Jon Moss is the man in the middle at Loftus Road this Saturday night as Champions League chasing Arsenal come to town.
Referee >>> Jon Moss (West Yorkshire), his third QPR appointment of the season. Was booked for our recent derby at Fulham but was replaced at late notice by Lee Probert.
Assistants >>> Simon Beck (Bedfordshire) and Ceri Richards (Carmanthenshire) – Richards was the linesman involved in the disgraceful Ashley Young-Shaun Derry incident at Old Trafford last season.
Fourth Official >>> James Linington (Isle of Wight)
Redknapp will have been disappointed with that, and tellingly it was Stephane Mbia, rather than the ageing Shaun Derry, who made way for Jermaine Jenas when he came on for a debut in the second half. Mbia is a wild, raw player – quite possibly a centre half playing out of position in midfield. He committed two cynical fouls to draw a warning from referee Jon Moss, and then received a yellow card for a third challenge on Snodgrass who curled the resulting free kick low around the wall and wide of the target. That seemed harsh on the Cameroonian, who got plenty of the ball in the Snodgrass challenge and was so furious about the award of a free kick it looked like he might talk himself into a red card. Mbia would no doubt point out that while he was warned after two fouls and booked after three, pantomime villain Grant Holt was whistled four times in the first half without so much as a word on the run from Moss who the let him off again with a fifth infringement immediately after the break.
Having seemed reluctant to book anybody but Mbia in the first half, Moss then went rather card happy in the second and showed yellow to Turner, Sebastien Bassong and Mark Bunn for their respective fouls on Jamie Mackie and Garrido for body checking Wright-Phillips after he’d run half the length of the field on a counter attack.
At this stage Taarabt looked like he was in the mood to put on a show and when Javier Garrido tempted the industrious Mackie with a slack pass back in the second period and goalkeeper Mark Bunn rushed from his line to upend the former Plymouth man it seemed the time had come. Taarabt, like Gallen before him, could only produce a tame shot in front of an expectant home crowd and Bunn saved easily. It was a sickener for Rangers, and Taarabt in particular who has been in wonderful form of late but seemed to be really effected by both his crucial miss and the attentions of Norwich’s Alexander Tettey who grew into his man marking role after a nervy beginning.
Once the penalty was missed QPR’s attacks became rather American Football-like on this Super Bowl weekend. Play would stop for a free kick or corner, Rangers would set something up, the play would run, and then the game would ground to a halt again. Taarabt probably wasn’t the best person to take a free kick on the edge of the area a minute after his spot kick horror and sure enough, after Mackie had been felled by Turner and Bradley Johnson had been yellow carded for his latest bout of screaming in a referee’s face, the Moroccan dollied a hopeless shot over the cross bar. When he did find the target in open play, after Zamora had intelligently nodded the ball down to him, Bunn produced a nervy save and was fortunate that Mackie couldn’t steal in on the rebound before the ball rolled too far away from the target for a decent shooting chance.
In the sixty sixth minute the pattern repeated again: Traore counter attacked and was well tackled, Taarabt picked the loose ball up and was fouled by Tettey who was also booked by Moss, Taarabt delivered the free kick, Samba headed goalwards, Turner kicked the ball wide. Ten minutes later Taarabt chipped a corner to the back post and Hill headed into the Lower Loft. Then, when Moss very harshly penalised Turned for a non-existent foul on Mackie as he tried to hold up a Zamora flick on, Jenas tried his luck with a direct free kick but could only find the wall.
QPR: Cesar 7, Da Silva 6 (Ben Haim 74, 6), Samba 7, Hill 6, Traore 6, Wright-Phillips 5 (Zamora 54, 7), Derry 6, Mbia 5 (Jenas 69, 6), Townsend 7, Taarabt 6, Mackie 6
Subs not used: Green, Park, Granero, Bothroyd
Bookings: Mbia 38 (repetitive fouling), Hill 70 (foul)
Norwich: Bunn 7, Martin 6, Turner 6, Bassong 6, Garrido 5, Snodgrass 7, Johnson 6, Pilkington 6 (E Bennett 20, 6), Tettey 7, Hoolahan 6 (Becchio 88, -) Holt 6
Subs not used: Camp, Whittaker, R Bennett, Howson, Jackson
Bookings: Garrido 51 (foul), Bunn 54 (foul), Johnson 57 (dissent), Tettey 66 (foul), Turner 80 (foul), Bassong 84 (foul)
Referee – Jon Moss (West Yorkshire) 6 The big decision in the game was the penalty and that was correctly judged, with a spot kick awarded and a yellow card for the goalkeeper. But I thought he was inconsistent in a number of other areas – very keen to penalise Mbia, warn him and then book him after three first half fouls but not even feeling the need to talk to Grant Holt until his fifth offence just after half time. Michael Turner can also count himself unfortunate to have been penalised and booked for a challenge on Jamie Mackie late in the game that didn’t even look like a foul to me. Not great, but not awful.
QPR 1 Everton 1, Sunday October 21, 2012, Premier League
Understandably, given the start they’ve made to the season, confidence is fragile among the QPR squad. The home side was fortunate not to fall behind twice within two minutes of being pulled level. First Nikica Jelavic fell in the area after Stephane Mbia trod on his foot but referee Moss waved the appeals away. Everton immediately forced a corner from which the marking was almost as dreadful as it had been from the free kick a moment before – this time Jagileka took time out from a dominant defensive display to smack a header against Cesar’s bar.
The second half was a nervy, staid, laboured affair punctuated by basic possession concession and pernickety refereeing.
While Diakite – and Granero in four minutes injury time at the end of the game – could have few complaints about Jon Moss’ decision to fetch out a yellow card the referee rather lost the lot somewhat just after the hour mark. First there was a late tackle on Hoilett by Pienaar that left the QPR man requiring treatment and the South African picking up Everton’s first yellow card of the afternoon, but when Phil Neville did something similar to the same player five minutes later Moss elected not to issue a yellow card having initially taken the book out of his pocket. Does Neville know something about Moss that he doesn’t want to get out or something? Whatever the Everton skipper said it appeared to talk the referee out of booking him which I can’t ever recall seeing before.
And the farce deepened a moment later when Bosingwa – much improved on a horrendous showing at The Hawthorns last time out – got going down the right and lost his footing after catching Pienaar with his foot as he went to cross the ball. It was barely a free kick and yet having awarded it Moss immediately sent Pienaar off for his second yellow of the afternoon. That was a ludicrous decision in my opinion, one of the softest most unjustified red cards I’ve ever seen and far, far less serious than several other incidents in the game that went unpunished.
There was a nervous, frustrated air around the place. The crowd quietened down, the team was laboured, and Hughes stuck rather than twisted. Everton were clearly happy with a point given the flagrant time wasting from Howard that went persistently without check from Moss and the late introduction of Heitinga for Jelavic, but they could easily have won the game. First Mirallas cut in from the left and struck a long range shot that looked destined for the top corner before flicking up an over the bar off Mbia. More lousy marking from the resulting corner could easily have brought Everton a winner but Cesar made an outstanding save to deny Jagielka and keep the scores level.
Of all the QPR players it was Junior Hoilett who was doing the most to try and secure a victory. Taarabt set him up for a low drive that Howard parried down and Granero blasted into the side netting when he really should have squared it back into the danger zone. Then the young Canadian was clearly brought down in the penalty area by Coleman after stealing the ball off him on his blind side but Moss wasn’t moved. The frustration at that injustice seemed to drive Hoilett on more and within 30 seconds he’d cut in from the left flank and driven a powerful shot towards the far corner that Howard kept out with a camera save.
Moss may have missed Hoilett being tripped, and the foul on Jelavic in the penalty area in the first half, and sent off a player for very little while letting others off with much worse, and basically been a pain in the arse for the entire second half, but one thing he did decide to be very hot on with two minutes to go was the placing of a free kick in the QPR penalty box. Cesar was told to move it back, which he did, and then told to move it back further, which he did, and then lectured by the referee which required him to run half the length of the field and back again before play could restart.
Mr Moss is a school teacher, and don’t we all remember a school teacher like him? When there’s bullying, some kid setting fire to stuff, a fight, a serious issue he can be found hiding in the staff room. When there’s a kid wearing the wrong colour shoes, or a tie that’s a bit too shot, he’s there on the scene with detention slips. A fiddling while Rome burns sort of a fellow. What on earth did he gain by delaying the match for a minute forcing Cesar to take a free kick deep in his own half seven yards away from where he actually placed it in the final minute of the game? Do me a bloody favour.
QPR: Cesar 6, Bosingwa 6, Nelsen 6 (Ferdinand 83 -), Mbia 6, Traore 6 (Onuoha 72, 6), Park 6, Diakite 7, Granero 7, Taarabt 6, Hoilett 7, Zamora 5 (Cisse 71, 5)
Subs not used: Green, Wright-Phillips, Faurlin, Mackie
Goals: Hoilett 2 (unassisted)
Bookings: Diakite 66 (foul), Granero 90 (foul)
Everton: Howard 7, Coleman 6, Distin 7, Jagielka 8, Baines 6, Osman 6, Pienaar 6, Neville 6, Mirallas 6, Jelavic 6 (Heitinga 83, -), Anichebe 5 (Naismith 52, 6)
Goals: Cesar og 33 (assisted Distin/Pienaar)
Bookings: Pienaar 51 (foul), 60 (foul)
Sent off: Pienaar 60 (two bookings)
Referee: Jon Moss 4 Three big decisions in the game – two penalty appeals and a red card – and he got all of them wrong. Compounded that by paying intricate, microscopic attention to several incidents that he could have comfortably ignored altogether in the interests of getting the game to flow a bit more, while missing things that were actually important and needed dealing with. “Typical school teacher,” my dad would have said. And he should know, he was married to one.
West Brom 1 QPR 0, Saturday April 14, 2012, Premier League
Zamora was warned for dissent by referee Jon Moss, who I actually thought had a very decent game, which betrayed the striker’s frustration with his performance and that of those around him. Dorrans shot at Kenny after Diakite had been caught in possession during a prolonged wait for a team mate to offer a passing option. The in the next attack a delightful back heal from Odemwingie found Jones on a trademark late run from deep and although he beat Kenny with a scuffed shot it rebounded back into play off the goalkeeper.
The teams then swapped yellow cards: Mulumbu took one from Jon Moss for chopping down Nedum Onuoha who sadly looked very much like a centre back playing out of position in this game, then Diakite’ late hit on Fortune brought him his weekly booking. West Brom played on through that foul and Thomas should have done better than crossing to nobody at the end of a flowing move.
Awarded a throw in when he wanted a free kick Ridgwell spent an inordinate amount of time sitting on the floor tending to his socks, then ignored the young boy who was trying to return the ball to him and allowed it to roll onto the pitch, and finally took time out to gesture towards Mark Hughes who was questioning just why on earth a routine throw in was taking this long. Referee Jon Moss watched all this, and then showed the left back a yellow card. Credit to the official.
Traore won a corner ten minutes from time that Barton took and Helguson headed wide, but for all the possession and pressure gilt edged chances were thin on the ground. In fact as time ran down into a generous four minutes of added time West Brom actually started to get more joy on the counter attack – Moss’ harsh decision to penalise Hill for holding down Long gave Brunt a free kick opportunity that he beat the wall with but not Kenny, and then Long went himself in open play but was worried out of the shot by the attention of Nedum Onuoha who did well covering in behind his centre backs.
West Brom: Foster 8, Jones 7, McAuley 6, Dawson 6, Ridgewell 6, Brunt 7, Mulumbu 7, Dorrans 7 (Andrews 71, 6), Thomas 7 (Scharner 80, -), Fortune 6 (Long 59, 6), Odemwingie 7
Subs Not Used: Daniels, Shorey, Hurst, Cox
Booked: Mulumbu (foul), Ridgewell (time wasting), Dorrans (foul)
Goals: Dorrans 22. QPR: Kenny 5, Onuoha 5, Ferdinand 6, Hill 7, Taiwo 7 (Traore 77, 6), Barton 6, Diakite 6, Derry 5 (Wright-Phillips 56, 6), Mackie 6, Zamora 6, Taarabt 6 (Helguson 75, 6)
Subs Not Used: Cerny, Gabbidon, Buzsaky, Young
Booked: Diakite (foul)
Referee: Jon Moss (W Yorkshire) 8 Given QPR’s recent luck with referees, and Moss’ abject performance at West Ham v Birmingham last weekend, this appointment didn’t thrill me greatly when the list came through earlier in the week. However, thankfully, I thought he controlled the game very well indeed. The bookings were justified, especially Liam Ridgwell’s and he clamped down further on West Brom’s time wasting with a big chunk of added time at the end of a second half that had included just one injury. Moments of dispute but no serious controversy, very decent all in all.
QPR 3 Wigan 1, Saturday January 21, 2012, Premier League
Wigan pressed pretty consistently and brought on Albert Crusat for Jordi Gomez to liven things up even more. Things got really tense after 65 minutes when Maynor Figueroa was fouled by Buzsaky in combination with Barton in a position not dissimilar to the one from where Buzsaky had scored. The foul looked harsh at the time but Rodallega needed no second invitation, bending the ball up over the wall and down into the net to a motionless Kenny’s left. A brilliant goal to be honest and more fuel for the rant about set pieces that follows later.
In the aftermath of the goal Wigan bought on Ronnie Stam in place of Emmerson Boyce. A few minutes later, Conor Sammon should have equalised but his shot was weak and wide. It’s a fine margin between failure and glory in this game and that was underlined a minute later when referee Moss decided that a pretty routine wrestling match between Caldwell and Helguson was a foul on our hero. It was just inside the box and he pointed to the spot. Now I would not have let Helguson take the penalty. Al Habsi had shown in the first half just how good he was and Helguson’s style was always going to be to his liking. Al Habsi stood stock still until Helguson made his choice then flung himself across the goal to turn the firm shot round his right post.
A fairly standard delivery sailed into the area and for some reason best known to himself McCarthy, under no particular pressure, waved a hand at it and made contact. McCarthy was booked, Helguson stepped forward to take the penalty and despatched it to Al Habsi’s left. What was notable was the way that Al Habsi stood stock still as Helguson ran up thus denying Helguson his usual trick of rolling the ball to the side the goalie has just left. This ability of Al Habsi to move late was to be crucial later on.
So, a 1-0 lead. We’ve been here before, but it was a good start and the mood of the church was benign. We even heard what was probably the first use of the word ‘thrice’ in a football song, or if not the first altogether certainly the first since the nineteenth century. We are going to beat Chelsea three times, apparently...
It was pleasing to see Buzsaky looking like his old self and in the thirty-ninth minute he was given the chance to take on a free kick from outside the box. He hit it with some venom and Al Habsi did well to turn it round the post. Then in the forty third minute a promising break from QPR looked to be about to fizzle out due to indecision when Gohouri upended DJ Campbell just outside the box to give Buzsaky another shooting chance and earn himself a yellow card. As the wall formed Buzsaky was all concentration, standing well to the left of the ball and very much lined up to put the ball to Al Habsi’s right. This he did, spectacularly well, clearing the outstretched fingers of the goalie and hitting the inside of the post. There was a worrying moment as the ball seemed to bobble along the line but it then clearly hit the side netting at the other side of the goal and HQ erupted.
QPR: Kenny 7, Hill 6, Ferdinand 7, Hall 7, Young 7, Wright-Phillips 6, Barton 6, Buzsaky 8 (Derry 82 6), Mackie 6, Helguson 7, Campbell 5 (Smith 45, 6)
Subs Not Used: Czerny, Orr, Ramage, Bothroyd, Macheda
Booked: Barton (foul), Young (foul)
Goals: Helguson 33 (penalty, McCarthy handball), Buzsaky 45 (freekick), Smith (assisted Wright-Phillips)
Wigan : Al Habsi 8, Gohouri 6, Caldwell 6, Boyce 6 (Stam 69 6), Figueroa 6, McCarthy 5, Watson 7, Moses 7, Gomez 6 (Crusat 61 6), McArthur 6 (Sammon 45 6), Rodallega 7
Subs Not Used: Pollitt, Lopez, Di Santo, McManaman
Booked: Gohouri (foul), McCarthy (handball)
Goals: Rodallega 66 (free kick)
Referee: Jon Moss ( West Yorkshire ) 7 Did not do a lot wrong and kept the game flowing. The first penalty was stonewall, the second more dubious but at least he was decisive. The Wigan free kick that led to their goal looked soft in real time.
Norwich 1 QPR 0, Saturday January 1, 2011, Championship
Buoyed by the opening goal Norwich quickly took the game over and dominated the remainder of the half. After a quarter of an hour Wilbraham ran onto Holt’s flick in the penalty area but lifted a volleyed shot high over the bar. Then five minutes later a free kick awarded to Norwich by referee Jon Moss when Holt appeared to be the aggressor, backing into Connolly and then collapsing comically when the ball arrived, caused mass panic in the QPR penalty area. The set piece was delivered to the back post and headed down into the heart of the six yard box where carnage ensued, Paddy Kenny fumbled the ball on the line under pressure, Faurlin tried to hack it away but succeeded only in striking it against Chris Martin and the ball few into the net off him – although the whistle had long since been blown for either offside from the initial downward header, a foul on Kenny, or handball as the ball flew into the net.
The first five minutes of the second half revolved around referee Jon Moss, and three key decisions that went against QPR. First Shaun Derry was felled having clearly been caught flush in the face by a stray hand in an aerial challenge – a free kick was awarded, which Taarabt hammered high over the bar as ever, but no card was produced.
Then Patrick Agyemang had the Norwich defence backpeddling as he ran at them with the ball. After turning inside and then out again the giant striker hit the ground under an untidy challenge from Andrew Crofts. It was a clear foul, the only question being whether it was inside or outside the penalty area. Moss decreed outside, and I think he was right to do so but the QPR players erupted with rage that no penalty had been awarded – Shaun Derry spent a prolonged period of time berating the linesman in front of the away end to no avail. As usual the free kick came to nothing, Taarabt hammered it straight into the wall, and the frankly abysmal quality of our set pieces remains a major concern.
Then to compound matters Rangers found themselves reduced to nine men (Clarke can hardly count himself as one considering his lack of effect on proceedings) with a sending off entirely of their own making. In possession of the ball under little pressure 40 yards away from his own goal Kaspars Gorkss decided to play the ball back to Paddy Kenny rather than go forward. Kenny found himself confronted by Wilbraham, with the ball bobbling around on an awkward surface, and his hurried clearance barely made the halfway line and was immediately headed back in behind the QPR defence into the path of Holt. So having held controlled possession of the ball just short of the halfway line, suddenly QPR were well and truly on the back foot and under intense pressure from Holt who did what he always does – got goalside of his man, handled the ball as it came out of the sky, and then theatrically fell to the floor with his arms outstretched appealing to the referee. Moss quickly arrived on the scene, unswayed by Holt’s own admission in the press following last week’s game with Sheffield United that he isn’t afraid to engage in the game’s dark arts, and sent Connolly off – the second time this season he has been shown a red card, and the second time in as many appearances at Carrow Road he has made an enforced early departure. Irritating though the whole situation was the red card was the only option once Holt had hit the deck and QPR have only themselves to blame for creating the problem in the first place.
Chris Martin drilled over the bar just before the hour as Norwich looked to press home their numerical advantage but all eyes were on the referee again as the game entered its final third. Having supported the decisions Moss made for the Agyemang penalty appeal, and the Connolly sending off, I’m afraid I have to criticise the official for the way he refereed minutes 61 to 63. Firstly a cynical, nasty and vicious hit was put in on Adel Taarabt in front of the dugouts after he had passed the ball –so late and long after the ball had been played in fact that Moss had already turned his back but it occurred right in front of the fourth official and linesman and had everybody on the QPR bench on their feet and protesting. When play came to a stop Moss went across to speak with his colleagues and find out what had happened. I’d love to have been privy to the conversation because the frankly ludicrous outcome of it all was play on, with no further action taken.
Taarabt had every right to feel aggrieved, and within 30 seconds he was taking out his frustration on the Norwich players with immaculate control and a double drag back that carried him beyond the challenges of two home players. Michael Nelson then quite deliberately and cynically chopped Taarabt to the ground and although a free kick was forthcoming this time, no yellow card was produced. Now again I can perhaps support the official in that decision because he is known as a referee that likes to keep his cards to himself and I’ve said many times before that I don’t go to a game to see people booked and sent off and a lot of whistle blown, however when QPR wasted the free kick yet again Taarabt then fouled Hoolahan as he collected possession wide on the right and was immediately yellow carded. Now I’m sorry but that’s biased officiating. Taarabt’s foul was no different to Nelson’s in any way whatsoever, and as Hoolahan was deep in his own half with few options and going nowhere I cannot possibly see how that is a yellow card when Nelson’s trip on a forward moving and threatening Taarabt was not.
Neil Warnock had seen enough and could probably tell what was about to happen with Taarabt’s suspect temperament being tested to the maximum. He removed the Moroccan from the fray, replacing him with Cypriot Georgios Tofas on his QPR debut. This was a shame in many ways because Taarabt is a big threat to opponents, he was only removed because of the piss poor way the referee had behaved with him and it used up a final sub leaving QPR to battle on with Leon Clarke still on the pitch.
Norwich: Ruddy 7, R Martin 7, Nelson 6, Whitbread 6, Drury 6, Smith 7, Crofts 7, Hoolahan 8, C Martin 7, Holt 8, Wilbraham 6 (Gill 82,-)
Subs Not Used: Rudd, Jackson, Johnson, McNamee, Tudur Jones, Berthel Askou
Goals: R Martin 10 (assisted C Martin)
QPR: Kenny 8, Walker 6, Gorkss 6, Connolly 5, Hill 6 (Orr 46, 6), Derry 7, Faurlin 6, Clarke 4, Mackie 6, Taarabt 6 (Tofas 62, 6), Helguson 5 (Agyemang 46, 7)
Subs Not Used: Cerny, Rowlands, Hulse, Borrowdale
Sent Off: Connolly 51 (denying obvious goal scoring opportunity)
Booked: Hill (foul), Taarabt (foul)
Referee: Jon Moss ( W Yorkshire ) 6 Two big decisions in the game – the Agyemang penalty appeal and the Connolly red card. I felt he got both decisions correct. However I thought he was inconsistent on a number of other fronts – Taarabt in particular was booked for a much more meagre offence than one which had been committed against him just seconds earlier.
QPR 1 Leicester 2, Friday October 30, 2009
Magilton had seen enough and replaced Damion Stewart, possibly carrying an injury and certainly massively off his best on the night, with Fitz Hall ten minutes into the half. Hall played reasonably well thereafter, although he was very fortunate not to give away a penalty when he appeared to wrestle Fryatt to the ball in the box – referee Jon Moss waved the appeals away in what was just about the only possible mistake he made in an evening of near perfect officiating.
QPR: Cerny 5, Ramage 5 (Vine 67, 6), Stewart 4 (Hall 54, 6), Gorkss 6, Borrowdale 6, Routledge 6, Buzsaky 6, Leigertwood 5, Faurlin 5,Taarabt 7 (Agyemang 86, -), Simpson 6
Subs Not Used: Heaton, Alberti, Ainsworth, Parker
Goals: Taarabt 33 (assisted Simpson)
Leicester: Weale 7, Neilson 7, Brown 7, Hobbs 6, Berner 6, King 6, Oakley 7, Wellens 7, N'Guessan 8, Waghorn 9 (McGivern 90, -),Fryatt 8 (Gallagher 75, 6)
Subs Not Used: Logan, Morrison, Howard, Dyer, Kermorgant
Booked: Neilson, N'Guessan, Oakley
Goals: Fryatt 37, 64
Referee: Jon Moss (W Yorkshire) 9 Leicester probably should have had a penalty in the second half when Hall pulled Fryatt to the floor but Moss was otherwise almost completely faultless and this was just about as good a refereeing performance as you are ever likely to see at this level.
Wolves 1 QPR 0, Saturday April 18, 2009
There was also a change of referee from the advertised appointment. John Moss came in for Kevin Wright who was presumably injured.
At the other end Rangers had a half chance to take the lead as the twentieth minute approached. Wayne Routledge pinched a loose ball midway through the Wolves half and seemed to have a chance to run through on goal but Jody Craddock came across as the last defender and got an untidy but effective tackle in on the little winger before he could get a shot away. Routledge appealed to referee Moss in vain for a foul.
Referee Moss compounded QPR frustration with the first yellow card of the match for Jordi Lopez after he had challenged Karl Henry in the air. Lopez had twice been warned by the official after previous fouls so in fairness it seemed that the card was for repetitive fouling rather than that one specifically.
Down at the other end referee John Moss had to keep a close eye on two clashes between goalscorer Ebanks Blake and QPR keeper Radek Cerny just before the hour mark. First the striker challenged him in the six yard box after a corner and then seemed to grab hold of him as Cerny tried to launch a quick counter attack. That sparked a bit of a hand bags session and when Kaspars Gorkss first mis-controlled a high through ball and then left a header back to the Czech slightly shortit gave Ebanks Blake a chance to leave a boot in a second time – which he duly did. Cerny was content to get up and play the ball when he could have made more of it.
With five minutes to go QPR had an ideal chance to equalise. Wayne Routledge seemed to be fouled forty yards from goal as he burst through the centre of the Wolves midfield but referee Moss waved play on. The ball broke to Helguson on the edge of the penalty area and he certainly was chopped down crudely by Berra. Adel Taarabt seemed the most likely striker of the ball as Molineux fell into a nervous silence but ultimately Hogan Ephraim took responsibility and lofted a pretty pathetic chipped effort over the wall and the cross bar by some distance. Taarabt gave his team mate a daggered look – I can’t see Hogan being at the front of the queue for one of those next week against Plymouth should the chance arrive.
Moss added four minutes on at the end of the game during which Vokes volleyed wide from a Harewood knockdown. It was clear from the moment Ephraim put his free kick over the bar that QPR would not equalise and the atmosphere inside Molineux was fit to burst. Repeated pleas over the public address system for fans to remain off the pitch were clearly not going to be heeded and so, roughly a minute early, the referee picked up the ball in the corner as Harewood attempted to waste time and blew the final whistle. Suddenly thousands of people were pouring onto the pitch and the QPR players had to make a swift exit to avoid behind caught up in it all.
Wolves: Hennessey 7, Foley 6, Craddock 8, Berra 7, Ward 6 (Stearman 79, 6), Edwards 7, Henry 7, Jones 6 (Vokes 65, 6), Jarvis 8, Ebanks-Blake 7 (Harewood 60, 6), Keogh 7
Subs Not Used: Higgs, Reid
Booked: Stephen Ward (foul)
Goals: Ebanks-Blake 46 (assisted Keogh)
QPR: Cerny 7, Ramage 6, Stewart 5, Gorkss 8, Connolly 7, Routledge 6, Lopez 7 (Leigertwood 85, -), Mahon 7, Cook 5 (Ephraim 63, 6), Vine 6 (Taarabt 63, 7), Helguson 5
Subs Not Used: Delaney, Miller
Booked: Lopez (repetitive fouling)
Referee: Jon Moss ( W Yorkshire ) 6 A late replacement and I felt he was a little bit one sided in the first half, with the home fans baying every fifty fifty decision went their way. Second half he was much better and with only two cards in total deserves some credit for the way he handled a tough game overall. One of the linesmen, the one at the far end from the QPR fans, was dire.
QPR 0 Reading 0, Saturday January 31, 2009
The second half began with a pathetic incident. Michael Duberry lumbered across the pitch just inside his own half and was confronted by Heidar Helguson. The QPR striker challenged him for the ball at which point Duberry flung himself to the ground and let out a scream so loud and high pitched that it had proprietors of all girls’ boarding schools across Western Europe rushing to the dormitory’s fearing a break in by Russell Brand. Duberry’s collapse and yelp was so dramatic that the Reading club doctor was robed up and prepped for surgery before he had even hit the ground and so it was something of a surprise when the screaming and knee clutching came to an immediate halt when the referee awarded a free kick at which point he immediately leapt up and raced off down the field to contest the resulting set piece in the QPR penalty area.
Cheating. No other word for it. And it was not the first time. Duberry is a fairly hefty guy, in the same way as Lisa Riley is fairly hefty, but the way he consistently collapsed to the floor and moaned to the match officials was embarrassing. I was embarrassed for him. The Duberry v Helguson battle was the one area of the game I thought referee Jon Moss got wrong on the day – Helguson ended up with a booking for repetitive fouls against the big useless lump when often the offence was minimal if it happened at all.
Still Duberry got his comeuppance later in the second half when he attempted to fend off Hogan Ephraim and shelter a through ball out for a goal kick. Somehow Ephraim, built like a chicken stick, managed to not only shift Duberry, built like a kebab shop owner, but also kick the ball off him and win a corner which Rangers promptly wasted. Duberry, wouldn’t you just know it, thought Ephraim had fouled him and was booked for suggesting to the referee that he had given the corner on the say so of the home supporters in the Loft End.
Another cross into the area a minute later caused further panic when Camp spilled it under pressure from/while being fouled by Lita and Hunt stabbed the loose ball wide of the open goal while simultaneously screaming for a penalty for a late tackle by Gorkss. Moss showed no interest in the complaints from either Camp or Hunt.
Probably as sick and tired of the farce as the rest of us Jon Moss decided that was enough and blew the final whistle seconds later. QPR had shaded the first half, Reading the second, in the end a draw was a more than fair result.
QPR: Camp 6, Connolly 7, Stewart 8, Gorkss 8, Delaney 8, Routledge 7, Mahon 8 (Ephraim 77, 6), Leigertwood 7, Miller 8, Cook 5 (Di Carmine 90, -), Helguson 5 (Blackstock 85, -)
Subs Not Used: Hall, Alberti
Booked: Helguson (repetitive fouling)
Reading: Federici 6, Rosenior 7, Duberry 5, Pearce 7, Armstrong 7, Kebe 7 (Gunnarsson 90, -), Harper 6, Cisse 6, Stephen Hunt 6, Lita 6, Doyle 6
Subs Not Used: Andersen, Matejovsky, Bikey, Long
Booked: Stephen Hunt (foul), Duberry (dissent)
Referee: Jon Moss ( W Yorkshire ) 8 Not too bad at all, very good in fact. I did feel however that he bought a lot of the play acting, particularly from Kebe and Duberry, and the booking of Helguson was harsh.
Colchester 4 QPR 2, Tuesday 2 October, 2007
Harford switched to a 4-3-3 formation by introducing Sahar for Jarrett but this just opened things up even more at the back and took up a lot of the space Vine was working in. Dexter Blackstock was looking tired and laboured again, although he did draw a booking from Duguid after chasing a lost cause down to the corner. He looks like he could do with a rest really.
Ephraim wasn't as impressive in the second half as he had been in the first and picked up a booking for fouling Yeates after cashing him back into the Rangers half. Ainsworth got a card himself for a similar offence on the other side of the field against George Elokobi. All in all Rangers just petered out. Virgo was unlucky not to extend the lead when he headed just wide of the bottom corner after Platt had set him up.
Colchester: Gerken 5, Duguid 6, Baldwin 6, Virgo 6, Elokobi 5, Yeates 8, Izzet 7, Jackson 7, Granville 8, Lisbie 7, Platt 7.
Subs Not Used: Cousins, Guy, Guttridge, Connolly, Elito.
Booked: Duguid (foul), Jackson (foul), Platt (foul)
Goals: Leigertwood 19 og (unassisted), Izzet 30 (assisted Granville), Yeates 38 (assisted Lisbie), Platt 63 (assisted Yeates)
QPR: Camp 6, Rowlands 5, Leigertwood 4, Cullip 4, Barker 6, Ainsworth 5 (Moore 85, -), Jarrett 6 (Sahar 75, 6), Bolder 4, Ephraim 7, Blackstock 5, Vine 8.
Subs Not Used: Cole, Bignot, Stewart
Booked: Bolder (foul), Ephraim (foul), Ainsworth (foul)
Goals: Ephraim 29 (assisted Vine), Vine 58 (assisted Ainsworth)
Referee: Jon Moss ( W Yorkshire ) 7 - Pretty sensible display all round although I really don't think it was a foul from Bolder that led to the third goal. I can sympathise with him because the rules outlaw tackles from behind but this is a contact sport and that was a good tackle.
Last season, his first on the Elite List, Moss showed 112 yellows and 11 reds in 32 matches (3.5 bookings a game). From the end of September to the end of December he went on an extraordinary run of six red cards in ten outings and in his last match he very harshly dismissed two Millwall players leading them to collapse to a 6-0 home defeat against Birmingham City. He showed at least one card in every match he refereed last season, and has only showed less than three in a game on six occasions. His biggest haul in a single game was six yellows and one red at Sheff Utd v Notts County over Christmas.
The previous year he showed a more respectable 87 yellows (2.07 a game) and ten reds in 42 games across the season.
Premier League >>> Michael Oliver’s stock continues to rise. Fresh from awarding Brentford a last minute penalty that should have won them promotion at the weekend he is now in charge of Sunday’s Merseyside derby. Howard Webb has Man Utd v Chelsea. Mike Dean has the big Chelsea v Tottenham game next Wednesday.
Championship >>> Robert Madley, fresh from three (fully justified) red cards in his first ever Premier League game last weekend is back in the second tier with Derby v Millwall on Saturday. Prmeier League official Andre Marriner drops down for a Yorkshire derby between Huddersfield and Barnsley that could yet relegate either side. Mike Dean does likewise for the play off battle between Forest and Leicester.
League One >>> Play off time. Stuart Attwell has been given a game. There are no words. Sheff Utd v Yeovil – for the record.
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