Marsh's magnificent hat trick makes it an unhappy return for Kelly - History Wednesday, 27th Mar 2024 08:58 by Clive Whittingham We're all the way back to 1970/71 for the Memorable Match this week, as Rodney Marsh leads former QPR goalkeeper Mike Kelly a merry dance with a high quality hat trick in a thumping 5-2 victory at home to Birmingham City. Memorable MatchQPR 5 Birmingham City 2, Saturday October 17, 1970 QPR’s ill-fated first ever season of top flight football, which yielded just four wins (all at home) and saw the R’s concede 95 goals in 1968/69, was moving off into the distance in the rear-view mirror by the time 1970/71 rocked around in the Second Division. Rangers had consolidated in ninth in their first season back in the second tier, and would go onto finish eleventh this year before eventually winning promotion back to the First Division as runners up to Burnley in 1972/73. A rebuilding was taking place, initially with former player Les Allen in charge, but Gordan Jago loomed large on the horizon and would take over the team in January. Perhaps the best performance of the Allen half of the season, and an indication of what QPR were capable of when they clicked, came against Birmingham City at Loftus Road in October. They’d already been beaten by Brum 2-1 at St Andrew’s on the opening day, part of a mediocre start of three wins and three draws from the first 11 games — a run that included a 6-2 loss to Middlesbrough and 5-1 victory against Orient. The QPR team contained a mix of players who’d been part of the team to storm from Third Division to First via a League Cup success — Marsh, Hunt, Morgan — and those who would go onto form the backbone of the team that almost won the league title in 1975/76 — Parkes, Clement, Gillard, Venables and a young Gerry Francis on the bench. It was, however, beset by injuries, and on this day gave a debut to 20-year-old Andy McCulloch who’d signed professional forms for the first time in his life the Friday before, joining from Walton and Hersham. Birmingham, meanwhile, had Mike Kelly in goal, who’d left Rangers to move to St Andrew’s that summer, and legendary striker Bob Latchford up front who’d go on to achieve fame and fortune with 106 goals in 236 appearances for Everton after leaving the second city. After starting the season with consecutive wins against QPR and Carlisle they’d only won one of nine since coming into the game and had spent £80,000 on Charlton midfielder Alan Campbell prior to the game. Kelly was in for a long afternoon of torment at the hands of Marsh, tested early away to his right by a long range left foot strike from the mercurial forward after he’d cut in from the QPR right. Warning unheaded, Marsh scored a spectacular opener on five minutes. Little seemed on as Ian Gillard drew his boot back and launched a low crossfield ball from left back, but Robinson slipped allowing the ball to work its way through to Marsh who controlled with his left foot and then met the ball thunderously on his right from 25 yards, sending it screaming into the roof of the net, straight down the middle but beating Kelly through a combination of power and the earliness of the strike. How it wasn’t 2-0 soon after nobody could quite work out as Marsh sprayed an intelligent ball to the right to bring Dave Clement into the game then peeled off into the area to meet the resulting cross firmly, beating Kelly all ends up, but hitting the underside of the bar. McCulloch met the rebound with a diving header that seemed certain to score, only to fly straight at Kelly who was now laid out on the ground having attempted the earlier save. No matter, after just a quarter of an hour panicked Birmingham contrived to give away a corner from Hockey’s misplaced back pass and Mike Ferguson’s beautifully flighted delivery was glanced into the far corner of the net with a flying header from Marsh once more. Birmingham were soon back in it, despite a superb save off to the left initially by Parkes to deny Summerill, Latchford alert and able to convert the rebound just onside. But there was a third QPR goal to follow as Ferguson beautifully skipped round his man on the left, played a super little ball into Morgan who then spread the play for Marsh to release Venables first time. Kelly made an absolute mess of the resulting shot, which should have been easily saved, but the move leading up to it would grace any league in the world, and Rangers led 3-1. Make that 3-2 after just 20 minutes, Summerill crossing low for Latchford to slam in at the far post, and it would have been 3-3 but for a brilliant Parkes save in the bottom corner denying Vincent. The second half began with Latchford, somehow, missing a stone-cold sitter from four yards at the Loft End, but Rangers quickly made it four when Ferguson swung over another devilish cross and debut boy McCulloch rose splendidly and met the ball firmly, guiding it down into the only part of the goal Kelly couldn’t really reach from that range. All that remained now was for Marsh to seal the win with his hat trick. Quite the hat trick goal as well, receiving the ball with his back to goal on the edge of the area surrounded by three, quickly working space with a double drag back, and then firing one into the far corner with the goalkeeper unsighted. That was one of three consecutive wins for Rangers under Allen, but another nine match losing run lay around the corner. They would come home with a wet sail, winning seven and losing only one of the last ten under Jago. Birmingham did similar, with just five wins prior to mid-December but then a second half of the season that featured just three league defeats from 22 games. They finished ninth to QPR’s eleventh. QPR: Parkes; Clement, Hazell, Watson, Gillard; Morgan, Hunt, Venables Ferguson; Marsh, McCulloch Sub: Francis Birmingham: Kelly; Thomson, Hynd, Beard, Martin; Campbell, Robinson, Hockey, Summerill; Latchford, Vincent Sub: Vowden Attendance: 13,074 Classic encountersLFW regular and AKUTR’s columnist Dave Barton has set up a QPR Memories YouTube channel, with a mixture of clips, classic games, and old highlights packages. His three recent meetings with Birmingham are embedded below, give him a subscribe on YouTube or follow @QPR_Memories on Twitter. Recent MeetingsBirmingham City 0 QPR 0, Friday September 22, 2023, Championship One of the (few) better performances under Gareth Ainsworth’s fairly disastrous tutelage came in front of the Sky cameras at St Andrew’s in September 2023. Rangers were indebted to a spectacular goalline clearance by Sam Field, and Asmir Begovic had his best game for the club in goal, but there were plenty of chances at the other end as Sinclair Armstrong, Paul Smyth and Lyndon Dykes were all denied by John Ruddy and Field somehow bundled wide when it seemed easier to score in a second half scramble. Brum: Ruddy 8; Drameh 6, Sanderson 5, Long 6, Buchanan 6; Bacuna 6, Bielik 7; Miyoshi 7 (Dembele 71, 6), Stansfield 7, Anderson 6 (Burke 43, 7); Hogan 5 (Jutkiewicz 71, 6) Subs not used: Etheridge, James, Gardner, Longelo, Sunjic, Aiwu Bookings: Bacuna 54 (foul), Sanderson 67 (foul), Stansfield 90 (foul) QPR: Begovic 8; Kakay 6, Cook 8, Fox 5; Smyth 6 (Adomah 65, 6), Dozzell 7, Field 8, Paal 6; Chair 7, Dykes 6, Armstrong 6 (Willock 75, 6) Subs not used: Clarke-Salter, Dixon-Bonner, Larkeche, Kelman, Duke-McKenna, Walsh, Kolli Bookings: Field 45 (foul), Smyth 61 (foul) QPR 0 Birmingham City 1, Saturday March 18, 2023, Championship The standard early QPR defensive collapse, this time with a dire Albert Adomah tackle at its heart, saw Birmingham City in for a third minute opener through Chong which turned out to be enough to win the whole game when these sides met at Loftus Road in March 2023. Rangers, in the midst of a run of two wins from 28 that looked for a long time like ending up in League One, posed precious little threat in return and would have lost by more but for Seny Dieng’s save onto the bar from Lukas Jutkiewicz in the second half. QPR: Dieng 5; Adomah 3, Dickie 4 (Armstrong 77, 6), Dunne 4, Field 4, Kakay 5 (Drewe 45, 5); Iroegbunam 5, Amos 3 (Johansen 61, 4), Lowe 2 (Dixon-Bonner 82, -); Martin 4, Dykes 4 Subs not used: Archer, Gubbins, Dozzell Bookings: Field 22 (foul), Amos 56 (foul), Armstrong 90+6 (fighting), Johansen 90+6 (fighting) Birmingham: Ruddy 6; Colin 6, Roberts 7, Long 6, Trusty 6; Chong 7 (Graham 86, -), Bielik 6, Bacuna 7 (Chang 63, 6), Khadra 7 (Mejbri 72, 6); Hall 5, Jutkiewicz 6 Subs not used: Etheridge, Hogan, Longelo, James Goals: Chong 3 (assisted Bacuna) Bookings: Ruddy 78 (time wasting), Trusty 81 (foul), Long 90+6 (fighting) Birmingham City 2 QPR 0, Friday October 28, 2022, Championship That nightmare run began at Birmingham in October. Trusty’s improvised hook into the net from Birmingham’s first corner of the game set the scene for a televised Friday evening of frustration for the R’s and Longelo doubled that lead from the edge of the box on the half hour after Tyler Roberts and Lyndon Dykes had both missed presentable chances to equalise. Rangers had reason to feel aggrieved that Birmingham were allowed to substitute Hannibal Mejbri long after the Tunisian should have been sent off, but referee Tim Robinson did award the visitors a late penalty for a high boot on Ethan Laird only for Dykes to miss from the spot. Birmingham: Ruddy 7; Colin 6, Dean 6, Sanderson 6, Trusty 7, Longelo 7; Chong 8 (Hall 81, -), Bielik 7, Mejbri 8 (Bacuna 54, 6); Hogan 7 (James 88, -), Deeney 7 (Jutkiewicz 81, -) Subs not used: Etheridge, Graham, Bellingham Goals: Trusty 4 (assisted Bielik), Longelo 29 (assisted Mejbri) Bookings: Mejbri 7 (miracle), Trusty 35 (foul), Bielik 55 (foul), Longelo 78 (foul) QPR: Dieng 5; Laird 5, Balogun 5, Clarke-Salter 4 (Dickie 21, 5), Paal 5; Johansen 5 (Amos 45, 6), Field 6 (Richards 81, -), Iroegbunam 5; Roberts 3 (Armstrong 27, 5), Chair 5, Dykes 4 Subs not used: Kakay, Archer, Dozzell Bookings: Dickie 53 (dissent), Balogun 60 (foul), Iroebugnam 70 (foul) Birmingham City 1 QPR 2, Sunday January 2, 2022, Championship When Mick Beale talked about the team he inherited occasionally being too “results happy” and not “performance happy”, you couldn’t get a much starker example than the win at Birmingham in January 2022. Albert Adomah’s first half opener should have set promotion chasing QPR away for a comfortable victory against a woeful Brum side, but even with Chris Willock’s outstanding second half goal - that brought back memories of Bright Osayi-Samuel’s strike at the same end a couple of years prior — in the bag it became a real struggle to the conclusion with Chuks Aneke pulling a late one back. In truth, Rangers were poor all day, and lucky to get away with the three. Birmingham: Sarkic 6; Colin 5, Sanderson 7, Friend 6, Pedersen 5, Castillo 2 (Woods 46, 6); Gardner 4 (Aneke 67, 6), Sunjic 4, James 5; Deeney 3, Hall 5 (Hogan 85, -) Subs not used: Etheridge, Bellingham, Walker, Campbell Goals: Aneke 75 (assisted Colin) Yellow cards: Sunjic 87 (foul) QPR: Dieng 6; Adomah 7, Dickie 7, Dunne 8, Barbet 7, Wallace 6; Field 6, Amos 6, Willock 8; Dykes 5 (Austin 85, -), Gray 5 (Johansen 63, 6) Subs not used: Kakay, Ball, Archer, Thomas Goals: Adomah 14 (assisted Wallace), Willock 71 (unassisted) Yellow Cards: Dickie 59 (foul), Amos 74 (foul), Field 87 (dissent) QPR 2 Birmingham City 0, Tuesday September 28, 2021, Championship A typically sluggish start from the 21/22 QPR side saw Birmingham miss great chances to take the lead through Chong and Deeney before Ilias Chair’s deflected opener settled nerves. Chair had been criticised for his performance in the previous game at West Brom but hit back at those critics by bursting through the middle of the Brum defence to score a game-sealing second goal just after the hour, with Lyndon Dykes forging a brilliant assist from a crowded midfield area. QPR: Dieng 6; Odubajo 6, Dickie 7, Dunne 7, Barbet 6, Willock 7; Ball 6, Dozzell 6 (Amos 63, 7), Chair 8; Austin 6 (Gray 72, 5), Dykes 6 (Adomah 72, 7) Subs not used: Kakay, De Wijs, Thomas, Walsh Goals: Chair 34 (assisted Odubajo), 64 (assisted Dykes) Bookings: Dozzell 54 (foul) Birmingham: Sarkic 5; Colin 6, Roberts 6 (McGree 71, 6), Dean 6, Sanderson 6, Bela 7; Woods 6, Sunjic 5, Chong 5; Hogan 6 (Aneke 71, 5), Deeney 4 (Jutkiewicz 56, 6) Subs not used: Friend, Graham, Trueman, Chang Bookings: Sunjic 86 (foul) Birmingham City 2 QPR 1, Saturday February 27, 2021, Championship With QPR’s flying post-Christmas form starting to threaten an unlikely play-off push, and Aitor Karanka by this point so unpopular at Birmingham that even most of their players wanted to lose this game to prolong their abysmal run of results and push him closer to the exit, it was no real surprise when Todd Kane crossed for Charlie Austin to open the scoring before half time. That looked like being that in a dire game played on a pudding pitch, but QPR switched off after clearing a late Marc Roberts long throw and allowed him to re-cross for Kristian Pedersen to head home a late equaliser. If that was against the run of play, the glorious late winner from Alen Halilovic was an absolute liberty. Birmingham: Etheridge 6; Colin 5, Dean 6, Clarke-Salter 6 (Roberts 63, 6), Pedersen 6; Sunjic 6; Sanchez 6 (Valery 90+1, -), Harper 6, Gardner 6 (Halilovic 63, 7), Bela 6 (Leko 63, 5); Hogan 5 (Jutkiewicz 71, 5) Subs not used: Prieto, Friend, Clayton, McGree Goals: Pedersen 82 (assisted Roberts), Halilovic 86 (unassisted) Bookings: Pedersen 51 (foul), Halilovic 86 (over celebrating), Roberts 90+6 (time wasting) QPR: Dieng 6; Dickie 6, Cameron 5, Barbet 5; Kane 6, Willock 5 (Field 56, 5), Ball 5, Johansen 5 (Adomah 87, -), Hämäläinen 5; Bonne 5 (Kelman 87, -), Austin 6 (Dykes 56, 5) Subs not used: Lumley, Chair, Bettache, Thomas, Kakay Goals: Austin 44 (assisted Kane) Bookings Willock 13 (foul), Bonne 73 (time wasting) QPR 0 Birmingham City 0, Saturday October 24, 2020, Championship Karanka still wanks himself to sleep over it. QPR: Dieng 7; Kakay 6, Dickie 6, Barbet 7, Wallace 5 (Hamalainen 30, 6); Cameron 5; Adomah 6 (Ball 69, 6), Chair 5, Bonne 5, Osayi-Samuel 6; Dykes 6 (Willock 69, 5) Subs not used: Kelly, Kane, Masterson, Bettache Bookings: Dickie 18 (foul) Birmingham: Etheridge 6; Roberts 6, Dean 7, Friend 6; Colin 6, Gardner 6, San Jose 6, Sunjic 7, Pedersen 6; Leko 6 (Jutkiewicz 62, 5), Hogan 5 (Sanchez 76, -) Subs not used: Prieto, Kieftenbeld, Bela, Dacres-Cogley, Boyd-Munce QPR 2 Birmingham City 2, Saturday February 29, 2020, Championship A rare Saturday February 29 outing produced a very Championship 2-2 draw between two midtable sides at Loftus Road last season. QPR’s propensity to concoct defensively calamitous goals against reared its head twice to Scott Hogan’s advantage, first running the ball into an empty net through a chaotic mess, than heading home unmarked from a corner — of course. In between, Marc Pugh and My Chemical Hugill both made short work of close range finishes after good approach work, notably from in-form Bright Osayi-Samuel. It was the last time we were at Loftus Road together, turning and heading for home from the Crown that night vowing to see everybody again next week. If only we’d known. QPR: Kelly 6; Rangel 6, Barbet 6, Masterson 6, Manning 6; Ball 7, Cameron 6; Osayi-Samuel 8, Eze 7, Pugh 7 (Chair 74, 6); Hugill 7 Subs not used: Lumley, Kane, Amos, Shodipo, Clarke, Oteh Goals: Pugh 51 (assisted Hugill), Hugill 55 (assisted Osayi-Samuel) Birmingham: Camp 7; Colin 6, Roberts 6, Dean 6, Pedersen 5; Bela 7 (Montero 73, 6), Gardner 6, Sunjic 6, Crowley 6 (Kieftenbeld 83, -); Jutkiewicz 6, Hogan 8 Subs not used: Harding, Clarke-Salter, Mrabti, Bellingham, Trueman Goals: Hogan 24 (assisted Colin), 81 (assisted Gardner) Birmingham City 0 QPR 2, Wednesday December 11, 2019, Championship Bright Osayi-Samuel lit up St Andrew’s with a spectacular goal as QPR won in the second city once again before Christmas. Grant Hall had already scrambled an opener against his former club from a first half corner when Osayi-Samuel took advantage of Maxime Colin’s yellow card for dissent and torched the full back down the outside. Unable to foul, Colin could do little against the winger’s pace and power and this time there was a finish to match, high into the roof of the net. Nahki Wells, waiting for a cut back, slightly less thrilled than the rest of us. Birmingham: Trueman 6; Colin 5, Dean 6, Harding 6, Pedersen 5; McEachran 5, Sunjic 5; Maghoma 6, Bellingham 6 (Montero 64, 5), Bela 6 (Bailey 54, 5); Gimenez 5 (Jutkiewicz 53, 4) Subs not used: Camp, Gardner, Davis, Bajrami Bookings: Colin 51 (dissent), Maghoma 77 (foul) QPR: Lumley 6; Kane 6, Hall 8, Leistner 6, Manning 7; Cameron 7, Amos 7 (Smith 90+2, -); Osayi-Samuel 7, Pugh 6 (Ball 71, 6), Eze 7; Wells 5 (Hugill 70, 5) Subs not used: Wallace, Mlakar, Chair, Barnes Goals: Hall 45+1 (assisted Eze), Osayi-Samuel 68 (unassisted) Bookings: Leistner 61 (foul), Eze 90+1 (unsporting) QPR 3 Birmingham City 4, Saturday February 9, 2019, Championship QPR came within a missed penalty of salvaging a point from a game they trailed 4-0 in for the third time in the history of the club when these sides met at Loftus Road in February, 2019. A first half defensive collapse with Joel Lynch at its heart saw Che Adams register a hat trick between 21 and 41 minutes, with Harlee Dean powering in a fourth in amongst it for good measure. There were people heading for home before the half time whistle but Matt Smith rekindled hope with a pair of goals immediately before and after the break. Rangers introduced Pawel Wszolek and laid siege to the Birmingham goal in the second half with our former keeper Lee Camp performing absolute heroics for his latest team. The visitors eventually cracked when Jordan Cousins lashed in his one and only goal for Rangers to set up a grand stand finish with ten minutes left and Matt Smith nearly equalised with his hat trick goal directly from the kick off. It felt like it was written, and when Luke Freeman was chopped by Craig Gardner in injury time the R’s had a penalty to complete the fairytale. Tragically, Camp went the right way and saved a weak kick to get his side over the line for a win. QPR 1st Half: Lumley 3; Furlong 4, Hall 3, Lynch 2, Bidwell 4; Osayi-Samuel 6, Scowen 3, Luongo 5, Freeman 5; Smith 6, Wells 5 QPR 2nd half: Lumley 6; Leistner 7, Hall 5, Lynch 5 (Wszolek 61, 7); Furlong 6, Bidwell 6; Cousins 7, Freeman 8, Luongo 7; Wells 5, Smith 9 QPR Overall: Lumley 4; Furlong 5, Hall 4, Lynch 3 (Wszolek 61, 7), Bidwell 5; Osayi-Samuel 6 (Cousins 46, 7), Scowen 3 (Leistner 46, 7), Luongo 6, Freeman 7; Wells 5, Smith 8 Subs not used: Ingram, Eze, Manning, Hemed Goals: Smith 41 (assisted Freeman), 48 (assisted Wells), Cousins 80 (assisted Freeman) Bookings: Lynch 53 (foul) Birmingham 1st half: Camp 6; Harding 7, Morrison 7, Dean 7, Colin 7; Gardner 7, Kieftenbeld 8, Maghoma 8, Jota 10; Jutkiewicz 8, Adams 10 Birmingham 2nd half: Camp 9; Harding 6, Morrison 5, Dean 5, Colin 6; G Gardner 7, Kieftenbeld 7, Maghoma 6 (C Gardner 74, 6), Jota 6; Jutkiewicz 6 (Mrabti 68, 5), Adams 7 (Vassell 82, -) Birmingham overall: Camp 8; Harding 6, Morrison 6, Dean 6, Colin 6; G Gardner 7, Kieftenbeld 8, Maghoma 7 (C Gardner 74, 6), Jota 8; Jutkiewicz 7 (Mrabti 68, 5), Adams 9 (Vassell 82, -) Subs not used: Pedersen, Mahoney, Davis, Trueman Goals: Adams 21 (unassisted), 26 (assisted Jota), 42 (assisted Jota), Dean 36 (assisted Jota) Bookings: Maghoma 58 (foul) Birmingham City 0 QPR 0, Saturday September 1, 2018, Championship The first meeting between these sides last season was one of the worst games of football I’ve ever seen before in my life. Birmingham: Camp 6; Colin 5 (Harding 59, 6), Morrison 6, Dean 5, Pedersen 6; Maghoma 6, G Gardner 6, Kieftenbeld 6, Jota 6; Adams 6 (Solomon-Otabor 68, 6), Jutkiewicz 6 (Bogle 86, -) Subs not used: Roberts, Mahoney, C Gardner, Trueman Bookings: Maghoma 30 (foul), Pedersen 53 (foul) QPR: Lumley 6; Rangel 6, Leistner 6, Lynch 6, Bidwell 6; Eze 6, Cousins 6, Luongo 5, Freeman 6; Wells 6 (Smith 85, -), Hemed 6 (Cameron 89, -) Subs not used: Ingram, Baptiste, Osayi-Samuel, Wszolek, Smyth QPR 3 Birmingham City 1, Saturday April 28, 2018, Championship A QPR team containing Joe Lumley, Osman Kakay, Darnell Furlong, Ryan Manning, Ebere Eze, Ilias Chair and Bright Osayi-Samuel swept aside relegation-haunted Birmingham in April 2018 at Loftus Road despite having little to play for. Che Adams have the visitors the lead before the half hour but Osayi-Samuel smashed in his first goal for the club almost immediately to equalise and Rangers took the game away from the Blues in the second half with a close range effort from Chair and a rare goal with his feet from sub Matt Smith in stoppage time. QPR: Lumley 6; Kakay 5 (Onuoha 67, 7), Furlong 7, Bidwell 7, Manning 7; Scowen 7; Eze 7, Chair 8, Freeman 8, Osayi-Samuel 7 (Mackie 69, 7); Sylla 5 (Smith 77, 7) Subs not used: Smithies, Cousins, Smyth, Tilt Goals: Osayi-Samuel 29 (assisted Chair), Chair 70 (assisted Freeman), Smith 90+2 (Unassisted) Bookings: Manning 57 (foul), Chair 88 (foul) Birmingham: Stockdale 7; Harding 5, Morrison 5, Roberts 5, Colin 5; Davis 5, Ndoye 5 (Gardner 73, 5); Jota 6, Adams 6 (Gallagher 57, 5), Maghoma 7; Jutkiewicz 4 Subs not used: Grounds, Kieftenbeld, Dacres-Cogley, Kuszczak, Lubala Goals: Adams 27 (assisted Maghoma) Bookings: Davis 63 (foul) Birmingham City 1 QPR 2, Saturday December 16, 2017, Championship QPR finally won their first away game of the season, their first win away from home in 18 attempts going back to February, with a 2-1 win at St Andrew’s just before Christmas. Rangers hadn’t won away since they beat Birmingham 4-1 the previous season but were on their way to another success on the same ground when Jack Robinson scored his first goal for the club, heading home Luke Freeman’s first half free kick. A rare mistake from Alex Smithies let Sam Gallagher in for an equaliser on the hour and the R’s started to drift out of the game before Robinson, out of the blue, whopped in a second from long range. Birmingham: Stockdale 5; Colin 5, Morrison 5, Dean 5, Grounds 5; Davis 6 (Maghoma 75, 6), Gardner 5; Jota 5 (Jutkiewicz 87, -), Kieftenbeld 5, Boga 5; Gallagher 7 Subs not used: Nsue, Bramall, Ndoye, Trueman, Gleeson Goals: Gallagher 57 (assisted Kieftenbeld) Bookings: Gallagher 66 (foul) QPR: Smithies 5; Baptiste 6, Onuoha 6, Robinson 8; Wszolek 6, Bidwell 7; Freeman 7 (Hall 88, -), Luongo 6, Scowen 7; Washington 5 (Samuel 84, -), Smith 6 (Sylla 75, 7) Subs not used: Cousins, Lumley, Chair, Wheeler Goals: Robinson 17 (assisted Freeman), 83 (assisted Freeman) Bookings: Scowen 45+1 (foul), Smith 68 (repetitive fouling) Birmingham City 1 QPR 4, Saturday February 18, 2017, Championship The best performance and result of Ian Holloway’s second spell in charge subsequently turned out to be the last away win in 18 attempts. In the midst of a total meltdown under Gianfranco Zola at Birmingham, Rangers turned up and destroyed the hosts in the second half having gone in 1-0 up at half time through a Matt Smith header from a corner. Conor Washington doubled the lead straight after the break and then Idrissa Sylla and Yeni Ngbakoto added a third and fourth off the bench — the latter turned out to be QPR’s Goal of the Season. Nsue scored in injury time to wreck Alex Smithies’ clean sheet but this was a dominant display that promised so much more to come. Lol. Birmingham: Kuszczak 6; Nsue 6, Cogley 5 (Koyunlu 45, 5), Shotton 5, Grounds 5; Keita 5 (Robinson 31, 5), Kieftenbeld 4, Tesche 5 (Storer 82, -), Stewart 7, Adams 5; Sinclair 5 Subs not used: Legzdins, Gleeson, O’Keefe, Bielik Goals: Nsue 90+3 (assisted Adams) Bookings: Tesche 21 (foul), Robinson 56 (dissent), Storer 87 (foul) QPR: Smithies 6; Furlong 7, Onuoha 8, Lynch 7, Bidwell 6; Manning 8, Hall 7, Freeman 8; Washington 8 (Ngbakoto 85, -), Smith 8 (Sylla 80, -), Wszolek 7 (Lua Lua 85, -) Subs not used: Mackie, Ingram, Luongo, Perch Goals: Smith 18 (assisted Freeman), Washington 47 (unassisted), Sylla 84 (assisted Wszolek), Ngbakoto 88 (free kick — won Manning) Bookings: Lynch 50 (foul), Bidwell 82 (foul), Manning 90 (foul) QPR 1 Birmingham City 1, Saturday September 24, 2016, Championship QPR had lost three on the spin, including a 6-0 home defeat to Newcastle, prior to the first meeting between these sides in September that seasn and must have feared the worst when Jutkiewicz headed in from close range to give Brum an early lead. But Steven Caulker headed in an equaliser from a Tjaronn Chery corner before half time and with substitute Pawel Wszolek impressing in the second half the R’s were unlucky not to win with Ledgzdins saving from Sylla and Borysiuk in particular. QPR: Smithies 6; Onuoha 5, Caulker 6, Hall 5, Bidwell 6; Borysiuk 7, Luongo 6; Cousins 5 (Wzsolek 14, 7), Chery 6, Shodipo 6 (Polter 65, 5); Sylla 7 Subs not used: Lynch, Washington, Ingram, El Khayati, Henry Goals: Caulker 39 (assisted Chery) Bookings: Shodipo 35 (encroachment), Hall 89 (foul) Birmingham: Ledgzdins 6; Spector 6, Shotton 5, Morrison 7, Grounds 6; Gleeson 6, Kieftenbeld 6; Davis 6 (Robinson 82, -), Adams 5 (Stewart 82, -), Maghoma 7; Jutkiewicz 6 (Storer 85, -) Subs not used: Cotterill, Wiggins, Brown, Trueman Goals: Jutkiewicz 23 (assisted Maghoma/Morrison) Bookings: Kieftenbeld 68 (foul) QPR 2 Birmingham City 0, Saturday February 27, 2016, Championship One of QPR’s better performances of the 2015/16 campaign came in the home fixture against Birmingham City. The Blues were still well in the play-off mix at the time but Rangers set about them impressively and took the lead when James Perch fed Tjaronn Chery in the area and the Dutchman turned on the ball and cutely sought out the far corner. The lead was doubled before half time when Seb Polter was felled and Junior Hoilett converted the penalty and although Karl Henry had to clear from the goal line soon after half time, it was QPR who created the better chances in the second half and Massimo Luongo went close to making it three. QPR: Smithies 6; Onuoha 7, Angella 7, Hall 6, Perch 7; Henry 7, Luongo 7, Phillips 6 (Washington 82, -), Chery 8 (Tozser 76, 6), Hoilett 6 (El Khayati 90+3, -); Polter 7 Subs not used: Konchesky, Faurlin, Ingram, Petrasso Goals: Chery 35 (assisted Perch), Hoilett 38 (penalty, won Polter) Birmingham: Kuszczak 6; Shotton 5, Morrison 5, Robinson 6, Grounds 6; Gleeson 6, Kieftenbeld 6 (Vaughan 71, 5); Cotterill 7, Fabbrini 4 (Toral 63, 6), Maghoma 6 (Buckley 79, 6); Donaldson 4 Subs not used: Legzdins, Spector, Davis, Caddis Bookings: Fabbrini 15 (foul), Morrison 39 (foul), Donaldson 60 (dissent), Toral 81 (foul) Birmingham City 2 QPR 1, Saturday October 17, 2015, Championship Chris Ramsey’s position as QPR manager came under increased threat following this defeat. . Soon after co-chairman Tony Fernandes had publicly stated promotion meant everything to him this season the club picked an hour before the game at Birmingham to announce that Neil Warnock would be returning to the club in an advisory capacity. Things looked ok when Matt Phillips turned and fired in an opening goal but when Paul Konchesky let Paul Robinson in for a free header equaliser and Nedum Onuoha conceded a soft penalty for Paul Caddis to put Birmingham in front the away end turned nasty with chants for Ramsey’s head, Warnock’s elevation, and some nasty anti-German abuse for late substitute Seb Polter. Birmingham: Kuszczak 6; Caddis 7, Morrison 7, Robinson 7, Grounds 6; Gleeson 6, Kieftenbeld 6, Davis 6 (Shinnie 74, 6); Gray 7, Donaldson 7 (Solomon-Otabor 87, -), Maghoma 7 Subs not used: Legzdins, Toral, Spector, Lowry, Brock-Madsen Goals: Robinson 24 (assisted Gray), Caddis 63 (penalty, won Donaldson) Bookings: Caddis 67 (kicking ball away) QPR: Green 6; Perch 4, Onuoha 5, Hall 7, Konchesky 4; Henry 5, Sandro 6 (Tozser 72, 5); Phillips 5, Fer 6 (Luongo 71, 7), Chery 6; Emmanuel-Thomas 7 (Polter 84, -) Subs not used: Doughty, Faurlin, Smithies, Angella Goals: Phillips 16 (assisted Onuoha) Bookings: Perch 24 (foul), Onuoha 63 (dissent) Birmingham City 0 QPR 2, Saturday March 8, 2014, Championship Both clubs were in something of a crisis when they met at St Andrew's in March 2014. QPR had suffered injuries to key players and won just one match in eight, killing off any hopes of automatic promotion. Accounts released earlier in the week showed the scale of the problem if promotion wasn't won. Brum meanwhile had seen owner Carson Yeung convicted of money laundering in Honk Kong in the lead up to the game and came into the match on a run of one win from 15 home matches. Ravel Morrison won the game for the visitors with a spectacular long range free kick in the first half, and a crisp finish on the end of a decent move in the second. Birmingham: Randolph 6; Caddis 6, Ferguson 6 (Blackett 73, 6), Robinson 5, Spector 5; Ibe 6 (Novak 67, 5) , Ferguson 5, Adeyemi 6, Huws 7, Packwood 5, Burke 6; Zigic 4 (Macheda 58, 5) Subs not used: Martin, Doyle, Lee, Shinnie Bookings: Robinson 12 (foul), Caddis 45 (foul) QPR: Green 7; Onuoha 7, Hill 6, Dunne 6, Assou-Ekotto 6; Hoilett 5 (O’Neil 70, 6), Barton 7, Jenas 7, Traore 7; Morrison 8 (Carroll 87, -); Doyle 7 (Keane 84, -) Subs not used: Hughes, Henry, Murphy, Benayoun Goals: Morrison 14 (unassisted), 73 (assisted Jenas) Previous ResultsHead to Head >>> QPR wins 24 >>> Draws 17 >>> Birmingham wins 26 2023/24 Birmingham 0 QPR 0 2022/23 QPR 0 Birmingham 1 2022/23 Birmingham 2 QPR 0 2021/22 Birmimgham 1 QPR 2 (Adomah, Willock) 2021/22 QPR 2 Birmingham 0 (Chair 2) 2020/21 Birmingham 2 QPR 1 (Austin) 2020/21 QPR 0 Birmingham 0 2019/20 QPR 2 Birmingham 2 (Pugh, Hugill) 2019/20 Birmingham 0 QPR 2 (Hall, Osayi-Samuel) 2018/19 QPR 3 Birmingham 4 (Smith 2, Cousins) 2018/19 Birmingham 0 QPR 0 2017/18 QPR 3 Birmingham 1 (Osayi-Samuel, Chair, Smith) 2017/18 Birmingham 1 QPR 2 (Robinson 2) 2016/17 Birmingham 1 QPR 4 (Smith, Washington, Sylla, Ngbakoto) 2016/17 QPR 1 Birmingham 1 (Caulker) 2015/16 QPR 2 Birmingham 0 (Chery, 2015/16 Birmingham 2 QPR 1 (Phillips) 2013/14 Birmingham 0 QPR 2 (Morrison 2) 2013/14 QPR 1 Birmingham 0 (Austin) 2008/09 QPR 1 Birmingham 0 (Di Carmine) 2008/09 Birmingham 1 QPR 0 2006/07 Birmingham 2 QPR 1 (Cook) 2006/07 QPR 0 Birmingham 2 2000/01 Birmingham 0 QPR 0 2000/01 QPR 0 Birmingham 0 1999/00 QPR 2 Birmingham 2 (Steiner, Kiwomya) 1999/00 Birmingham 2 QPR 0 1998/99 Birmingham 1 QPR 0 1998/99 QPR 0 Birmingham 1 1997/98 Birmingham 1 QPR 0 1997/98 QPR 1 Birmingham 1 (Barker) 1996/97 QPR 1 Birmingham 1 (Spencer) 1996/97 Birmingham 0 QPR 0 1985/86 Birmingham 2 QPR 0 1985/86 QPR 3 Birmingham 1 (Bannister, Rosenior, Dawes) 1983/84 Birmingham 0 QPR 2 (Gregory, Fenwick) 1983/84 QPR 2 Birmingham 1 (Stainrod, Fenwick) 1979/80 QPR 1 Birmingham 1 (Burke) 1979/80 Birmingham 2 QPR 1 (Allen) 1978/79 QPR 1 Birmingham 3 (Roeder) 1978/79 Birmingham 3 QPR 1 (Busby) 1977/78 QPR 0 Birmingham 0 1977/78 Birmingham 2 QPR 1 (Masson) 1976/77 QPR 2 Birmingham 2 (Masson, Webb) 1976/77 Birmingham 2 QPR 1 (Eastoe) 1975/76 QPR 2 Birmingham 1 (Masson 2) 1975/76 Birmingham 1 QPR 1 (Thomas) 1974/75 Birmingham 4 QPR 1 (Thomas) 1974/75 QPR 0 Birmingham 1 1973/74 Birmingham 4 QPR 0 1973/74 QPR 2 Birmingham 0* (Leach, Givens) 1973/74 QPR 2 Birmingham 2 (Bowles, Hynd og) 1971/72 Birmingham 0 QPR 0 1971/72 QPR 2 Birmingham 0** (Francis, Marsh) 1971/72 QPR 1 Birmingham 0 (Marsh) 1970/71 QPR 5 Birmingham 2 (Marsh 3, Venables, McCulloch) 1970/71 Birmingham 2 QPR 1 (Bridges) 1969/70 QPR 2 Birmingham 1 (Bridges 2) 1969/70 Birmingham 3 QPR 0 1967/68 QPR 2 Birmingham 0 (Leach, I Morgan) 1967/68 Birmingham 2 QPR 0 1966/67 QPR 3 Birmingham 1** (Marsh 2, Keen) 1966/67 Birmingham 1 QPR 4** (Marsh, R Morgan, Lazarus, Allen) 1951/52 Birmingham 1 QPR 0 1951/52 QPR 0 Birmingham 2 1950/51 QPR 2 Birmingham 0 (Farrow, Shepherd) 1950/51 Birmingham 1 QPR 1 (Addinall) 1913/14 Birmingham 1 QPR 2*(Gregory, Miller) * - FA Cup ** - League Cup
ConnectionsTrevor Francis >>> Birmingham 1971-1979 >>> QPR 1988-1990 Trevor Francis was enjoying a fruitful Indian summer spearheading the QPR attack under Jim Smith towards the end of the 1980s when he was thrust into the managerial spotlight himself for the first time. He'd been part of an English invasion at Glasgow Rangers under Graeme Souness, and won the Scottish League Cup in 1987 before moving back south of the border to Loftus Road. He was reasonably prolific for Rangers, starting 1988/89 in particularly decent touch, scoring three of QPR's first five goals before missing a penalty in fairly shambolic circumstances in a 3-2 loss at Millwall's hostile Old Den. On the field he's best remembered among the faithful few in Shepherd's Bush for a remarkable hat trick in a victory against Aston Villa at Villa Park, the third a thing or real beauty and one in the eye for the home fans who'd abused him for his Birmingham City connections throughout the game. When Smith left for Newcastle Francis was made player manager at Loftus Road but his inexperience, and perhaps arrogance, showed when he infamously fined midfielder Martin Allen for leaving the team hotel on the eve of a game at Newcastle to attend the birth of his child back in London. Allen told QPRnet: "I have no regrets over the situation now. I was honest with Trevor Francis on the Thursday, and I told Peter Shreeves on the Friday night what I was doing. My wife went into labour at half past two on the Saturday morning, she was still in labour at half past six when I rang again and I have no regrets about getting on that aeroplane. "When I was playing for West Ham against Trevor’s Sheffield Wednesday I ended up in hospital with a punctured lung and broken ribs. I had an operation on the Saturday evening and about eleven o’clock that night the sister came in and told me that Trevor had phoned the hospital asking how I was and wishing me the very best. I must admit when she told me I wondered if I was still under the aesthetic. But it was the truth, he did ring and since that day whenever we’ve met each other we’ve always had a smile, shook hands and wished each other well and so you should." Rangers were in relegation trouble by the time he departed after little over a year in charge. His parting shot was a spectacular one though, second from bottom QPR beat second from top Liverpool 3-2 at Loftus Road with two goals from Paul Wright and a trademark spectacular shot from Mark Falco at the Loft End. Francis, fresh out of hospital after an operation on a long-term injury, sat at the front of the director's box in South Africa Road and was jumped on by his wife Helen in a giant fur coat at full time. He subsequently agreed a deal to bring his old friend Ray Wilkins down from Rangers to join him — Wilkins subsequently forced to deny he was taking the job himself when Francis left a week later. Ultimately, Don Howe was given the responsibility. Francis was originally a star teenager at Birmingham City, coming through the ranks to make his debut as a 16 year old, notably scoring four times in a match against Bolton and ending his first season with 15 goals from just 22 games. His goal against QPR in 1976 has gone down in club folklore and he made the England squad for the first time a year later under Don Revie. After a brief loan/secondment playing in the first version of the MLS for Detroit, he became the first million pound player in the UK when he was bought by Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest in February 1979. At the City Ground he became part of the remarkable rise to the pinnacle of European football — registered in time to play in the semi-finals of the European Cup, Francis scored the only goal of the final against Malmo as Forest completed a remarkable rise from midtable obscurity in Division Two to champions of the UK and Europe in little more than two years. He was regularly used as a winger by Clough, and missed the final the following year against Hamburg with an Achilles injury that plagued him for months and eventually saw him sold off to Man City. Once more injuries hampered him, and City's growing financial problems forced a £700,000 sale to Sampdoria where he was part of the side that won the Copa Italia for the first time in the club's history. A spell at Atalanta preceded his time in Scotland. After QPR he joined Sheffield Wednesday, initially as a player under Ron Atkinson and then later as manager where he lost in both cup 1993 cup finals to Arsenal. A subsequent spell in charge at Birmingham brought numerous play-off near misses, and a League Cup Final defeat to Liverpool, before he was replaced by Steve Bruce. He passed away in July, 2023, aged 69. Others >>> Andre Dozzell, Birmingham (loan) 2024-present, QPR 2021-2024 >>> Tyler Roberts, Birmingham 2023-present, QPR (loan) 2022-2023 >>> Ethan Laird, Birmingham 2023-present, QPR (loan) 2022-2023 >>> Dion Sanderson, Birmingham (loan) 2022-present, 2021-2022, QPR (loan) 2022 >>> John Eustace, Birmingham (manager) 2022-present, QPR (assistant) 2018-2022 >>> Lee Camp, Birmingham 2018-2020, QPR 2007-2009, (loan) 2004 >>> Grant Hall, QPR 2015-2020, Birmingham 2014-2015 (loan) >>> Ravel Morrison QPR (loan) 2014, Birmingham (loan) 2013-2014 >>> Andros Townsend, QPR (loan) 2013, Birmingham (loan) 2012 >>> Andy Johnson, QPR 2012-2014, Birmingham 1997-2002 >>> Federico Macheda, Birmingham (loan) 2014, QPR (loan) 2012 >>> DJ Campbell, QPR 2011-2013, Birmimgham 2006-2007 >>> Marcus Bent, QPR (loan) 2011, Birmingham 2008-2011 >>> Rowan Vine, QPR 2007-2012, Birmingham 2006-2008 >>> Tommy Williams, QPR (loans) 2009, 2003, 2002, Birmingham 2002-2004 >>> Stephen Kelly, Birmingham 2006-2009, QPR (loan) 2003 >>> Paul Furlong, QPR 2002-2007, (loan) 2000, Birmimgham 1996-2002 >>> Paul Peschisolido, QPR (loan) 2000, Birmimgham 1996, 1994-1996 >>> Matt Jackson, Birmimgham (loan) 1996, QPR (loan) 1996 >>> Dennis Bailey, QPR 1991-1995, Birmingham 1989-1991 >>> David Seaman, QPR 1986-1990, Birmingham 1984-1986 >>> Mark Dennis QPR 1987-1988, Birmingham 1978-1982 >>> Don Givens, Birmingham 1978-1981, QPR 1972-1978 >>> Mike Kelly, Birmingham 1970-1976, QPR 1966-1970 >>> Barry Bridges, QPR 1968-1970, Birmingham 1966-1968 >>> Henry Clutterbuck, QPR 1899-1901, Small Heath 1897-1899 Tweet @loftforwords Pictures — Action Images Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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