Tuesday 1st February 2011
Npower Football League Championship
Loftus Road Stadium
Referee: G K Hegley
Attendance: 14,078
Queens Park Rangers 2-0 Portsmouth
By The Godfather

Queens Park Rangers starting line-up: Kenny, Orr, Connolly, Gorkss, Hill, Faurlin, Derry, Routledge (Hall 84), Taarabt (Vaagen Moen 92), Ephraim, Miller (Hulse 69).

Portsmouth starting line-up: Ashdown, De Laet, Halford, Mokoena, Hreidarsson, Ward (Ciftci 83), Hogg, Mullins, Lawrence, Nugent, Kitson.

Queens Park Rangers secured a vital 2-0 victory over Portsmouth on Tuesday night, maintaining their five-point lead at the top of the Championship. This was a very scrappy encounter, with Pompey closing down the likes of Taarabt, Faurlin and Routledge at every opportunity, a tactic which led to them being the better of the two teams in the first half. However, an abysmal piece of goalkeeping, reminiscent of Robert Green’s mistake at the World Cup, gifted QPR a second half lead, which no doubt demoralised Cotterill’s men. Clint Hill sealed the three points in the 73rd minute with a powerful header.

In truth, this was not a particularly impressive performance from Queens Park Rangers. At times they seemed to struggle against Portsmouth’s sheer aggression, especially during the first period. The defence, in particular, appeared vulnerable against the striking partnership of Kitson and Nugent. However, it is important to stress that this is a sign of Champions: the ability to win games without necessarily performing well.

Warnock made one change to the side that drew with Hull City last Saturday. Hogan Ephraim replaced the injured Tommy Smith on the right flank, whilst Taraabt, Routledge and Miller all retained their attacking positions. Derry and Faurlin occupied central midfield, supported by a back four consisting of Hill, Connolly, Gorkss and Orr. The in-form Paddy Kenny continued in goal.

Portsmouth started the match strongly, forcing two free-kicks in dangerous positions, the first of which found the head of Greg Halford, who headed straight at Kenny. Central midfielder and set piece taker, Liam Lawrence, was quickly making himself unpopular with the Loftus Road crowd. Whilst he is clearly a talented player, he obviously has an attitude problem and on numerous occasions fell dramatically to the floor under very little pressure.

Cotterill’s men were most certainly dominant and probably should have taken the lead in the 23rd minute. Dave Kitson, who always seems to cause the Super Hoops problems, progressed into the penalty area and attempted to lift the ball over the onrushing Paddy Kenny. Fortunately, his effort sailed just over the crossbar.

Ten minutes later, Pompey came even closer to breaking the deadlock. When Kenny miscued his clearance, the ball fell to Liam Lawrence, who charged towards goal. Connolly brought him down and was booked for the foul. Lawrence’s subsequent set piece was superbly palmed away by Paddy Kenny.

Half-time scoreline: Queens Park Rangers 0-0 Portsmouth

With the news that Nottingham Forest and Swansea were both winning at half time, there was a real sense of tension around Loftus Road. Queens Park Rangers desperately needed a victory here and clearly had to make an improvement on their first half performance.

To the Super Hoops’ credit, they did seem far more dangerous in attack than they had done before the break. A minute into the second half, Taraabt received the ball in Pompey’s half and sprinted into the penalty area, beating several players in the process. He eventually found the unmarked Miller, but the West Brom loanee could only fire wide of the target.

Portsmouth were still proving difficult to break down and it needed a terrible mistake from Jamie Ashdown for Warnock’s men to take the lead. Adel Taraabt charged towards the penalty area and, despite Hogan Ephraim being in a far better position, selfishly chose to shoot. The Moroccan’s effort was a weak one, but the Pompey goalkeeper inexcusably dropped the ball into his own net.

Pompey did have an opportunity to equalise minutes later, but squandered it. Once again, Lawrence was the provider, passing to Jonathan Hogg inside the penalty area. However, he dragged his shot well wide of Kenny’s right hand post.

QPR sealed the victory in the 73rd minute. Taraabt’s corner found Clint Hill in the box, who sent his powerful header into the roof of the net. The Rs probably didn’t deserve to be winning so comfortably: but, unlike Pompey, they didn’t make such abysmal defensive errors.

Portsmouth did force a very late opportunity. After a spell of pressure on the QPR defence, the ball fell to Ciftci inside the penalty area, but his effort was denied by a superb close-range save by Paddy Kenny.

Full-time scoreline: Queens Park Rangers 2-0 Portsmouth

Man of the match: Paddy Kenny - pulled off several top class saves. The fact that Warnock immediately congratulated his goalkeeper at the end of the game demonstrates just how much the manager values him. He is quickly becoming a favourite with the supporters.