Tuesday 12th January 2010
The FA Cup Third Round Replay
Loftus Road Stadium
Referee: Mr A Woolmer
Attendance: 5,780
Queens Park Rangers 2-3 Sheffield United
By The Godfather

Queens Park Rangers starting line-up: Cerny, Ramage, Stewart, Gorkss, Borrowdale, Routledge, Buzsaky, Faurlin, Leigertwood, Simpson, Agyemang.

Sheffield United starting line-up: Bunn, Morgan, Taylor, Seip, Geary, Montgomery, Williamson, Harper, Quinn, Evans, Cresswell.

5780 people attended this fixture. Obviously the cold weather will have put many off travelling to Loftus Road, but even so, I find this figure disappointing and, frankly, rather worrying. What does it say about the state of our club?

In many ways, this was the same old story for Queens Park Rangers. A combination of shocking defending and poor finishing in front of goal allowed Sheffield United to take the advantage. I have to say, when Richard Cresswell tapped into the net to make it 3-0 to the away side, I did think that the game had been put out of the Rs' reach. However, despite some bizarre (and unpopular) substitutions, Hart's men staged a late comeback, netting two goals and almost equalising in stoppage time.

I don't often single players out for bad performances in my match reports, but I must say that I thought the two full-backs were very poor on Tuesday night. Not only did they offer no attacking threat whatsoever; they also produced inept defensive displays. Borrowdale, for example, was at fault for two of the goals. Ramage kept drifting into a central position, forcing Gorkss to deal with the winger. This area of the squad is one that clearly needs strengthening, although I can't understand why Matthew Connolly isn't given a chance to impress in those positions.

On a more positive note, I was delighted by the performance of young forward, Antonio German, who came on as a substitute with about ten minutes remaining. After winning the set-piece that led to Stewart's goal, he came agonisingly close to equalising, taking two shots from inside the penalty area. In my view, he posed more of a threat in those final minutes than Patrick Agyemang did in the whole match.

After some absolutely dreadful pre-match music (an attempt to give the opposition a thumping headache, perhaps?), the teams were announced. Agyemang partnered Simpson up front, supported by Buzsaky and Routledge in the wide positions. Leigertwood and Faurlin occupied the heart of midfield, whilst Ramage, Stewart, Gorkss and Borrowdale started in defence. Cerny kept his place in goal.

I was actually very encouraged by the start Rangers made. Early on, the defenders seemed to be actually communicating with each other and a number of Sheffield United free kicks were headed away with ease. If only that had continued...

The Rs were also looking dangerous in attack, and forced their first chance with just one minute on the clock. Ramage's throw-in found Simpson in the penalty area, who did well to knock the ball back to Leigertwood. Unfortunately, under pressure from Morgan and Seip, the midfielder could only smash it wide of the target.

In the 4th minute, the home team really should have broken the deadlock. This time it was Faurlin at the centre of the action, receiving the ball on the edge of the box from Routledge and curling it towards the bottom corner. Unfortunately, Bunn was able to push it to safety, with noone able to pounce on the rebound.

As I mentioned in my match preview, Sheffield United favour a very direct and unattractive style of football, heavy sliding tackles being a common feature of their game. And, in the 8th minute, I felt that Ched Evans was lucky to escape with just a yellow card for what was an appalling challenge on Kaspars Gorkss. Had the referee dealt out a red, I expect things would have turned out very differently.

QPR squandered another fantastic opportunity in the 10th minute, when Patrick Agyemang's cross-come-shot deflected off Morgan and into the arms of Bunn. It was so nearly an own goal, but I couldn't help thinking that the Rangers players could have reacted quicker and got to the ball before the goalkeeper.

Next it was Jay Simpson to throw away a golden opportunity. In the 14th minute, Peter Ramage's cross found the Arsenal loanee unmarked in the penalty area, but his header flashed wide of Bunn's right-hand post. He really should have done better.

Then, disaster struck.

In the 18th minute, Ramage allowed Montgomery to cut inside and send in a looping cross to the back post. With Borrowdale nowhere to be seen, the unmarked Williamson tucked the ball into the bottom corner of the net. It was so frustrating to see the Rs dominate the opening exchanges and then concede in such a careless fashion.

This point marked the collapse of the Super Hoops' defence. Suddenly the back four looked nervous and fragile. Despite this, QPR responded by forcing two decent chances. First, in the 27th minute, Faurlin played a brilliant ball through to Simpson on the edge of the area, but the young forward drove his shot well wide. Then, in the 31st minute, Buzsaky skipped past a couple of players and sent a 25-yard half-volley sailing just wide of the target.

However, eight minutes later, Sheffield United should have doubled their advantage. James Harper's floated ball put Ched Evans through on goal. For a moment, there was a stunned silence as the home crowd realised that the linesman had not raised his flag. With all the time and space he could have wanted, the former Manchester City striker inexcusably smashed it against the crossbar. A very fortunate escape for Queens Park Rangers.

At the other end, United had a lucky escape of their own in the 42nd minute. Borrowdale did well to force a corner down the left flank and the resulting set piece found Gorkss at the far post. His header was somehow cleared off the line.

Bookings: Evans

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

Rangers started the second half well. In the 50th minute, Ramage's through-pass released Routledge down the right flank. To my frustration, no Rs players had made the effort to run into the penalty area and the diminutive winger's cross sailed harmlessly out of play.

Ten minutes later, Faurlin, who was producing an excellent display once again, carved out another opportunity. Receiving the ball on the edge of the area with his back to goal, the Argentine skilfully turned and unleashed a powerful drive, which went just over the crossbar.

Sheffield United substitution: Williamson off for Ward (66 minutes).

Unfortunately, Kevin Blackwell's substitution bore fruit almost immediately. In the 67th minute, Stephen Quinn received the ball on United's left-hand side and picked out Jamie Ward in acres of space on the right flank. What was Borrowdale doing? The talented forward ran into the penalty area and unleashed a rather weak shot, which still managed to creep under Cerny and into the back of the net. Perhaps the Czech could have done better, but ultimately the responsibility for the goal has to lie with the QPR left back.

Paul Hart's response was to bring on Adel Taraabt at the expense of Alejandro Faurlin. I felt that this was a completely bizarre substitution. The Argentine had been the best player on the pitch by a considerable distance. Therefore, it wasn't surprising that the crowd's reaction was angry, crying "you don't know what you're doing".

And then, straight from the kick-off, Sheffield United added a third. Rangers gave away possession cheaply, allowing Ward to progress down the flank. His low cross found Cresswell unmarked in the penalty area, who carried out the simple task of tapping the ball past Cerny and into the top corner of the net. Cresswell has now scored in each of the three meetings between these sides this season - no doubt he will be looking forward to the league fixture at Bramall Lane later in the campaign.

To QPR's credit, they did respond immediately. In the 71st minute, Taraabt received the ball on the edge of the penalty box and smashed a shot towards goal, which appeared to strike the hand of a Sheffield United defender. Mr Woolmer pointed to the spot, the penalty being converted by Akos Buzsaky, who drilled it into the bottom corner of the net.

Sheffield United substitution: Cresswell off for Henderson (74 minutes).

Sheffield United substitution: Geary off for Walker (81 minutes).

Hart's next substitution was also surprising, with Jay Simpson being replaced by Antonio German in the 80th minute. I agreed with the decision to give the young forward a chance to impress, but I couldn't understand why the manager didn't take off Agyemang or one of the fullbacks instead of Simpson.

German's impact was immediate. Suddenly the Rs looked a little more threatening in attack, and it was the youngster who won the free kick that led to the home side's second goal of the night. In the 87th minute, German was brought down just outside the penalty area and Buzsaky took the resulting set piece. The Hungarian's excellent cross found Stewart at the near post, who headed into the bottom corner of the net.

When the Fourth Official signalled for five minutes of stoppage time, there was a real sense of belief around Loftus Road. Unfortunately, though, the equaliser just wouldn't come. Antonio German came close to taking the tie to extra time on two occasions. First, receiving the ball on the edge of the area, he skilfully twisted and curled a shot agonisingly wide of Bunn's right-hand post. Then, after turning a defender in the penalty area, he forced the goalkeeper into a dramatic save, palming it out to safety.

However, Sheffield United managed to hold on, and after five minutes of stoppage time, the referee blew the final whistle, signalling the end to what had been an entertaining, but ultimately frustrating, encounter.

Bookings: Gorkss, Quinn, Seip.

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

What the managers said....

Paul Hart: "The way we started the second-half was a disaster. We've gone 15 games without a clean sheet and you can see why. That is a side of our game that has to improve. It was a very spirited comeback but it was too little, too late".

Kevin Blackwell: "Good first touch, wasn't it? (on Jamie Ward's second-half goal). We should have been two or three up by half-time so I'm glad we didn't have to rue those missed chances."

Conclusion

To conclude I would first like to question Kevin Blackwell's assertion that Sheffield United "should have been two or three up by half-time". Perhaps he had been watching a different match, as my impression was that Queens Park Rangers carved out far more clear-cut chances than the Blades did in the first period.

For me, this performance highlighted three things:
1. The absence of an experienced striker who can (i) convert opportunities and (ii) hold the ball up. Agyemang was simply not good enough on Tuesday night.
2. The lack of quality full-backs. Ramage and Borrowdale's positioning was, in short, absolutely appalling. They also do not pose enough of an attacking threat, leaving the Rs with very little width.
3. No leader in central midfield. I was very disappointed by Leigertwood's performance. As the team captain, he should be giving out orders and producing inspiring displays in the middle of the park.

Until these issues are addressed, Queens Park Rangers will not move forward as a team.

Man of the match: Alejandro Faurlin. Should never have been substituted. This was another excellent performance from the Argentine, distributing the ball brilliantly and giving the team some much-needed creativity in the heart of midfield.