| Coca Cola Championship | |
| Tuesday September 30th | |
|
Queens
Park Rangers 1
|
Blackpool 1 |
| D.Blackstock | G.Taylor-Fletcher |
Apologies for the late report this week which is due to a number of reasons that I won't bore you with. Anyway on with the report. Iain Dowie made two changes to the side that lost to Derby as we looked to bounce back against Simon Graysons Blackpool side. Peter Ramage returned in place of Matthew Connolly who I assume was injured but may have been dropped for his dire marking which gave Emmanuel Villa a free header for the second goal on Saturday. Lee Cook was back from injury and took his place on the left wing in place of Akos Buzsaky who dropped to the bench as Dowie continued with the 4-2-3-1 formation that had served us well for the first few weeks of the season. Rangers started brightly looking to put Saturdays defeat behind us and Lee Cook in particular looked lively on the left whilst Parejo was always looking for the ball but not having much joy in possession. Chances were hard to come by though against a well drilled Blackpool side and Rangers were reduced to long range efforts in the first ten minutes with Ledesma, Cook and Rowlands all shooting over the bar. Rangers best chance fell to Rowlands after a nice build up as Cook ran with the ball and played a lovely cross into Blackstock who laid it off to Rowlands but the Rangers captain sliced his shot wide from six yards out. He really should have scored and that was an indication of how Rowlands night was going to go as everything he tried seemed to go wrong. Against the run of platy Rangers then found themselves a goal behind as Blackpool scored with their first real attack. A long goal kick was headed away by Stewart as far as Taylor-Fletcher and the ball fell nicely for him on the volley as he struck it with power and precision into the top corner giving Cerny no chance. It was a bolt out of the blue for Rangers and one we didn't recover from until half time. Rangers continued to have the better of the chances in the first half but the visitors were well organised and had a game plan to stop us playing which worked to perfection. Rangers were reduced to long range efforts from midfield with Ledesma and Rowlands both failing to find the target. Our main threat was Lee Cook who put
in two great crosses. The first was just nudged away from Blackstock
as he dived in to try and get on the end of it whilst another ball
in was headed wide by Blackstock when he should have done better. Radek Cerny almost gifted Blackpool a second goal as he came racing out of goal and tried to tackle Burgess but ran straight past him leaving Blackpool with an open goal but credit toy Hall and Mahon who got back and blocked the shot and gave a bollocking to the keeper who must be on borrowed time in the QPR goal. Gavin Mahon was doing a decent holding job but Parejo was coming far too deep to get the ball leaving us with possession in our own half but Blackpool happy to let us pass along our back four then closed down Parejo to deny him space and he would inevitably give the ball away. Parejo was getting the blame but he wasn't helped by the lack of movement by the full backs who rarely got forward and Rowlands was having to come deep leaving Blackstock isolated. It was all a bit of a mess and personally I'd have pushed Parejo forward closer to Ledesma where the two can combine and give Rowlands a more orthodox central midfield role which he can do well. Nevertheless Rangers continued with this patter and although dominated possession couldn't find a goal. When we did get chances Blackstock seemed shocked to get the ball and one great ball by Ledesma aimed right at his head saw Blackstock try and control it with his chest and saw it bobble away to safety. A few boos greeted the half time whistle, it was pretty poor so far from Rangers and the fans got their wish as Dowie went to 4-4-2 taking off Parejo and Ledesma in the process. Agyemang came on to partner Blackstock whilst Leigterwood slotted into midfield with Rowlands going to the right. Rangers started the half well and continued to dominate but looked more of a threat attacking the Loft end. Rangers won an early corner which Rowlands swung in and Blackstock found space at the far post only to head over the bar. It was all Rangers as Leigterwood then found Cook who cut inside and burst into the box only to see his shot well saved by the keeper. It was corner after corner for Rangers and the delivery was top class with Cook's ball in finding Agyemang who headed wide. Rowlands then delivered from the right and found Blackstock at the far post to rise high and head into the back of the net. The celebrations were manic in the Loft
and lasted a good thirty seconds before it became clear the referee
had disallowed the goal. TV evidence shows that it was a push by
Blackstock but considering the amount of shoves he was getting in
the box which went unpunished I still think it was a harsh decision. Rangers continued to have chances but the disallowed goal took the wind from our sails and we began to look a little sorry for ourselves. Leigterwood went close with a long range shot whilst Rowlands wasted a great position from a free kick to curl the ball into the Loft. It really wasn't his night but credit to him for being a good captain and letting someone else take over the free kick duties when it was clear he was struggling. Rangers needed a boost and with nothing being created from open play Dowie opted to bring Buzsaky on for Mahon and the change was pretty instant. Buzsaky was straight in the action dribbling past players in midfield and looked a real threat. Agyemang beat two men before being brought down and this gave Buzsaky the chance he needed. The Hungarian lined up the free kick from 30 yards out and curled it over the ball and against the bar, just as we cried that this wasn't going to be our night the ball fell to Blackstock who headed into the empty net and we were back level. It was a deserved equaliser and we now looked in good shape to get a winner. Trouble was we then sat back and Blackpool looked the more threatening winning some free kicks and corners and playing the football in our half for a change. They created little for Cerny to worry about but we needed to get control. Rangers had one last flurry with a series of corners which came so close to bringing a winner. Buzsaky's ball in was headed by Stewart and deflected over the bar before deliveries from Cook and Buzsaky were scrambles clear to deny us a late winner. In the end Blackpool left with a draw and must be pleased with that. Rangers will point to the number of chances from set pieces and the amount of possession we had as a positive but the verdict of many leaving the ground was pretty downbeat. Personally I thought we played poorly in the first half but improved after the break. Our only real goal threat was set pieces though which is a bit of a worry. Very few players will be able to say they played well but among them will be Cook, Blackstock, Mahon and Buzsaky who all contributed more than most in a tough evening for Rangers. Arguably our three best players Parejo, Rowlands and Ledesma all had poor nights but all looked to give their all which is a good sign. Dowie will know that his team still needs time to gel and will have learnt much from this game, the most important thing was not to lose and despite some maniacs on message boards calling for his head, I think Dowie can be pretty pleased to be sitting in touch with the top six at this stage of the season. As for the 44-2 vs. 4-2-3-1 debate I'm with Dowie in thinking the system is not really that important and screaming over 4-4-2 is getting a bit tedious. I'm not against 4-4-2 if you have the players to play that formation and we don't have two forwards good enough to warrant leaving other players out. We do though have Buzsaky who's best position is just off the main striker, play the 4-2-3-1 and he can play that role and you have Cook, Ledesma, and Rowlands in the same side and we will create and score goals. At home I'd play Parejo and Rowlands as the 2 with Buzsaky further forward. That would be too attacking for away games like Birmingham, Reading etc but Forest at home should be a chance to try that. Where we went wrong in this game was not really the formation I just think we got sussed a bit and with the full backs refusing to cross the halfway line and Parejo and Mahon sitting too deep it didn't work but the same system did work well in other games. We'd have been better off swapping Parejo and Rowlands positions as Rowly knows how to play that role in the championship alongside a sitting player whilst Parejo wants and is good at coming for the ball and picking his passes from his own half, that will work in some games but with 10 men behind the ball and closing us down he had no chance. I don't think we should pick one formation and never change it, in games like Tuesday when a change is needed with the other side not attacking it is worth going 4-4-2 but If we just go back to that formation because that how we always play then I think we'll struggle as we'll have to leave out one of our best players every week. Of course if you believe the rumours De Canio was forced to change from his preferred way of playing to play an English 4-4-2 last season and if the same ultimatum is made to Dowie then I think we could see some trouble ahead. Anyway onwards and upwards, Rangers
face promotion favourites Birmingham on Saturday and no matter what
the team or formation is this will be a very tough test and one
that will tell us a lot about how far we have come since that Sheffield
United defeat. Man of the Match: Lee Cook Player Ratings: Cerby 5, Ramage 4, Stewart 6, Hall 6, Delaney 4, Parejo 5 (Leigterwood 6), Mahon 6 (Buzsaky 7), Ledesma 4 (Agyemang 6), Rowlands 4, Cook 7, Blackstock 7 |
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