tucked it past Royce.
Although it was difficult to deal with we should have done and although I've given Royce man of the match he really should have been down to collect that ball before Cort got to it.
Evatt had been exposed at right back so he swapped with Santos and to be fair the big central defender did a decent job at right back. We began to settle down again as Furlong went close to getting us level but Wolves were looking the better side.
Some of their football was excellent, the movement of the front three and the midfield was good to watch and a real lesson to us. Doherty and Bircham just couldn't deal with it and at the back Shittu was having a mare against Cort. Wolves were bad rashing Rangers and outplaying us, at half time it was 2-1 but could so easily have been 4-1.
During the break we changed the team around again to play the Chelsea formation of 4-2-3-1 of whatever it is which apparently didn't come across like that on TV. Gallen and Moore played the Robben and Duff roles with Santos now our Frank Lampard.
Before you finish laughing it actually worked ok. Santos is no Lampard but he did stop them from playing and supported Furlong as we got into the game. We were knocking it about well in the second half but again had no real penetration.
Our football was again much improved on last year and we did give it a go but as we pushed on for an equaliser they began to catch us on the break. Royce kept us in it with two excellent saves and some wayward finishing made sure we stayed in the game.
We continued to have plenty of possession but just couldn't create much with us, Gallen was dropping deeper and deeper to get on the ball and to be fair did well but we had a pitiful amount of support for Furlong and it was all too easy.
Wolves were soon 3-1 up or so they thought. Miller made it with a low cross, which was heading for Cort, Shittu diverted it past Royce and into his own net. Shittu had to go for it otherwise Cort would have scored and the linesmen spotted this to flag Cort offside.
Seeing it on TV it was offside and a very good decision but that didn't go down well with the locals who booed their heads off at us cockney cheats and the wanker in the black.
We continued to have a go but still didn't look like scoring Ainsworth and Bean came on but it didn't change much, Santos had one header drift over the bar and Moore totally miss kicked a decent chance from inside the box.
During injury time Wolves got a third to put a more realistic look to the score line. Evatt tried to play offside but the rest of the back four didn't so Cort had the easy task of running through to claim his hat trick and is fifth goal against us in three games. He must love us.
The few fans remaining at the end clapped Rangers off but most were too angry or disappointed with a third poor performance on the road to hang around. In fairness to Rangers this was a better performance than the last two, but just turning up achieved that.
We tired to pass the ball around and kept possession well against a very good side but never really hurt them enough. Wolves do look a good side, Kenny Miller, Rohan Ricketts, Carl Cort and Leon Clarke were a class above Rangers and on this form they'll take some stopping this season.
Going forward I thought we knocked it about well in the second half but never really got behind them in the way they were doing to us. Gallen and Furlong did ok but we do need a Dean Sturridge type player if we are to play it on the floor to make runs in behind the back four. Doherty was looking for that pass all night but Gallen and Furs are not that type of player to make those runs.
I think we are not too far away from having a really good side but a bit like when we resigned Gallen we need that man to click it all together and I still think that's Richard Langley. I fear if we don't sign him today or someone like him to support the front two from midfield then we're in trouble this season as I can't see where the goals are coming from. Bring in Langers and we will at least look more of a threat from set pieces and I think if him or Rowlands played in central midfield with Doherty we'd be a good side.
Oh well travelling with QPR hasn't been much fun this season so far, it's off to Southampton next which isn't the best place to go looking for our first away win since March.
Man
of the Match: Simon
Royce
Players Ratings:
Royce 8, Evatt
7, Milanese 7, Shittu
5, Santos 7, Bignot
6, Bircham 7 (Bean 7)
Doherty 7 (Ainsworth
6)Moore 6, Gallen 7,
Furlong 6