Monday 13th April 2009
Loftus Road Stadium
Referee: D Deadman
Attendance: 13742
Queens Park Rangers 3-2 Sheffield Wednesday
By thegodfather

Queens Park Rangers starting line-up: Cerny, Stewart, Mahon, Routledge, Gorkss, Ramage, Connolly, Cook, Lopez, Helguson, Taraabt.

Sheffield Wednesday starting line-up: Grant, Spurr, Hinds, Tudgay, Potter, Esajas, Varney, Wood, O’Connor, Clarke, Buxton.

I was expecting this to be a dull encounter between two teams occupying the middle positions of the Championship table. I was also worried that the events of the last few days would have an unsettling effect on the QPR players. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Rangers looked really ‘up’ for this match. The Rs controlled the majority of the game, passing the ball around quickly and effectively and making good use of Routledge and Cook on the wings. After Sheffield Wednesday had taken an undeserved 2-0 lead, Ainsworth’s men dug deep and produced a splendid comeback, with goals from Vine, Mahon and Stewart clinching victory for the Rs. In truth, Queens Park Rangers should have scored far more but squandered many chances to do so.

This was one of the better performances I have seen from QPR at home this season. On the whole, the team retained possession of the ball very well and passed it with great confidence and accuracy, a legacy perhaps from Paulo Sousa’s continental training techniques.

Gareth Ainsworth retained the 4-5-1 formation but Adel Taraabt took a more advanced role playing just behind Heidar Helguson, who had made a surprise come-back from injury. Jordi Lopez returned to the starting line-up with Gavin Mahon playing alongside him in central midfield. Cook and Routledge occupied the wings. Damion Stewart partnered Kaspars Gorkss in the heart of defence, whilst Ramage and Connolly took up the full-back positions.

QPR started the game a little nervously, which was understandable given the events of the last few days. Wednesday capitalised upon this nervousness and forced the first chance of the match in the 2nd minute. Esajas whipped in a cross from the left flank, finding Tudgay whose scuffed shot seemed to be trickling towards the bottom corner of the net. Fortunately, Cerny managed to scramble across his goal line and palm the ball to safety.

Despite this fortunate escape, Rangers began to settle into the game and started to dominate proceedings. In the 14th minute, Heidar Helguson raced down the left wing and curled the ball across to Taraabt, who could only slice his effort over the bar.

The Hoops continued to attack and were unlucky not to take the lead in the 15th minute. A good pass from Taraabt found Lopez on the edge of the area. The Spaniard allowed Helguson to break through into the penalty area with a fine ball but the Icelandic forward dragged his shot wide of the target.

In the 19th minute, Matthew Connolly raced through central midfield and released Routledge through on goal with a neat pass. To my despair, the tricky winger poked the ball against the post and it was smashed out of play by a Wednesday defender. The danger was not over yet though for the visitors, as Lopez found Stewart from the resulting corner, but his header was cleared off the line.

Jordi Lopez was the next to squander a golden opportunity when Helguson played him through on goal in the 22nd minute. Under pressure from the Wednesday goalkeeper, Lee Grant, the Spaniard sent the ball spinning agonisingly wide of the goal.

And then disaster struck. In the 34th minute, Esajas drilled in a cross to the near post. Mahon got in Cerny’s way and accidentally headed the ball into his own net. I was desperately disappointed for Mahon who really did play his heart out today.

Despite this setback Queens Park Rangers continued to apply the pressure and almost equalised in the 37th minute. Some wonderful skill from Taraabt allowed Helguson to move into the penalty area, only for him to smack the ball against the post.

Lopez was next to try his luck in the 44th minute. Receiving the ball on the edge of the area, he beat a Wednesday defender and unleashed a powerful shot, forcing Grant into tipping it over the bar.

Heidar Helguson finally did hit the back of the net during first-half stoppage time, only for the goal to be ruled out by the linesman for offside. Adel Taraabt was then booked for diving on the edge of the penalty area.

Half time score: Queens Park Rangers 0-1 Sheffield Wednesday

Sheffield Wednesday manager, Brian Laws, made a substitution, replacing the tiring Richard Wood with Mark Beevers. Clearly the decision had an impact as the visitors doubled their advantage in the 51st minute.

Clarke got in between Stewart and Gorkss in the penalty area and as the Rangers defenders attempted to take the ball, they seemed to bring him to the ground. Mr Deadman immediately pointed to the spot. I will have to see this again on tomorrow’s TV highlights. Marcus Tudgay took the resulting penalty and calmly slotted the ball down the middle of the goal.

It really was incredible that Wednesday had managed to build a 2-0 lead given that the Rs had been by far the better side. I really thought it was going to be one of those days. Gareth Ainsworth responded by bringing on Rowan Vine for Adel Taraabt, switching to a 4-4-2 formation. This substitution would prove to be a key decision.

In the 61st minute, Routledge received the ball in central midfield and raced through on goal. Despite being tugged and pushed all along the way, he managed to stay on his feet and shoot on goal. Grant saved it but could only push the ball into the path of the predatory Rowan Vine who instinctively arrived just at the right time in the box and tapped it into the back of the net. This was Vine’s first goal after his lengthy injury and it was so pleasing to see him back to what he does best.

Ainsworth then made his second substitution, replacing Jordi Lopez with Hogan Ephraim. Lopez played very well today and I can only assume that this decision was made in light of his recent injury.

In the 73rd minute, after his corner had been only half-cleared, the ball fell to Lee Cook on the right flank. The winger produced a wonderful cross to the far-post, finding Gavin Mahon whose diving header flew into the back of the net. I was delighted for Gavin that he was able to put his own goal in the first half behind him.

Both managers then made substitutions. Ainsworth took off Mahon for Leigertwood, whilst Brian Laws replaced O’Connor and Esajas with Johnson and Sodje. I was pleased to see the back of Esajas because he seemed to be the Owls’ most prominent attacking threat.

In the 80th minute, Heidar Helguson appeared to be elbowed in the face by Mark Beevers in the penalty area. However, to my surprise, the macabrely named Mr Deadman awarded a free kick on the edge of the box to the Rs, while Beevers escaped with a booking. Unfortunately, Lee Cook’s set piece was fired into the wall and cleared.

In the 86th minute, Queens Park Rangers finally got what they deserved. Another splendid cross from Lee Cook found Stewart at the far post, who smashed his header into the bottom corner of the net to send the home supporters into wild celebration.

However, the fans’ joy soon turned to apprehension when the Fourth Official indicated that there would be six minutes of stoppage time, much of which was due to another elbowing incident. This saw Kaspars Gorkss receive lengthy treatment before finally returning to the field of play sporting a huge bandage. Sheffield Wednesday pushed for an equaliser and for a moment appeared to have got it in the 93rd minute, when Potter sent a 20-yard screamer flying towards the top corner of the goal. Fortunately, Radek Cerny was on hand to push the ball over the bar.

After what had seemed an eternity, Mr Deadman finally signalled the death of the game by blowing the full-time whistle. Queens Park Rangers had deservedly won!

Full-time score: Queens Park Rangers 3-2 Sheffield Wednesday

What the managers said…..

QPR Caretaker Manager, Gareth Ainsworth: "It was down to a fantastic bunch of lads in the dressing room. We dominated the first half and could have been three or four up. All the raised voices at half-time came from Sheffield Wednesday's dressing room. We kept calm, knew we were doing the right things and, although I had a little flutter at 2-0 down, I still had faith."

Sheffield Wednesday Manager, Brian Laws: "We were fortunate to be two goals up. We started nervously and defended like a pub team. There were poor performances and they never stopped. Defensively that was the worst I've seen. It was like the Keystone Kops. If you do go 2-0 up you should never let it go like that. You could see the writing on the wall and it bitterly disappoints me."

Conclusion

First, I would like to applaud Brian Laws’ refreshing honesty in his appraisal of the game. This was indeed a one-sided affair despite the scoreline. I think that Ainsworth’s decision to switch to a 4-4-2 formation when he brought on Vine was key to the Rs coming away with the three points. It gave Rangers a much-needed cutting-edge up front. I can’t help but think that if Sousa had opted to be more adventurous at home during his tenure, he would still be in the job.

I thought that Rangers thoroughly deserved their victory today. They could have scored even more than three goals. Once again, today’s game highlighted the importance of having a decent striker who will convert all of these chances the Rs are creating.

Hopefully, Ainsworth can build on today’s performance and perhaps dent Wolves’ title challenge when the Rs travel up to Molineux next Saturday.

Man of the Match: - Lee Cook. There are a number of contenders for this award but I feel that Cook is the one who deserves it. He seemed to get really stuck in during the second half, which may be surprising to some reading this report. He also provided the assists for two of QPR’s goals. Well done Lee!