Tuesday 23rd March 2010
The Coca Cola Championship
Loftus Road Stadium
Referee: Mr Wright
Attendance: 12,569
Queens Park Rangers 1-1 Derby County
By The Godfather

Queens Park Rangers starting line-up: Ikeme, Ramage, Stewart, Leigertwood, Vine, Gorkss, Connolly, Cook, Faurlin, Simpson, Taraabt.

Derby County starting line-up: Bywater, McEverley, Green, Savage, Barker, Pearson, Tonge, Hunt, Anderson, Sunu.

Well, this really was a frustrating night at Loftus Road. Not only was the result disappointing; the performance of the referee was nothing short of disgraceful. On very few occasions have I seen such an inconsistent official, with Derby often benefiting from his incompetence.

It would be inaccurate, however, to suggest that the Rs' failure to take three points was entirely down to the performance of the referee. After a brilliant start to the game, Warnock's men resorted to hoofing the ball up the pitch far too often, something that suited Derby very well indeed. Had QPR continued to open up the Rams' vulnerable defence with neat passing movements, the result may well have been very different.

Warnock made three changes to the starting line-up, finally choosing to drop the lazy Tamas Priskin, and replacing him with a striking partnership of Rowan Vine and Jay Simpson. Hogan Ephraim also lost his place, with Lee Cook returning to the left flank. Meanwhile, Damion Stewart partnered Kaspars Gorkss in central defence after serving his one-match suspension.

Queens Park Rangers made an explosive start to the match, and possibly could have been four goals up within 20 minutes. First, Simpson received the ball on the edge of the area, turned his defender, and forced a superb diving save from Steven Bywater. Then, an excellent through-pass from Faurlin found its way to Connolly inside the penalty area, but the former Arsenal man could only smash his shot straight at the Rams goalkeeper.

In the 12th minute, Jay Simpson met Gorkss' low cross at the near post, but, to my despair, Barker managed to block the loanee's effort with a last-ditch challenge. Moments later, Faurlin unleashed a powerful 25-yard drive, which Bywater somehow managed to parry away.

At this point, I thought that Rangers might be able to deal out a thrashing, but they were unable to continue the momentum. Derby began to settle, and managed to carve out their first chance of the match in the 28th minute. A low cross was sent curling into the penalty area, finding Sunu, whose shot was well-blocked by Gorkss.

Two minutes later, Mr Wright felt it necessary to make his first mark on proceedings, awarding a free kick to Derby County just outside the area. It looked to me as if Damion Stewart had won the ball. Fortunately, Savage's resulting set piece was saved comfortably by Ikeme.

In the 32nd minute, Warnock was forced to make his first substitution, taking off Matthew Connolly, who appeared to have picked up a knock. Matthew Hill, whose performances have been below par recently, had to replace him.

Just as it seemed that Queens Park Rangers would have to settle for a goalless half time scoreline, they took the lead in some style. Taraabt was the provider, winning the ball inside Derby's half and passing to Lee Cook on the left-flank. The winger did brilliantly, cutting inside and smashing it into the bottom corner of the net.

Half-time scoreline: Queens Park Rangers 1-0 Derby County

Derby County substitution: Lea**** on for Sunu (45 minutes).

At times during the second half, I thought I was watching a rugby match, with both teams launching the ball aimlessly into the air. I felt that this played into Derby's hands - the Rs were making life difficult for themselves against a very poor team.

In the 51st minute, Tonge's corner skidded off the wet surface and was fumbled by Ikeme. Luckily, Damion Stewart was able to smash the ball clear before Porter could tap it into the net.

The referee was at the centre of the action once again in the 55th minute, harshly showing a yellow card to Alejandro Faurlin for what was deemed a foul from behind. Interestingly, Mr Wright had not booked Robbie Savage for a similar offence during the first half...

A minute later, Warnock was forced to make his second substitution of the match, due to what was possibly another injury. Lee Cook was replaced by Antonio German.

Derby County substitution: Hunt off for Davies (60 minutes).

Then, disaster stuck. In the 66th minute, yet another long-ball from Robbie Savage found its way to Barker on the edge of the area, who chested it down and fired into the bottom corner of the net.

The QPR manager responded by substituting Jay Simpson for Hogan Ephraim. I didn't feel Hogan made much of an impact during the twenty minutes or so he was on the pitch.

It was at this point that Steven Bywater really started to take his time over goal kicks, something that led to him remonstrating with a supporter in the Lower Loft. After such a dreadful performance, it wasn't surprising that the referee didn't penalise him for time wasting.

Derby County substitution: Porter off for Hulse (82 minutes).

The final opportunity of the match came in the 84th minute. German released Vine with a superb flick, and the former Luton striker smacked his shot against the crossbar. I knew it wasn't going to be QPR's day at that point...

Bookings: Faurlin, Lea****.

Conclusion

In short, this was a case of two points dropped rather than one gained. It was clear that Derby are a very poor side, and Rangers should probably have killed the game off within 20 minutes. Once again, this illustrates the need for a proven goalscorer, someone who is going to bury the chances that the Super Hoops create.

Warnock has said that he is looking to bring a new player in this week, which would mean that one of the current loanees would have to return to their parent club. Surely Priskin or Hill has to go? Frankly, I would consider getting rid of both of them.

Man of the match: Peter Ramage - A solid performance from Ramage on Tuesday night. I get the impression that he has done some very hard work on the training pitch with Neil Warnock. He seemed to look for the simple pass, which served him well.