QPR maintained their six point lead at the top of the Championship with a last gasp win at Crystal Palace on Saturday.
At the height of his QPR form Trevor Sinclair, well known philosopher and thinker, was asked in a light-hearted magazine interview what felt better – scoring a goal or sex.
His reply was that it would depend on when you asked him – whether he’d just scored in one sense, or in another. I’d say it depends on exactly when you score. Even as a mere supporter there is no feeling quite like it when your team bags that crucial last minute goal and the QPR fans in the Arthur Wait Stand were left riding high on an emotional cloud that no sexual partner can match after Heidar Helguson powered home a winner at Crystal Palace on Saturday.
That Palace had just scored themselves, an equaliser that seemed set to cut QPR’s lead at the top of the table to four points from six, and were apoplectic with rage that Helguson’s goal had been allowed to stand only made the feeling sweeter. In no other set of circumstances would it be acceptable to randomly jump all over complete strangers as 2000 QPR fans did as the ball hit the back of the net. It’s a feeling that keeps us going back to football, a feeling that people who do not follow the game cannot comprehend. It’s a high that can be provided by no tablet, powder or plant, no other human or set of circumstances. It’s a moment to savour, and QPR’s attitude when it comes to pulling results out of the fire like this hints at more moments like it to come.
QPR went into this game unchanged after the 0-0 draw with Millwall on Tuesday night – the fifth successive game Neil Warnock, returning to his former club, had been able to name the same QPR line up. So Clint Hill and Shaun Derry returned to Palace for the first time since their summer moves to Loftus Road – Hill started at left back with Kyle Walker, Matt Connolly and Kaspars Gorkss completing the back four in front of Paddy Kenny. Derry was joined by Akos Buzsaky at the base of the midfield in the continued absence of Alejandro Faurlin. Heidar Helguson led the line despite a worsening groin problem with a supporting cast of Hogan Ephraim, Adel Taarabt and, fresh from his first ever Scotland call up, Jamie Mackie.
Palace were decimated by injury and suspension and lost 5-0 at Derby a week prior to this fixture. A 0-0 draw at Craig Bellemy’s Cardiff City on Tuesday hinted at improvements but there was no Claude Davis, Neil Danns, Sean Scannell, James Vaughan or QPR’s summer transfer target Darren Ambrose as the teams took to the field. Julian Speroni was in goal though, another target for Warnock during the off season and a consistently outstanding performer against Rangers in the past. Edgar Davids made his home debut, sitting in front of the Palace defence to try and restrict Adel Taarabt’s impact on the game.
It was Davids who had the first involvement in what would prove to be a frantic opening ten minutes that could have produced a couple of goals for both sides. First Palace, three minutes in, worked their way down the QPR right with a couple of free kicks. The first was awarded for a trip by Buzsaky on Clyne, although the referee had initially told Clyne to carry on with play only to then pull him back ad give him the free kick after all when he stopped and refused. That was lofted forward and a much more clear cut set piece was then awarded as Matthew Connolly, showing an uncharacteristic lack of intelligence, clattered through the back of Pablo Counago to win a ball that was never his. Davids struck a shot from this free kick, it was deflected high into the air by Derry who charged out of the wall to block it and from then on it was anybody’s ball as it spiralled high into the rain laden south London sky and came back towards earth deep inside the penalty area.
Palace’s Julian Bennett was the man who stuck his head on it at the back post – without much conviction or knowledge of where he was sending it as I’m sure he would be the first to admit – and the ball bounced invitingly across the face of goal for Andrew Dorman who cracked a half volley that bounced once and pinged back into play off the face of Paddy Kenny’s left hand post.
QPR didn’t let the early scare affect them. Within seconds Hogan Ephraim, who always seems to play well on this ground having been chased as a potential signing by Palace in the past, had sent a ball flashing across the face of Speroni’s goal at the Holmesdale End with nobody able to get a touch. Then the former West Ham trainee produced a fine through ball that had Jamie Mackie away in the area but his first touch was heavy and Speroni was able to save down at his feet.
With the time still in single figures Speroni was a key figure again – catching Adel Taarabt’s corner and quickly setting Palace away down their right wing with a well judged throw. QPR were short of numbers in defence and with young Wilfried Zaha accelerating towards the penalty area with the ball at his feet Shaun Derry was reluctant to come and face him for fear of being exposed. That was all the invitation the Palace man needed and he glided into the area before unloading a low shot with his right foot that Paddy Kenny saved well with two hands down in his bottom left hand corner. The rebound went straight back to Zaha who seemed certain to score but Kenny was up quickly to lock his second effort, across the goal this time, with his feet. A fine double save.
Zaha continued to give QPR problems throughout the first half. With Counago playing as a lone striker Zaha would start Palace moves wide on the right and then cut across the face of the penalty area towards the QPR right back slot, either running with or without the ball, making it a little unclear exactly which QPR man should be picking him up. Strangely, Palace stopped using him as much in the second half and were a much less threatening outfit for it.
Again Rangers were unperturbed and with the time ticking round past the ten minute mark they stormed downfield again. Adel Taarabt tricked two Palace players in typical style before hitting a low shot from the edge of the penalty area. Speroni should have claimed the ball cleanly but having parried it out into his six yard box he reacted quickly to save at Mackie’s feet for the second time in five minutes as the Scot (stop laughing at the back) homed in for what would have been a ninth goal of the season.
The game then, finally, settled down a little and the next action of note was a booking for Hogan Ephraim after 20 minutes. Julian Bennett, on loan at Palace from Nottingham Forest, pushed the ball past Ephraim down the Palace left. Now initially Ephraim clearly fouled his man, wrestling with Bennett in an attempt to prevent him running clear down the line towards the area, but Bennett managed to wriggle free and play was waved on by referee Kevin Friend. Then under little, or to put it another way absolutely no, contact Bennett hit the ground theatrically as Ephraim came back for a second go. A booking and free kick for the first foul certainly, but Bennett ultimately bought the decision from the referee after he realised his options for a cross were limited.
The resulting free kick was headed over his own cross bar by Kaspars Gorkss who did well to avoid scoring an own goal from such close range. Gorkss was an absolute rock for QPR on Saturday, barely putting a foot wrong until very late in the game. But more on that later.
QPR threatened with a couple of set pieces of their own in the last 15 minutes of the half with Heidar Helguson unlucky not to score on both occasions. First the Icelandic striker, playing with a tear in his groin muscle, met an outswinging corner by Taarabt at the near post but his downward header bounced up off the turf and over the crossbar.
Then a couple of minutes before the break he won a corner by seizing on another fine pass from Hogan Ephraim and then deliberately sending the ball behind the goal off Nathaniel Clyne. When Speroni spilled possession after farcically colliding with his own man from the corner the ball fell to Helguson at the back post, he took it to the byline and cut it back into the six yard box where it hit McCarthy, smacked against the top of the post and bounced away to safety.
The bookings were levelled up five minutes before half time when Adel Taarabt was chopped down in full flight by Andrew Dorman who had seemed to escape without a booking until Ephraim protested vehemently that this challenge was at least as bad as his and then the card did eventually come out. The free kick was taken a good five yards further back than where the foul had been committed, seemingly on the insistence of Edgar Davids who may find himself more usefully employed as a referee judging by his performance on Saturday, and was eventually struck into the wall by Adel Taarabt.
QPR were somewhat fortunate to go in all square at half time after two big scares in first half injury time. First a poor clearance from Kyle Walker, outstanding all afternoon apart from this incident, allowed Garvan to cross first time for Zaha in the penalty area. His header was blocked by Clint Hill and while most of the players and fans stopped and appealed for handball Pablo Counago played on and set up what seemed to be a certain goal for Dorman only for Hill to race across and produce a flying block by throwing himself in front of the ball. Hill had earlier denied Counago with some muscular defending at the back post when the Spaniard had looked favourite to get on the end of Djalili’s cross and his attitude continues to impress.
The resulting corner provided further threat – Dorman’s delivery headed goalwards by Julie Bennett and cleared from the line at the back post by Hogan Ephraim with his thigh. The last ten minutes of the half had been as frantic as the first and it was somewhat bewildering to find the game scoreless at half time.
It didn’t remain that way for long. QPR, apparently reinvigorated and ready to step it up a gear or two, took the lead immediately after half time with a goal that owed much to the advancing years of Edgar Davids and the persistency of Jamie Mackie.
Adel Taarabt had already tested Speroni with an improvised lobbed shot when a routine throw in and flick on down the QPR left presented Davids with possession midway inside his own half with no visiting players within ten yards of him. Lazily he tried to help the ball on back to Speroni when the ball was never on and had no need to be played there. Speroni still looked the favourite for it a he raced out of his penalty area but Mackie’s pace and determination got him there first and he toed the ball away from Speroni as he went to ground. That left Mackie with the ball at his feet, wide in the penalty area, and no goalkeeper in the picture. He remained calm, carried the ball towards the net and then as Speroni and McCarthy got back onto the line he set up Taarabt for a simple tap in from three yards out. Taarabt was quick to acknowledge the part Mackie played in the goal in the ensuing celebrations and rightly so.
I found myself thinking on Friday about how many of the world’s genuinely great players I’d seen play in the flesh. Ronaldo, Bergkamp and Figo all came to mind and I was looking forward to ticking off Edgar Davids’ name on the list at Selhurst Park on Saturday. Sadly he was so off the pace it was almost embarrassing and he was withdrawn shortly after this horrendous mistake and replaced by Anthony Gardner. I remember Damiano Tommasi coming to QPR he season before last and doing some good things, but genuinely looking like he couldn’t quite cut it any more – Davids didn’t even do some good things. He seemed to be detailed to man mark Adel Taarabt to begin with but didn’t follow him into the wide areas, he looked to play safe and backwards at every opportunity rather than driving Palace on as he did in his prime and the first QPR goal came from a pass and lack of awareness you wouldn’t expect of a youth team player on debut. He looked like somebody who has been in a television studio for the past couple of years – which is of course exactly what he is – and both the decision to sign him and Davids’ decision to return to action in South London seems very odd indeed.
Heidar Helguson could have doubled the lead within two minutes but his flicked header from Taarabt’s corner went wide of the target when he probably should have scored. Later in the half a much firmer header, this time at the near post, flew wide on the other wise with Speroni well beaten and Helguson then launched his attempt for a goal of the season contender just after the hour. The move began when Kyle Walker showed terrific awareness to ward off a Palace through ball with an intelligent chest pass back to Paddy Kenny. The keeper cleared quickly and accurately down the field towards Jamie Mackie who chested the ball down for Helguson to crack on the volley from fully 30 yards and Speroni needed two attempts to gather the ball after making a save up in the top corner. Once again the word ‘unplayable’ came to mind as Helguson gave another physical, battering ram type performance in the QPR attack.
This quick counter attack was a feature off both sides’ play on Saturday and made for a thoroughly entertaining game. Neil Warnock promised during the pre-season that QPR would go to win every game and he has certainly been true to his word so far. Palace’s keenness to get on with things cost Clint Hill a thoroughly deserved yellow card midway through the second half when he cynically poked the ball away as they were about to take a quick free kick. Good refereeing on that occasion.
The second half thereafter was punctuated with a series of substitutions that changed the game more and more in Crystal Palace’s favour. Following Keiron Cadogan’s half time introduction at the expense of Pablo Counago, who had been comprehensively battered into submission by Kaspars Gorkss and Matt Connolly, George Burley also sent on Anthony Gardner for Davids and then Calvin Andrew for Dorman. These three introductions meant Palace’s attack, particularly for set pieces when Gardner went up from the back, resembled the starting line at the Olympic hundred metres final rather than a Championship football team’s attack. With Andrew, Zahar, Cadogan and Djilali up top, Bennett and Clyne attacking in wide areas and McCarthy and Gardner ready to come up for set pieces the home side suddenly had an abundance of muscular, athletic, frighteningly quick attacking options which forced QPR deeper and deeper into their own half as the game progressed. Shaun Derry was starting to blow through every available orifice and wasn’t as effective as he had been in the first half so Neil Warnock sent on Mikele Leigertwood for Akos Buzsaky to reinforce the midfield. Tommy Smith also got an extended run out instead of Adel Taarabt who was perhaps a luxury we couldn’t afford at this stage of the game – Smith looked keen to impress and did some good things during his 18 minute cameo.
Gorkss had to deny Cadogan a tap in right in front of goal when Garvan had a shot blocked and Marrow clipped the round over Kenny and into the goal mouth. Then Zahar wriggled past Ephraim tight to the byline and unloaded a shot from a tight angle that Paddy Kenny saved at the near post.
With a slender one goal lead and Palace starting to press the last thing QPR needed in the final ten minutes was a series of refereeing decisions to go against them - sadly that’s exactly what they got. First a free kick was awarded, justifiably, on the corner of the penalty area for a foul by Hill on Djilali and delivered towards the back post by Owen Garvan. Kenny sprang from hiss line into a crowd of players but they all missed the ball and it bounced an inch or so wide of the back post – nobody touched the ball and yet a corner was awarded.
Ultimately that proved to be good news for QPR who broke away at lightening pace with the ball at the feet of Kyle Walker. The Tottenham loanee, who seems to be getting better with every game, set off on a mazy run across the field from right to left, and then round the side of Clyne who was comprehensively done for pace by Walker as he accelerated away into the Palace half. Clyne clearly fouled Walker and although Kevin Friend nitially did the right thing by waving advantage he then gave a free kick against the QPR man when Alex Marrow put himelf between Walker and the ball and was wrestled to the ground. Neil Warnock was rightly furious that play had not been brought back for the first offence, Walker got no reward for a lovely piece of play and Rangers were quickly on the back foot again. The free kick was pumped forward, Kaspars Gorkss was crudely dumped to the ground by substitute Calvin Andrew and lay injured on the edge of the box – play was waved on despite this being a clear foul and a nasty injury – and Rangers were left to scramble the ball away with their centre back stricken on the turf. This was not Kevin Friend’s finest few minutes of refereeing, and the injury to Gorkss quickly cost QPR a goal as the Latvian struggled to cope with the pace of the home side’s attack having been reduced to playing on one leg.
Just as he had done in the first half Zahar caused problems in the right channel. He pulled Gorkss out of the middle of the defence to challenge him then made the most of his physical state by rounding him comfortably and cutting the ball back from the byline for Keiron Cadogan, arriving late in the box unmarked, to shin the ball home from eight yards out.
I have to say I was very surprised we conceded the way we did. Palace had threatened, but their final ball into the area was frequently dreadful – betraying a lack of confidence and experience among their young team. I felt it would have to be a Garvan set piece that undid us if anything did, and even then Gorkss was in such towering form at the back I felt confident we had enough muscle to cope with that. Ultimately I think the injury to the Latvian proved absolutely crucial in getting Palace back into the game because I just don’t think the goal would have happened without it despite the unrelenting pressure. Palace hadn’t scored in three games prior to this one and QPR hadn’t conceded in five and I expected that to continue.
With a minute left on the clock that seemed to be a heartbreaking end to what for so long had seemed like another wonderful afternoon on the road for QPR but while Cadogan and his team mates were concentrating on some bizarre epileptic pigeon like dance routine celebration by the corner flag QPR quickly returned the ball to the centre spot and prepared to launch a final offensive. In my opinion Palace’s body language was that of a team that though the job was done. QPR’s was anything but.
Two minutes into stoppage time, the final glorious act. Mikele Leigertwood stuck the ball forward and Helguson, as ever, won his header and flicked the ball in behind the Palace defence. Jamie Mackie, as ever, chased it down and could have delivered a decent low cross into the box from the position he was in but, realising there was nobody who’d been able to keep up with him, he checked back and fed the ball back to Leigertwood who switched the attack to Tommy Smith wide on the left. Smith sent in a cross to the back post where Speroni looked favourite to gather until Helguson charged in and powerfully headed the ball down into the bottom corner.
The Palace players immediately besieged the referee and my first reaction was that Helguson had diverted the ball into the net with his arm. Referee Kevin Friend stood still, signalling neither a goal nor a free kick, his linesman also remained fixed to the ground and stared straight back at him. Helguson was ridiculously penalised for non-existent fouls on Leicester goalkeeper Carl Ikeme three times in the last away game and had a nervous look over his shoulder as he wheeled away to celebrate but on this occasion, no free kick was forthcoming. QPR celebrated, Palace surrounded the match officials and Speroni was booked for dissent - another three points had been secured in the most dramatic circumstance.
Overall I was impressed with a number of aspects of the QPR performance and I think it would have been harsh on us to come away with only a point on Saturday if that’s what we had had to settle for. However Palace were without several key members of their team and it’s a more than fair point to say we should have had the game buried long before the equaliser went in when you look at the teams on paper.
I thought after a couple of quiet games Jamie Mackie and Hogan Ephraim were right back to their August best. Ephraim seems to revel in games at Selhurst Park and some of his passing in attack on Saturday was like nothing I’ve ever seen from him before. I thought Shaun Derry and Clint Hill both had excellent first halves, and then noticeably tired as the game wore on which in turn made QPR a much less effective outfit. I thought Connolly and particularly Gorkss were excellent at centre back up until the last few minutes and Kyle Walker was superb at right back. Helguson led the line superbly and deserved his goal.
Palace looked enthusiastic but naïve. I wondered afterwards whether sending on Andrew for Counago at half time and allowing Zahar to stay wide where he was able to inject himself into the game whenever he felt he would be most effective would have been a better move than sending Zahar into the main striking role for the second half. QPR struggled to cope with him when Counago and then Andrew were on the pitch and he set up the Palace goal after moving back to the wide area.
I think it’s fair to say that as we go into the second international break of the season, an important gap with several players playing through injuries, we’re doing very slightly better than many QPR fans anticipated at the start of the season.
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Crystal Palace: Speroni 7, Clyne 7, Marrow 6, McCarthy 6, Bennett 7, Davids 5 (Gardner 56, 6), Garvan 7, Dorman 6 (Andrew 79, 7), Djilali 7, Zahar 8, Counago 5 (Cadogan 46, 7)
Subs Not Used: Price, Holness, N'Diaye, O'Keefe
Booked: Dorman (foul), Speroni (dissent)
Goals: Cadogan 89 (assisted Zahar)
QPR: Kenny 7, Walker 8, Connolly 7, Gorkss 8, Hill 7, Buzsaky 6 (Leigertwood 83, -), Derry 7, Mackie 8, Taarabt 7 (Smith 72, 7), Ephraim 8, Helguson 8
Subs Not Used: Rowlands, Agyemang, Cerny, Borrowdale, German
Booked: Ephraim (foul), Hill (kicking ball away)
Goals: Taarabt 49 (assisted Mackie), Helguson 90 (assisted Smith)
QPR Star Man – Kyle Walker 8 Narrowly ahead of several others, notably Gorkss who was a tower of strength just before his injury. Walker is very sound defensively and then having frustrated his winger without the ball, he revels in giving him a good going over the other way. He is the most attacking full back I can ever recall seeing at QPR and his length of the field dribble in the second half, harshly finished by a free kick against him. I believe his month with us is now up and while I’m a big fan of Bradley Orr, and playing players you own ahead of loaned ones, it’s hard to envisage us not trying to keep hold of him such is the impact he has made.
Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire) 6 A real mixed bag of decisions here. Mr Friend is never knowingly troubled either by fairness or the rules of the game when it comes to giving away sides absolutely nothing and there were times in the second half when I was just waiting for the inevitable Palace penalty decision, especially in the made ten minutes just before their goal when every single decision seemed to go their way. However all four yellow cards were the correct decisions and the big moment of the game, in stoppage time, he called absolutely right. It would be over critical of me to suggest he and the linesman were both frantically looking for a reason to disallow it, such was the reaction of the Palace players, but there you go I’ve said it anyway.
Attendance: 17,171 (2000 QPR approx) The decision to move the away fans to the other end of the side stand, away from Palace’s self styled “ultras” has dimmed the atmosphere somewhat. The place was jumping for our game here last season and the QPR fans were in decent choice here again having travelled in big numbers despite an extortionate £30 ticket charge but it just didn’t have the same feel to it as when we were closer to the home fans. For their part the strange lot in the corner hugged each other and bounced around in their usual way.