Rangers slipped silently to a second consecutive home defeat, totally outplayed by Iain Dowie's Crystal Palace.
After two physical away encounters it was back to home soil before a near two week break for our far from 'super' hooped team. After the poor home offering against Leeds, it was the perfect time to sign off before the international break.
Holloway was forced to make some changes and it was a somewhat different team to what was expected. Royce was in goal behind Bignot, Santos, Shittu and Dyer. Ainsworth, Bircham, Doherty and Cook were in midfield with Furlong returning to the side alongside Stefan Moore.
This was never going to be a classic, God knows what the neutrals at home must have thought of our style of play. Palace played the better football throughout and their attacking men used the ball quickly and were a constant danger to our out-of-sorts back line.
Clinton Morrison was a threat all night and should have scored a couple, Reich also had an excellent game bagging two goals. Other familiar names included ex-Ranger Dougie Freedman, Fitz Hall and the ever-so-annoying and petty Wayne Andrews. He was on the bench, where he belongs really, unfortunately he made an appearance towards the end.
Palace took the lead on 14 minutes, we lost the ball and tried to play the offside trap and predictably it didn't work. Freedman let Morrison free down the left and Bignot and Shittu seemed to get in each others way trying to confront him. This left Reich free in the middle and he volleyed home for the first goal of the game. It was a decent finish but was yet another poor goal for us to give away.
The team looked disjointed and just moments later a second was added. Doherty gave away a stupid free-kick and with a wall that was embarrassing and weak, they spotted the opening. There was a gaping hole between Dyer and (I think) Cook and Reich picked his spot and hit the back of the net with Royce still standing.
We hit back almost straight away but Loftus Road was restless and there was a demoralising vibe about the team as well. Dyer and Cook combined well down the left and Dyer crossed superbly for Ainsworth to bravely head home with the keeper right on top of him. Dyer was a menace with his pace and he looks far more at home at left midfield rather than left back. It was good to see one of our wingers hitting the touchline and putting in a quick ball to the box.
Ainsworth was having an industrious game with his usual 'all action' work-out. His style isn't always pretty but he battles and will hustle players all evening. He was ruthlessly taken down in the first half and that resulted in a yellow card for a Palace man. Ainsworth came into the game even further in the second half and had a good battle with the Palace left back.
Clinton Morrison had an excellent chance to make it 3-1 but he dragged his shot across the face of goal after getting in behind our defence. At the other end we were producing far too little and our one dimensional play was all too predicable. We had a free kick from the edge of the box but Furlong's blasted shot was charged down.
Furlong was working hard but nothing was falling for him and he received precious little help. Stefan Moore was a passenger all game and rarely added anything constructive to our play. This may be harsh on the bloke, but he just doesn't seem hunger to win the ball and have a run at defenders. With the Loftus Road crowd becoming increasingly frustrated by the week I can see him becoming the next target of the 'boo-boys'. Unfortunately when he puts in displays like this he doesn't do himself any favours.
The second half wasn't much better and we started sluggishly. Palace and in particular Morrison were proving a threat. His pace was a worry and Bircham twice pulled him back down their right wing. He was booked for the first offence (his fifth booking this season I believe) and just a few minutes later committed an identical offence. Not the brightest of things to do and with this referee's shocking reputation it was a stupid foul. He got away with a ticking off, but it was an idiotic offence.
Down the other end, Bircham had one decent shot which was saved earlier on but his performance went rapidly downhill during the second half. We managed to force a few corners but Kiraly caught them all. He was involved in a clash with Furlong which resulted in both men being booked, it looked very harsh on Furlong indeed.
Bignot and Shittu were also booked for fouls on the Palace strikers, Bignot in particular was caught in possession and could only drag his man back. Bignot worked hard and got us out of trouble a couple of times but he also got caught in possession on more than one occasion. There was little movement in front of him though.
Ainsworth was making some good headway down the right, he managed to get a couple of crosses in but they resulted in very little. Unfortunately with Ainsworth despite the first class effort and commitment he doesn't always have the beating of the man and is often running with his head to the floor. But he was our most attacking avenue all night and must have felt as if he was fighting a losing battle.
Holloway made changes on 77 minutes. Too late in many peoples opinions and those in SA Road were screaming from 55 minutes onwards. I would have loved to make five or six subs as too many of our players were underachieving. Moore made way for Baidoo and Langley came on for Doherty, who had a very poor evening.
Bircham was lucky not to be replaced as he was on the verge of being shown a red card. In fact he didn't make many challenges towards the end of the game as he know if he did a card would be on its way out of the ref's pocket.
With six remaining Evatt came on for Bignot and we switched to a 3-4-3 line-up, which did little more than confuse our players. During this switch round Santos went upfront as a target man alongside Furlong and Baidoo was pushed to a slightly wider position.
Baidoo did make have an impact though, he was desperately unlucky when his faint touch from a Langley cross hit the side netting. He also had a chance taken off him when Ainsworth headed the ball wide before he could have a sniff at it. Baidoo was making excellent runs though and stretching the Palace defence.
Just minutes from time Palace broke away and got their third and final goal. We were stretched at the back and with Dyer being pulled all over the pitch many gaps were appearing in our team. Palace broke away and after Andrews shot was saved by Royce he passed to Soares who finished the job. It appears that Soares was well offside but that was too late really. The third goal was the final straw for many R's as three stands emptied very quickly.
Overall it was another depressing evening watching QPR trying to compete. We were lacklustre, too predicable and devoid of any creative sparks. We didn't lose because of injuries, our squad is far bigger than many of our rivals, we lost because our team simply didn't turn up yet again this season.
Our current placing of tenth is unbelievable really as overall this season we have been poor and haven't played any sort of football. At present I would be delighted with that position come May - what worries me more than anything is the wave of apathy which is definitely sweeping the fans and players alike. There doesn't appear to be a spark at the moment, everyone seems to be going through the motions.
Our squad is now so big that we have loaned out three of our players in the last week or so, what we need is people who are hungry to play for the team and do well. Furlong was playing like a man in his early twenties tonight, unlike Stefan Moore who was completely off the pace of the game.
Lee Cook had a frustrating game. From his recent deliveries at set pieces we have scored a couple of goals and he is a creative player, but it's the final product that is lacking. He needs to get the ball into the forwards quicker rather than trying to beat his man again and again. In this match he went missing for the final 20 minutes, something which happened in the Leeds game as well.
There is no disgrace in losing to Palace at home, they will be there or thereabouts. It's the nature of the performances and these defeats, we don't look convincing as a team at the moment and the players are all waiting for each other to do something.
Personally another game can't come quick enough, they need to get this rubbish out of systems and take to the field against Preston. Yes we may get a few players back, but with the size of our squad it's no longer a decent argument anymore to whine about injuries. I don't think Preston have won at home yet; oh dear which can only mean one thing. Can't it? Who knows……..but we do need the players to stand up for themselves and be counted, otherwise it could be the beginning of a long slippery slide down the league. And we've all been there before haven't we?
QPR: Royce 6, Bignot 6 (Evatt 84 N/A), Shittu 7, Santos 6, Dyer 7, Ainsworth 7*, Bircham 5, Doherty 6 (Langley 77), Cook 6, Moore 4 (Baidoo 77, 7), Furlong 7.
Subs Not Used: Cole, Shimmin
Booked: Furlong, Bignot, Bircham, Shittu.
Goal: Ainsworth 19
Crystal Palace: Kiraly, Boyce, Ward, Fitz Hall, Butterfield, McAnuff (Borrowdale 83), Watson (Hughes 69), Soares, Morrison, Freedman (Andrews 82), Reich.
Subs Not Used: Speroni, Hudson.
Booked: Boyce, Kiraly, Watson.
Goals: Reich 14, 17, Soares 89.
Att: 13,433.
QPR Man of the Match: Gareth Ainsworth - Another all action performance from Gareth. Worked for the team and didn't stop till the final whistle. The final product isn't always there but he was miles better than any other attacking player tonight. He must be almightily frustrated with some of his younger team mates who are letting everyone down. Well done that man.
Ref: A D'Urso (Essex) - 6 - The usual number of card from Mr D'Urso, unfortunately apart from Furlong we can't really moan about ours. And to be fair to him he could quite easily have sent Bircham off as well. His performance faded into the background when compared with our own players.