A Martin Rowlands goal was not enough to stop Rangers poor cup form continuing, as we crashed out of the Carling Cup at Loftus Road last night.
Well, where on earth do you begin with this one? The QPR Cup curse seemed to arrive along with Ian Holloway and it was hoped, that he had taken it with him. We faired slightly better with the FA Cup by earning a replay, but the curse continues in no uncertain terms and last night's defeat was perhaps not the shock/upset that has been reported. The night started badly enough, with the news arriving, via text that the much publicised takeover of the club was off. The statement on the Official site from Antonio Caliendo that the club is 'not for sale' sadly confirmed this. I felt so deflated at this time, that I felt like going on home and I so wish I had done now. But persevere I did and I managed to squeeze myself into my enforced seat in the South Africa Road stand and got ready to sway left and right as the play moved behind the pylons that block almost every seats view. Onto the game and JG had promised changes, most enforced, but changes were indeed what we got. Camp was behind a back four of Rehman, Mancienne, Culip and Bignot. Ward, Bailey, Bolder and Rowlands were in midfield with Moore and Nygaard up front. As the game kicked off, it was more of a splash and slide as the rain continued to lash down. Rowlands and Ward both tested Nelson in the O's goal in the early stages. But the impressive Adam Boyd was causing all sorts of problems for the R's defence and Rangers were fortunate to go in a half time with the scores level. The half time teamtalk looked to have done nothing to spur Rangers on and following a Ward effort that flew over the bar, Rangers found themselves behind after some quite shocking defending. A long ball saw the Rangers back four looking for an offside flag that never came. Boyd tried to bring the ball down and instead, it fell to Demetriou who finished well. Camp was then called into action again, making a great save from Gray by tipping his effort onto the crossbar. Our favourite referee, Andy Hall then awarded the O's a penalty on 64 minutes. As Gray and Culip tussled for the ball, Gray looked to impede Culip, who lost his balance, had a tug at Gray and down he went - penalty! The impressive Boyd made no mistake from the spot by sending Camp the wrong way. When all seemed lost, Rangers hit back 5 minutes later. Ward staggered into the box and the ball somehow arrived at the oncoming Rowlands feet and the midfielder poked the ball home. Sadly, this didn't spur Rangers on to the big finish we all hoped for and despite seeing Lee Camp in the Orient box for a couple of late corners, Orient held on for what I have to say was a deserved victory. To sum up, this was a poor game played in quite dreadful conditions. Rangers could and should have had enough on the pitch to beat Orient, but take nothing away from them at all. The O's were up for the task, confident and deserved their place in the next round. Hopefully, the team that takes the field against Cardiff will be stronger and not look so lightweight up front. QPR: Camp 6, Bignot 5(Curtis 81 5), Cullip 5, Mancienne 7, Bolder 6, Rowlands 8, Moore 5 (St Aimie 64 6), Bailey 5, Rehman 4 (Stewart 81 5), Ward 5, Nygaard 5. Subs: Cole, Timoska. Bookings: Ward 45, Cullip 63 Leyton Orient: Nelson, Thelwell, Mkandawire, Melligan (Daniels 76), Chambers, Gray, Corden, Terry, Boyd (Echanomi 76), Palmer, Demetriou. Subs: Morris, Sylvester, Shields. QPR Star Man - Martin Rowlands 8 - outstanding again, but tonight, with the exception Mancienne, had little competition. Referee: Andy Hall 6 - a couple of weird decisions and a slighlty dubious penalty at second look, but to be fair, at first look I would have given it! But surprisingly, not a bad game and he certainly tried to let the game flow when he could. Attendance: 5,260 (800 approx away fans) All pictures (c) Action Images