Ten man QPR hang on for a point - full match report
Sunday, 31st Aug 2008 18:25

A creditable point for the R's at Bristol City on Saturday after playing almost the entire second half a man light - Justin Cottage was there for LFW.

For a variety of reason I almost didn't make it to Bristol for this due to my car being in the garage in expensive pieces, but in the end I braved the journey in a courtesy Citroen C4 (don't ever buy one of these horrible things), practically crippling myself in the process. I'm glad I did, not because I like the pain caused by driving said car, but because we got to see a second half Rangers defensive performance the like of which I haven't seen in many a year, and probably never will again given how they appear to play with 11 men on the pitch.

If there was one word I kept hearing about Dowie pre-season it was organisation. Well going down to ten men showed exactly why that particular word was bandied around so much - a better organised two banks of four I doubt I will ever see in the Championship, far better than when we had 11 men on the pitch. That being said Bristol didn't really make the most of their extra man in the second half, as they appeared somewhat pedestrian in attempting to break through the two ranks of our defence.

Dowie started pretty much the same side that did the job against Doncaster. Cerny in goal behind a back four of Delaney, Stewart, Connolly, and Ramage. Mahon and Leigertwood playing deep midfield with Parejo rotating with Cook and Ledesma just behind Blackstock.

Bristol City left Lee Trundle out of their matchday squad altogether and started with Dele Adebola in attack – six goals in 12 career appearances against QPR and counting. Jamie McAllister recovered from an injury picked up in the League Cup at Crewe in time to take his place in the team at left back.

The match started at a fast pace, with both sides appearing up for it. QPR mixed up their play with some of the short passing and movement expected from Parejo and Ledesma, and the occasional long ball to Blackstock. Bristol, as they did last year, started off making good use of long diagonal balls behind Ramage causing us problems in a manner we would ultimately regret.

Just after the quarter hour an excellent long pass from Leigertwood found Dexter on the edge of the 18 yard box who chested it down via a bounce off Carey's head. Dexter’s first attempt at poking it past Basso wasn't quite enough as the keeper managed to get a bit of the ball as well as a bit of Blackstock, but Dexter had the momentum and as he went to ground past the keeper he managed to swing his boot round to send the ball into the roof of the net before Fontaine could do anything about it. This is Dexter's third goal in five this season and seventh in his last 12 matches. Dexter ran his socks off yet again, running the channels constantly and holding the ball up well, especially when our defence needed some respite in the second half. If he continues to keep up this level of performance those people that don't give him the credit he deserves will soon be eating stacks of humble pie.

Unfortunately our defensive failings continue to hold us back. In the 25th minute, yet another diagonal ball across Ramage was controlled by Wilson and with the Rangers man several yards away he had all the time in the world to place a perfect cross into our six yard box for the unmarked Adebola to hammer home as three players in hoops stood as still as dummies in a shop window around him.

The rest of the half played out much the same, although the pace slacked off a little bit until shortly before half time, when Dexter picked up the ball in the left channel held it up a little bit before sending a quality cross in for Cook coming in on the far post to finish tamely, and the ball was easily dealt with by the keeper.

On Friday I made a post on a message board saying that Hogan Ephraim certainly isn't surplus to requirements at the moment, as at his current rate Ledesma was heading for an early suspension. Now I wasn't expecting him to get two yellow in this match, but I have to say it doesn't come as a surprise. With his continuing dissent to match officials and general petulant behaviour to match his ability on the ball, one has to wonder whether he will learn from this sending off. Shortly before half time, a contested throw was given to Bristol City. Ledesma was unhappy with this and threw the ball down hard and slightly to the left of McAllister, the fact that the City player could have caught it, and not played up himself is irrelevant, as it was quite clear Ledesma's intent of dissent in the manner he threw the ball.

That is now his third booking in five matches for dissent, amongst countless talkings to from referess and other senior players in the team. Regardless of the language barrier there is no excuse, and his immaturity could well have cost us two points and almost three as the game was there for the taking. Not to mention he gets a one match ban for the sending off, and is one more card away from another one match ban. As for the second yellow, I have to say I didn't see what happened at the match, however from watching the replays on the Championship it appears the referee who was looking straight at it saw nothing untoward until his linesman half the length of the pitch away started flagging. The fact he then gave a throw to QPR instead of a free kick to Bristol was further indication the referee didn't have the foggiest idea what was happening. It just appeared to me that he was just itching to give the Argentinian another yellow at the first opportunity. However, the fact that Ledesma continues to give these opportunities for referees to 'teach him a lesson' is his own fault and one that could cost us more points further down the line.

Dowie lost little time in restructuring the team. First Cook was taken off for Rowlands, Parejo moved to the left with Rowlands on the right and we went to 441. The two rows of four then proceeded to play the rest of the game as two immovable lines of players. It was actually fascinating to watch how well they all seemed to fit together playing like that with the wide midfielders picking up the Bristol wingers and full backs tucking in slightly to stop any through balls from getting through. With fifteen minutes left to play Dowie brought on Agyemang for the tiring Parejo, who worked hard, but gives the impression he's not totally in love with the football over here. Rowlands moved over to the left with Agyemang on the right as we continue to defend solidly with the occasional break when Dexter got hold of the long balls in the channels, or when we found a little space.

There was one spell where we got hold of the ball and then continued to pass the ball round the pitch as if we were Man Utd and Bristol only had ten men. It was a joy to watch, but it wasn't long before we were penned back in our half yet again.

During this period Cerny was being kept active but whilst he was being kept on his toes, and had to pull off a few saves you'd have expected him to make them. Bristol were sending quite a few crosses into our 18 yard box, but Connolly and Stewart won just about everything that got into their zone, and with Ramage and Delaney finally finding their defensive boots, the fans began to believe we could hold on to a continuous rendition of 'We Have The Best Midfield in the World'.

Time had almost completely run out when that sinking feeling happened. Bristol found some space on their right and sent in a peach of a cross which Adebola rose above everyone to head down to Cerny's left. The ball was heading straight for the bottom corner, and I was already thinking about the depressing journey home with my leg crippled from driving that stupid car, when time just slowed and there was Cerny's hand to palm the ball round the post for a corner. How he got to it I'll never know.

And that was that.

As far as I'm concerned that was two points lost. Our defence of dummies standing around looking at anything and everything other than the crosser, the ball and Adebola as he headed the ball home, and Ledesma's childishness cost us the win today. However I still came away from the match feeling proud at how we defended with our backs to the wall in the second half.

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Ratings:
Cerny 7 Still doesn't convince me. Although he came out a little more today and connected properly with a few punches and held most of what he tried to, he still has a tendency to half come and then get caught in no mans land as he hesitates. However I will give him his due .. he was at no fault with the goal, and he commanded his box much better than he has done previously. And that amazing save at the end secured us the point.
Delaney 7 Much better defensively but wasn't helped by not having a winger in front of him today. Both Cook and Ledesma kept drifting inside when the fullbacks had the ball. This proved infuriating as Bristol had done their homework and pushed up on our fullback, meaning the only real ball they could play would be to a winger on the line, but with neither Cook or Ledesma there on the majority of occasions this forced our fullbacks to either check back or pass inside to Legs or Mahon where Bristol were expecting it.
Connolly 7 At fault with Mahon, Stewart and Ramage for their goal, however was a rock otherwise and other than the goal hardly put a foot wrong. Stewart and Connolly so far is the best defensive partnership we have and I hope Dowie perseveres with it. Would have been an eight, but marked down because of the goal.
Stewart 7 Same comments as Connolly
Ramage 5/7 Five for his first half performance. Kept being caught by the long diagonal ball and gave Wilson too much time and space to cross for their goal. 7 for the second half. Purely concentrating on his defensive duties and with his positioning helped by the presence of others around him, made a number of excellent challenges and was much better. Also see comments for Delaney regarding missing wide men.
Cook 6 Not the Cook I'm hoping to see. There are plenty of flashes, as if the real Cook is just waiting to come out, but he was never out wide when he needed to be today, meaning Delaney had next to no option open to him when he had the ball. Thoroughly frustrating.
Ledesma 2 Idiot. That he gets any points at all is due to some decent play in the first half otherwise I'd have given him a zero.
Leigertwood 7 Worked hard. Long service to Dexter was spot on. Balls to Dex's chest or into channels perfect for playing with one up front. Worked hard in the second half. Whilst I like him as a player, I really feel Rowlands gives us a lot more if he was played in that position.
Mahon 7 Worked tirelessly. Constantly breaking things up in the middle, keeps it simple and does it well.
Parejo 6 Not his most convincing of displays. Was involved, but gave the ball away more than he usually does with a few lazy passes. Doesn't look to have his heart in it.
Rowlands 7 He is the boss in this team. If anyone thinks he's too quiet they really don't watch him closely. He really needs to start. His all round game is superior to both Leigertwood and Mahon, and I feel he has a better grip on our younger players when he's on the pitch than Mahon.
Blackstock 9 Simply superb, and no doubt in my mind he deserves man of the match. I can understand why some people aren't convinced by him as there's no silky skills, shimmies or dummies. What you get is an honest, hardworking, intelligent player that gives his all, runs the channels all game long, brings the attacking midfielders into the game and scores goals to boot. People want a 20 goal a season striker ... well he's right here.. seven goals in his last 12 full starts and he's back following a torrid first two thirds of a season last year. He's a good old fashioned centre forward, and if we're going to continue to play with one up top, there are few players in the Championship I'd rather have doing it than Dexter based on these performances.

Referee Darren Deadman (Cambridgeshire) 3 Whilst he wasn't what I'd label a homer, he did after all book Sproule for diving in the box towards the end, he looked to be just itching to be given the chance to card Ledesma, and it appears normal practice for Bristol defenders to be able to climb on top of Blackstock for the whole 90 minutes with narry a word. He managed to book Rowlands for a perfectly good tackle and gave a throw to us when apparently Ledesma had committed a foul that Deadman, looking straight at it, had no problem with until the lino half a pitch away saw something nobody else did.

The Opposition: 6 Flattered to deceive. They use the long diagonal ball to the left channel very well. I'd imagine a number of Adebola's goals will come from crosses resulting form those sorts of plays. However once we were down to ten men and our defence and midfield kept their shape they had no space for those balls over the top, and they had nobody attempting any runs for through balls and with the exception of Cerny's save towards the end, they didn't really carve out many gilt edged opportunities to score. They've got a good team though, and they're comfortable on the ball, and I expect them to be in or around the play-offs for most of the season.