QPR had to come from behind to seal a point at Huddersfield on Saturday, but on the balance of play they should have taken home all three.
It was supposed to be the day QPR’s over-paid, under-committed Premier League namby pambies had a rude awakening on the harshness of Championship life. A long trip to the grim north to face a rough arse team intent on taking a scalp in more ways than one. Driving rain, raucous crowd, big tackles and Jon Stead goals — that sort of thing.
The modern-day Huddersfield doesn’t lend itself to such occasions though. One of the country’s finest new stadiums rises out of a wooded hillside and sets a spectacular back drop to the arrival by train. On a pristine playing surface, showing no ill-effects of hosting the country’s best rugby league side over the summer, Huddersfield Town came with a game plan built around possession of the ball rather than gratuitous violence and physical intimidation.
Adam Clayton, a Man City youth team graduate mysteriously allowed to leave Leeds United for a song, was key to the set-up. He loitered behind a lively front pairing of James Vaughan, signed from Norwich during the summer, and former Burnley man Martin Paterson. It was all rather more considered and attractive than Rangers might have expected but it initially seemed like it might do a job on the R’s.
The visitors lived up to their southern-softie, big-time-Charlie billing in some ways. With Ale Faurlin injured they selected Esteban Granero in the centre of midfield alongside Karl Henry — the former looked like he’s rather be anywhere else, the latter got progressively worse the harder he tried. When Granero was slow to react and lazy with a tackle on the half hour Paterson had a clear sight of goal but having rode a rash tackle from Hill he dragged a shot in inch wide of the post. The Spaniard later became embroiled in a prolonged debate with referee Andy Haines about the air pressure in the ball during which another opponent was allowed to run in behind him. When it happened again he cynically yanked back Adam Hammill leaving Haines no choice but to book him.
Goalkeeper Rob Green’s fetish for hospital balls played to full backs continues, with one particularly wayward effort straight into the main stand drawing the ire of an impressive travelling support. Green span round, exasperated, and yelled at the QPR fans that it was just one mistake. If only it was.
Striker Andy Johnson fouled Oscar Gobern on the edge of the QPR box during a period of broken play midway through the first half and Clayton struck the free kick into the wall. Moments later, when Danny Simpson inexplicably headed back into traffic rather than away from danger when presented with a chance to clear at the far post, Gobern tried his own luck in open play and fired a first time shot wide.
And when Junior Hoilett failed to make the most of an interception chance ten minutes before half time Huddersfield broke down field and made the most of slack defending by first Granero and Yun Suk-Young against Hammill on the right and then Joey Barton who’d failed to track the run of Oliver Norwood. Vaughan greedily snaffled up Norwood’s cross and powerfully headed into the net from close range.
But Huddersfield manager Mark Robins was under no illusions afterwards that his team had deserved to win the game. Town’s intentions may have been honourable, and their set up conducive to attractive football, but their execution was poor and final ball almost always lacking in quality. After half time, when Rangers’ boss Harry Redknapp had tinkered slightly, Clayton’s impact diminished and so did the home team’s efforts on goal. Ultimately they managed six shots at Robert Green and only two on target to QPR’s 17 and six.
The Championship is billed as the most competitive and therefore most entertaining league in Europe in some quarters, but this game was, like so many others in this division, rather like watching two slightly overweight men bumping into each other on a narrow staircase. The league is evenly matched, but I’m more inclined to agree with Mick McCarthy’s assessment that "everybody is as bad as each other” than see it as some kind of positive. Rangers have settled into the monotonous pattern well, happily bashing into both Sheff Wed and Huddersfield and waiting for the errors, set pieces and very occasional moments of individual brilliance that cause 90% of the second tier’s goals to come along.
The Londoners’ 442 set up may have been more basic than Huddersfield’s, and their team may still be in a state of mid-transfer window flux, but they were the better side by some distance here and only poor finishing and bad luck prevented them from taking three points.
Vaughan’s goal was swiftly equalised by Hoilett, who controlled and finished sharply inside the area after Suk-Young’s twice-attempted cross fell to him in the box. The South Korean, making a first league start for QPR, looks a better attacking prospect than a defensive one on this evidence — keen and inventive in the opposition half but noticeably slow to return to position when the ball is lost. He showed promise though, and deserved his assist.
That really should have been a goal to put QPR back into a lead, or stretch them further ahead, rather than an equaliser. Clint Hill headed a Joey Barton free kick wide after Suk-Young had been fouled on the left wing, and Andy Johnson saw a shot blocked by Anthony Gerrard when Austin cut an intelligent ball back from the byline after a fine through ball from Nedum Onuoha with the time still in single figures. Johnson then returned the favour to Austin at the end of a slick move but just when it seemed the prolific former Burnley man was about to smack in a second goal of the week he lost his footing and fell over the ball. That England call up might be a little way off yet. Clearly frustrated he then swivelled and smacked a much harder chance an inch wide of the post from distance with home keeper Alex Smithies panicking.
When Hill lost the ball in his own half he redeemed himself with a shuddering slide tackle and more often than not Huddersfield attacks ended at the feet, or on the head, of his centre back partner Onuoha who could have played here in his club suit. Danny Simpson was less comfortable at right back but almost struck his second goal in as many games with an immaculate first touch setting him up for a 25 yarder that that bounced wide of the post via a deflection with Smithies beaten. The referee awarded a goal kick.
Despite Karl Henry’s best efforts QPR were much slicker and more careful with their second half possession. Joey Barton, again receiving a mystifying weight of vocal support from the away end and the usual chorus of abuse from the home fans, started pulling strings and impressing.
The second period was initially peppered with QPR corners and free kicks around the edge of the penalty box as Huddersfield struggled to escape their own half for any length of time. Hoilett hunted the far corner with a curling strike that home keeper Alex Smithies dived extravagantly through the air to catch two handed with the ultimate camera save. Within 60 seconds the Canadian winger had seen a powerful, goal bound drive blocked on the edge of the box at the end of eye catching move build up. And not even a minute after that another fantastic move put Johnson in down the right and his cross was headed flush onto the bar by Austin. Barely ten minutes into the second half and the home side were already glancing at watches and wondering how much longer they could hold out.
The answer, as it turned out, was the rest of the game but it was hair raising stuff at times. Robins sent on Jack Hunt, a more attack minded right back, to try and stop Hoilett being able to attack at will down the QPR left but the experiment failed. Danny Ward replaced Adam Hammill as well and later Sean Scannell arrived instead of Gobern. In searching for a solution the Town manager had inadvertently overlooked Jon Stead who, with six goals in his last six appearances against Rangers, is as good as a one goal start when he plays against the Super Hoops and probably should have been used here.
Respite came for a 20 minute period in the second half where literally nothing happened. Honestly, it was like an episode of Lorraine on ITV. When referee Haines decided he was going to hold the game up every time QPR had a corner — which was reasonably often — to run across and check that Joey Barton had placed the ball correctly within the quadrant I could feel my brain shutting down its systems one by one and start to pulp itself — a permanent vegetative state infinitely preferable to watching any more of this turgid nothingness.
Redknapp acted, sending on Shaun Wright-Phillips for Granero and moving Barton into the middle of midfield. The diminutive winger is rightly maligned by the QPR fans but this was exactly the right change at exactly the right time. Barton had a much more positive effect on proceedings in the middle of the park than Granero and was able to find team mates with passes — a revelation after 70 minutes of Henry passing to Huddersfield players as a matter of routine — and the game sprang back to life.
Austin stirred the slumber by catching Hammill dallying in possession deep inside the Huddersfield half as and lashing an unstoppable shot an inch wide of the top corner and into the side net. Later he cleared a rare Huddersfield corner at the near post, then won the tackle as it dropped on the edge of the box, then sprinted 30 yards down field to successfully power through another 50/50 challenge until Rangers suddenly had a throw in deep in Huddersfield territory. By this time he was doing it all with a bandage around his head after an earlier clash, but it didn’t dent his appetite for aerial duels. A new crowd hero is born.
He linked well with Johnson, who found chances hard to come by but was nevertheless full of running and mischief. Eagle eyed QPR fans spotted him sneaking behind the home goal during one break of play to swig from Smithies’ water bottle, and then pour the rest away. This follows his open abuse of the Sheffield Wednesday fans at Loftus Road following his first goal of the season on the opening day. Rangers fans present for a 6-0 defeat at Fulham two seasons ago will know only too well Johnson’s fondness for interaction with the opposition fans. He may be a shit but he’s our shit now.
Even when Rangers went wrong they somehow mined a positive from this situation. Simpson’s pass to Wright-Phillips 15 minutes from time had a flashing blue light on it but having got there first against the odds the winger found himself dumped to earth by Joel Lynch. From facing possession concession and a counter attack suddenly QPR had a free kick in a dangerous area and Smithies had to rush from his line and punch bravely as Hill steamed in hunting a winner in the style of the late Alan McDonald, who bagged a famous last second score at this end of the ground in an FA Cup tie back in 1997.
Barton struck a low shot at Smithies and then Jermaine Jenas, on for Henry just moments earlier, hit a 25 yarder straight and true but a yard wide of the top corner with the keeper beaten after powerful, positive approach work from Hoilett.
Wright-Phillips twice went close to winning the game in five minutes of injury time. First he snuck in unmarked and onside onto a fine through ball from Barton but, although he reached the pass before Smithies, the keeper had rushed so far from his line that the angle was now non-existent and the resulting shot struck the Huddersfield man square in the chest. The gloveman was more fortunate moments later when Wright-Phillips let fly from range with a shot that took a sharp right turn in flight and could easily have deceived a less talented goalkeeper.
Hoilett bounced a shot wide after collecting possession on the edge of the box from Charlie Austin who the home team said had handled in the build up, then fired straight at the keeper from an acute angle when Danny Simpson picked him out with a deep cross. QPR certainly couldn’t be faulted for effort, and only the fine form of Smithies stood between them and a deserved victory.
Of course the time honoured QPR trick in such situations is to miss a sack full of chances and then concede a late goal at the other end. They had a warning four minutes from time when Wright-Phillips conceded possession in his own half giving Paterson a sight of goal but Hill got in there with a strong block. Not satisfied with that scare the R’s almost fell victim to indecision in their own area in the last minute of normal time and were extremely fortunate the having got to a loose ball first between Green and Suk-Young substitute Scannell poked just wide of the gaping target.
That would have been harsh on the London side though who have passed the three meagre tests they’ve been given so far this season adequately enough. Ipswich up next in Shepherd’s Bush will be tougher still, but with more newcomers set to arrive and Rangers already suggesting they have the quality to be extremely competitive at this new, lower level games can perhaps be looked forward to again rather than dreaded.
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Huddersfield: Smithies 8, Clarke 6, Lynch 6, Gerrard 6, Norwood 6, Carroll 6 (Hunt 63, 6), Hammill 5 (Ward 72, 6), Gobern 6 (Scannell 82, -), Clayton 7, Vaughan 7, Paterson 6
Subs not used: Bennett, Wallace, Crooks Stead
Goals: Vaughan 35 (assisted Norwood)
Bookings: Lynch 73 (foul)
QPR: Green 6, Simpson 6, Hill 6, Onuoha 7, Suk-Young 6, Barton 7, Granero 5 (Wright-Phillips 70, 6), Henry 5 (Jenas 84, -), Hoilett 7, Johnson 6, Austin 7
Subs not used: Murphy, Dunne, Ehmer, O’Neil, Zamora
Goals: Hoilett 38 (assisted Suk-Young)
Bookings: Granero 15 (foul)
QPR Star Man — Joey Barton 7 A tricky decision on a day when, really, the entire team could have easily been rated as a six out of ten. I liked Austin’s endeavour and work rate but he missed a great chance in the first half, while Hoilett looked dangerous but often flattered to deceive and so has his mark boosted to seven purely because he scored. Onuoha was solid at the back but once Clayton had been cut out of the game after half time he wasn’t left with much to defend against. In the end I went for Barton simply because his passing and drive from midfield was very important with both central midfield players having an off day.
Referee — Andy Haines 7 I do hope we’re not going to have this pedantic nonsense over the corners in every match this season. First and foremost I wish Barton would just place the bloody ball in the quadrant and be done with it — on the new pitches at this time of the year there’s nothing to be gained by moving it slightly outside anyway and it’s purely done to antagonise people. But that said is it really necessary for the referee to run all the way out of the box and check every time? During once farce in the second half he made Barton re-spot the ball and then watched as he put it back in exactly the same place. What difference half an inch anyway? Just get on with the bloody game. Fairly decent apart from that, no major calls wrong.
Attendance 13,896 (1,500 QPR approx) Very decent atmosphere with the massed ranks of home support down the side and a very creditable following from West London giving their sides great backing, particularly during the second half.
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Pictures — Action Images