Kiwomya and Hitchcock haunt Ipswich - history
Thursday, 9th Jan 2014 23:42 by Clive Whittingham

Ahead of the trip to Ipswich on Saturday LFW looks back at the recent meetings between the sides, including Tom Hitchcock’s last minute winner in August, and the career of Chris Kiwomya.

Recent Meetings

QPR 1 Ipswich Town 0, Saturday August 17, 2013, Championship

Rangers left it very late to win the first meeting between these sides this season at Loftus Road back in August. The visitors seemed more than happy with their 0-0 draw at a newly relegated side and a dire encounter was threatening to drift away into a bland mess of time wasting and scrappy midfield play. But Harry Redknapp introduced youth team product Tom Hitchock with seven minutes remaining, removing ineffective Bobby Zamora into the bargain, and when Town keeper Scott Loach palmed an injury time effort on goal away to his left the youngster was in exactly the right place at the right time to slam in his first goal for the senior team and win the match. Hitchcock hasn’t played a single minute for the first team since, but did score three goals in six starts on loan at League One Crewe.

QPR: R Green 7, D Simpson 6, R Dunne 6, N Onuoha 7, C Hill 6, S Wright-Phillips 6, K Henry 6 (J Jenas, 77, 6), J Barton 8, D Hoilett 6 (G O'Neil, 56, 8), B Zamora 5 (T Hitchcock, 83, -), C Austin 6

Subs not used: B Murphy, M Ehmer, Yun Suk-Young, M Sharif

Goals: Hitchock 90 (assisted Austin/Wright Phillips)

Ipswich S Loach 7, E Hewitt 6, L Chambers 6, T Smith 6, A Cresswell 7, J Tabb 6, C Skuse 6 (R Tunnicliffe, 45, 6), C Edwards 5, L Hyam 6, D Murphy 6 (P Taylor, 63, 5 (F Nouble, 86, -)), D McGoldrick 6

Subs not used: M Crowe, F Veseli, C Berra, P Anderson

Bookings: Tabb 60 (foul)

QPR 2 Ipswich Town 0, Tuesday February 23, 2011, Championship

QPR had been in free-scoring, free-wheeling form when they won easily at Portman Road in the first meeting between these sides in the R’s 2010/11 promotion season. By the time the Tractor Boys, by now under the new management of Paul Jewell, came to Loftus Road there was a nervousness about the QPR team and a grinding nature to the wins they were somehow continuing to clock up. A 2-0 midweek win against Portsmouth owed much to goalkeeping errors and a subsequent success at Reading had been achieved while playing for an hour with ten men. Draws against ten man Nottingham Forest and soon to be relegated Preston followed and when Ipswich veteran Jimmy Bullard dictated the pattern of the first half here there was an air of apprehension about the place. Step forward Clint Hill, fast winning hearts and minds after a summer move from Crystal Palace, who followed up his thumping header against Pompey with another here in similar circumstances. Suddenly Bullard’s influence had been nullified and having taken the lead 13 minutes from time Rangers then doubled that advantage when Helguson forced in from close range after Hill had attacked another corner well. A 3-0 weekend win at Middlesbrough followed as the march towards the league title picked up pace.

QPR: Kenny 7, Orr 6, Hall 8, Shittu 8 (Connolly 90, -), Hill 8, Derry 7, Faurlin 7, Routledge 6, Taarabt 6, Miller 6 (Buzsaky 75, 7), Helguson 6

Subs Not Used: Cerny, Gorkss, Hulse, Moen, Chimbonda

Goals: Hill 77 (assisted Taarabt), Helguson 83 (assisted Hill)

Ipswich: Fulop 5, Edwards 6, Delaney 7, McAuley 7, Kennedy 6, Bullard 7, Leadbitter 6, Healy 6 (Drury 40, 6), Martin 6 (Civelli 84, -), Wickham 7, Scotland 5 (Priskin 71, 5)

Subs Not Used: Lee-Barrett, Peters, Smith, O'Dea

Booked: Kennedy (foul)

Ipswich Town 0 QPR 3, Tuesday September 14, 2010, Championship

This was a battle between first and third when the teams met at Portman Road in September 2010 — a battle QPR came out firmly on top in. Neil Warnock’s Rangers had started the season in scintillating form with four wins and a draw from their first five league games and four clean sheets into the bargain. That progress was threatened by long term injuries to two right backs picked up in a 3-0 home win against Middlesbrough just three days before the difficult looking trip to Portman Road but with both Bradley Orr and Peter Ramage unavailable Warnock pulled a rabbit out of the hat in the form of Kyle Walker on loan from Spurs. The speedy youngster was a tremendous addition to the side and looked right at home immediately in the teaming Suffolk rain. Rangers went in at half time two to the good thanks to a brace from the in form Jamie Mackie. First he showed great persistence in the penalty area to score at the second attempt after being set up by Heidar Helguson, then ten minutes later he accelerated past the Ipswich defence in a swift counter attack and buried a low shot into the far corner from the edge of the box. Ipswich had been set up to contain QPR rather than hurt them and, having seen that plan destroyed, manager Roy Keane was unable to kick start a plan B for the second half. QPR extended their lead from the penalty spot through Heidar Helguson although had the referee Keith Stroud waited a split second before blowing his whistle Akos Buzsaky had already ripped a 30 yarder into the top corner anyway. That strike rather summed up the emphatic nature of the victory and the R’s followed it up with a 2-0 win at Leicester that Saturday.

Ipswich: Fulop 6, Peters 6, McAuley 4, Smith 5, Kennedy 5, Edwards 5 (Brown 72, 5), Norris 5, Hyam 4 (Priskin 46, 4), Leadbitter 5, Townsend 5 (Wickham 46, 7), Scotland 5

Subs Not Used: Murphy, Eastman, Healy, Hourihane

Booked: Scotland (foul), Smith (foul), Leadbitter (foul)

QPR: Kenny 7, Walker 8, Gorkss 8, Connolly 8, Hill 7, Derry 8, Faurlin 6 (Buzsaky 36, 7), Ephraim 7, Taarabt 7 (Leigertwood 60, 7), Mackie 9 (Smith 80, 6), Helguson 8

Subs Not Used: Cerny, Agyemang, German, Parker

Goals: Mackie 31 (assisted Helguson), 42 (assisted Taarabt), Helguson 68 (penalty, won by Mackie)

Previous Results

Head to Head >>> Ipswich wins 28 >>> Draws 18 >>> QPR wins 24

2013/14 QPR 1 Ipswich 0 (Hitchcock)

2010/11 Ipswich 0 QPR 3 (Mackie 2, Helguson pen)

2009/10 QPR 1 Ipswich 2 (Simpson)

2009/10 Ipswich 3 QPR 0

2008/09 QPR 1 Ipswich 3 (Di Carmine)

2008/09 Ipswich 2 QPR 0

2007/08 Ipswich 0 QPR 0

2007/08 QPR 1 Ipswich 1 (Nygaard)

2006/07 Ipswich 2 QPR 1 (Furlong)

2006/07 QPR 1 Ipswich 3 (Gallen)

2005/06 Ipswich 2 QPR 2 (Moore, Furlong)

2005/06 QPR 2 Ipswich 1 (Rowlands, Gallen)

2004/05 Ipswich 0 QPR 2 (Furlong, Shittu)

2004/05 QPR 2 Ipswich 4 (Furlong 2)

1999/00 QPR 3 Ipswich 1 (Peacock, Koejoe, Kiwomya)

1999/00 Ipswich 1 QPR 4 (Steiner 2, Peacock, Wardley)

1998/99 Ipswich 3 QPR 1 (Kiwomya)

1998/99 QPR 1 Ipswich 1 (Gallen)

1997/98 QPR 0 Ipswich 0

1997/98 Ipswich 0 QPR 0

1996/97 Ipswich 2 QPR 0

1996/97 QPR 0 Ipswich 1

1994/95 Ipswich 0 QPR 1 (Ferdinand)

1994/95 QPR 1 Ipswich 2 (Ferdinand)

1993/94 Ipswich 1 QPR 3 (Impey 2, Ferdinand)

1993/94 QPR 3 Ipswich 0 (White 2, Barker)

1992/93 Ipswich 1 QPR 1 (White)

1992/93 QPR 0 Ipswich 0

1985/86 Ipswich 1 QPR 0

1985/86 QPR 1 Ipswich 0 (Byrne)

1984/85 QPR 3 Ipswich 0 (Fereday 2, Bannister)

1984/85 QPR 1 Ipswich 2* (Bannister)

1984/85 Ipswich 0 QPR 0*

1984/85 Ipswich 1 QPR 1 (Gregory)

1983/84 QPR 1 Ipswich 0 (C Allen)

1983/84 Ipswich 3 QPR 2* (Gregory, Stewart)

1983/84 Ipswich 0 QPR 2 (Gregory, Stainrod)

1978/79 QPR 0 Ipswich 4

1978/79 Ipswich 2 QPR 1 (Francis)

1977/78 QPR 3 Ipswich 3 (McGee 2, James)

1977/78 Ipswich 3 QPR 2 (McGee, Bowles (pen))

1976/77 QPR 1 Ipswich 0 (Givens)

1976/77 Ipswich 2 QPR 2 (Givens, Masson)

1975/76 QPR 3 Ipswich 1 (Thomas, Webb, Wark og)

1975/76 Ipswich 1 QPR 1 (Givens)

1974/75 Ipswich 2 QPR 1 (Gillard)

1974/75 QPR 1 Ipswich 0 (Francis)

1973/74 QPR 0 Ipswich 1

1973/74 Ipswich 1 QPR 0

1968/69 QPR 2 Ipswich 1 (Bridges, R Morgan)

1968/69 Ipswich 3 QPR 0

1967/68 Ipswich 2 QPR 2 (Marsh (pen), Leach)

1967/68 QPR 1 Ipswich 0 (Marsh)

1956/57 QPR 0 Ipswich 2

1956/57 Ipswich 4 QPR 0

1955/56 Ipswich 4 QPR 1 (Clark)

1955/56 QPR 1 Ipswich 1 (Clark)

1953/54 Ipswich 2 QPR 1 (Cameron)

1953/54 QPR 3 Ipswich 1 (Petchley, Woods, Shepherd)

1952/53 Ipswich 0 QPR 1 (Hatton)

1952/53 QPR 2 Ipswich 2 (Addinall 2)

1947/48 QPR 2 Ipswich 0 (Hatton, Boxshall)

1947/48 Ipswich 1 QPR 0

1946/47 Ipswich 1 QPR 1 (Hatton)

1946/47 QPR 1 Ipswich 3 (Hatton)

1945/46 Ipswich 0 QPR 2

1945/46 QPR 4 Ipswich 0

1938/39 Ipswich 1 QPR 0

1938/39 QPR 0 Ipswich 0

Connections

Chris Kiwomya >>> Ipswich 1987-1995 >>> QPR 1998-2001

Chris Kiwomya’s appointment and inevitable (this is Notts County after all) sacking as manager of Notts County back in 2013 sparked something of a debate on the LFW message board.

Was Kiwomya a poor player, much maligned for his attitude and work rate during the QPR relegation season of 2000/01, dragged in by a club that has worked its way through nine permanent managers since 2007 simply because no other idiot was foolish enough to take the job on? Or was this just rewards for somebody who, prior to that dreadful campaign under Gerry Francis and later Ian Holloway, had performed very commendably for Rangers and has since served a healthy internship as a coach for the youth and reserve set ups at firstly Ipswich and then later County?

Born in Huddersfield of Ugandan descent Kiwomya initially made his professional breakthrough down in Suffolk at Portman Road. He was reasonably hot property too - top scoring in the old Second Division in the 1991/92 promotion campaign that crucially won Ipswich a place in the inaugural Premier League. Rangers drew 0-0 with the Tractor Boys at Loftus Road that season despite dominating, and then 1-1 in the away game when Devon White’s first goal for the club only served to cancel out an earlier strike from Neil Thompson which frankly Tony Roberts should have been able to save with his limbs chained together.

Kiwomya built his reputation with Ipswich, scoring 64 goals in 259 appearances for a team that was often battling relegation from the top flight When they finally succumbed to the drop in 1994/95 Arsenal moved in and paid £1.25m for his services. This was an odd period in the Gunners’ history. The reign of manager George Graham had turned sour after league title wins in 1989 and 1991, FA and League Cup success in 1993, and a Cup Winners Cup win in 1994. Graham had been caught taking £425,000 in bungs from Norwegian agent Rune Hauge to aid the purchase of two of Hauge’s clients John Jensen and PÃ¥l Lydersen. Jensen, bought as a goalscoring midfielder after an impressive Euro 92, infamously only scored one goal in more than 150 appearances for the Gunners — against QPR. Rangers did win the game 3-1 though.

Kiwomya joined on the same day as young Luton striker John Hartson, but neither signing really looked like they had the wherewithal to help the Gunners challenge for trophies once again, and both arrived just as the club was about to go through an amazing transition. Bruce Rioch, a very similar manager to Graham in background and style, was brought in after a successful stint with Bolton Wanderers but he lasted just over a season (in which Arsenal finished fifth) before a dispute with first Ian Wright, and then the board over transfer funds led to his demise. The signing of Dennis Bergkamp from Inter Milan during Rioch’s reign showed where Arsenal were heading as a club and, after another prolonged caretaker spell under furture QPR boss Stewart Houston, Frenchman Arsene Wenger arrived and transformed the club forever. All this rather left Kiwomya (who only managed six starts, 11 sub appearances and three goals in three years at Highbury) and Hartson in a state of flux. Eventually Kiwomya tried his luck on loan in France with Le Havre and Malaysia with Selangor before his contract expired and Ray Harford picked him up on a free transfer for QPR prior to the start of the 1998/99 season.

Harford would last barely two months into the campaign before resigning and being replaced first by Iain Dowie on a caretaker basis and then returning hero Gerry Francis. It was then, with Rangers cash strapped, that Kiwomya really started to shine. As the R’s battled relegation he scored twice in a crucial 4-0 home win against Swindon Town and then wrote his name into the club’s folklore on the final day of the season.

Locked in a struggle at the bottom of the table with Oxford, Bury, Port Vale and Portsmouth, Rangers knew they needed a victory on the final day of the campaign at home to Crystal Palace to secure safety. Since the Swindon win the R;s had managed just one victory and a draw from eight matches and a 2-0 set back at Port Vale the week before in front of a huge travelling support — a fifth defeat on the spin — looked to have doomed them to the Second Division.

It’s always been my opinion that there was something very fishy about what happened next. Palace — financially stricken and in the midst of a messy divorce from owner Mark Goldberg — rolled over and died on a pitch bathed with sunshine and protest balloons in the most obvious and dramatic manner anybody could ever have imagined. When George Kulscar and Tony Scully are lashing in volleys from outside the penalty box something is seriously amiss, and the Kulscar goal in particular — the first of the game — looked eminently saveable only for keeper Kevin Miller to stand still and watch it go past him. Kiwomya scored possibly the lowest quality hat trick ever registered in the professional game and missed a penalty into the bargain and Rangers survived.

Francis rebuilt the team intelligently, adding Stewart Wardley’s hard running to the midfield along with youth team graduate Richard Langley, Jermaine Darlington’s pace to wide areas and most crucially Rob Steiner as a focal point for the attack. Kiwomya thrived, scoring 14 goals as Rangers finished tenth. A well taken late goal in a 3-2 March win at Walsall had put the R;s within touching distance of the play offs but a subsequent brace was only good enough to secure a draw at home to Norwich and the form fell away slightly — his final goal of the campaign capped a memorable 3-1 home win against his former club Ipswich who were heading for promotion at the time nevertheless. That was also the day of the lesser spotted Sammy Koejoe blockbuster as well.

So, despite being on the brink of financial ruin, hopes were reasonably high going into 2000/01 with impressive England Under 21 hopeful Clarke Carlisle added to the defence and Peter Crouch arriving from Spurs. However, crucially, Rangers lost Steiner to a career ending injury and Kiwomya never functioned as well without him. Kiwomya’s early season form was good — four goals in his first eight appearances - but a September away game at Barnsley saw QPR go in at half time three nil down and with disgruntled travelling fans massing around the tunnel at half time to give the players a piece of their minds Kiwomya didn’t cover himself in glory with an angry reaction. Although the striker then subsequently scored twice in the second half to threaten a comeback, the final score of 4-2 only served to plunge the team into greater difficulty. Kiwomya was in and out of the side thereafter with one niggly injury after another and the perception was he either wasn’t bothered, wasn’t trying, or both. He managed six appearances and no goals in the next four months, returning briefly to score twice in an FA Cup replay with Luton at Loftus Road and win through to a fourth round game with his old club Arsenal which Rangers promptly lost 6-0.

More time on the sidelines was broken briefly by a return and two goal haul as the R’s beat Barnsley 2-0 and Gillingham 1-0 as Francis made way for Ian Holloway but they were to be his last goals for the club. Holloway added Andy Thomson to the attack alongside Peter Crouch and at the end of the season, with the club now in administration, Kiwomya was one of dozens allowed to leave at the end of his contract. A record of 30 goals in 96 appearances for a mostly crap side stands up well on paper.

Spells in Denmark with Aalborg and the lower divisions with Grimsby preceded his retirement and coaching spells with first Arsenal, then Ipswich and finally Notts County. In the wake of Keith Curle’s sacking at Meadow Lane at the turn of this year, Kiwomya had a prolonged caretaker spell in charge of Notts County which brought three wins and six draws from 11 games. Ominously they lost three on the bounce following his permanent appointment but rallied with two wins and a draw from the final three games and finished the season twelfth.

An abysmal start to this season saw him sacked and replaced by Shaun Derry. The jury therefore remains out on his ability as a manager, and divided on whether he was any good for QPR or not.

Others >>> Danny Simpson, QPR 2013-present, Ipswich (loan) 2008 >>> Andros Townsend, QPR (loan) 2013, Ipswich (loan) 2010 >>> Brian Murphy, QPR 2011-present, Ipswich 2010-2011 >>> DJ Campbell, QPR 2011-2013, Ipswich (loan) 2012-2013 >>> Kieron Dyer, QPR 2011-2013, Ipswich 1996-1999, (loan) 2011 >>> Bradley Orr, QPR 2010-2012, Ipswich (loan) 2012-2013 >>> Tamas Priskin, Ipswich 2009-2012, QPR (loan) 2010 >>> Marcus Bent, QPR (loan) 2010, Ipswich 2001-2004 >>> Jim Magilton, 1999-2006, (manager) 2006-2009, QPR (manager) 2009 >>> Damien Delaney, QPR 2008-2009, Ipswich 2009-2012 >>> Simon Walton, Ipswich (loan) 2006-2007, QPR 2007-2008 >>> Georges Santos, Ipswich 2003-2004, QPR 2004-2006 >>> Adam Miller, Ipswich 1999-2000, QPR 2004-2006 >>> Steve Palmer, Ipswich 1989-1995, QPR 2001-2004 >>> Kevin Lisbie, QPR (loan) 2000-2001, Ipswich 2008-2011 >>> Wayne Brown, Ipswich 1995-2002, QPR (loan) 2001 >>> Sieb Dykstra, QPR 1994-1996, Ipswich 1999 >>> Mark Stein, QPR 1988-1989, Ipswich (loan) 1997 >>> Paul Goddard, QPR 1977-1980, Ipswich 1991-1994 >>> Phil Parkes, QPR 1970-1979, Ipswich 1990-1991 >>> Alan Brazil, Ipswich 1977-1983, QPR 1986 >>> John O'Rourke, Ipswich 1968-1969, QPR 1971-1974 >>> Frank Clarke, QPR 1968-1970, Ipswich 1970-1973