QPR ride their luck for Portman Road point

QPR were indebted to goalkeeper Lee Camp and a hefty slice of luck as they came away from Ipswich with a goalless draw.

“We’ll be champions next year,” sang the QPR fans as the time ticked down at Portman Road. That may still be a little ambitious, we certainly won’t be winning any titles with this starting eleven, but the feel good factor surrounding QPR is palpable and the reasons for that are there for all to see.

Without their two best players Rangers went to Portman Road where Ipswich have been beaten only twice in all competitions this season and came away with a well earned draw. The visitors may have been indebted to Lee Camp, and grateful to come out on the right side of a couple of dodgy refereeing decisions, but this was by no means a 90 minute long backs to the wall effort and De Canio’s team certainly contributed a great deal to an entertaining and fast flowing goalless draw.

We may have found our fair share of heart breaking ways not to win games this season, including the draw last week at Wolves, but we’re increasingly finding ways not to lose games as well. That’s just one defeat in nine league games now, four defeats since Boxing Day, and another mini run of four games without defeat since the Sheff Wed set back under our belts as we go into the Preston game next week. The fact that we’ve now faced five of the top seven since Christmas and haven’t lost to any of them shows why there is such confidence about our chances next year and gives great hope that, with a couple of further additions, we could be a real threat in this division next season.

There was a double blow for QPR before the kick off with Martin Rowlands and Akos Buzsaky both missing from the starting eleven. Rowlands left the field early at Wolves last week and has been carrying various back, neck and hamstring injuries for some time now so was only fit enough for a place on the bench. Buzsaky was away with Hungary in the week and is yet to start a Saturday match under De Canio when he’s been away with his national side the week before.

That meant Mikele Leigertwood and Gavin Mahon started together in the middle of midfield, Rangers have conceded ten goals in less than three games when that pair has been at the heart of the team and with Ipswich boasting the division’s best home record many QPR fans were apprehensive before kick off. Buzsaky was replaced on the wing by Hogan Ephraim, back after a ban, with Vine on the other side and Blackstock partnering Agyemang up front. De Canio was forced into a reshuffle at the back as well with Damien Delaney starting a two game ban. Chris Barker was the pre match favourite to get the nod but the Italian elected to switch Matt Connolly out there from centre half with Damien Stewart coming into the line up next to Fitz Hall and Michael Mancienne at right back in front of Lee Camp.

Ipswich were short on numbers as well – player of the year elect Jon Walters was ruled out after his knee surgery, Pablo Counago was suspended for allegedly spitting at a Scunthorpe player last week and Shefki Kuqi wasn’t fit enough to return after pulling his hamstring on his second Ipswich debut a fortnight previous. That meant a rare start up front for youngster Danny Haynes alongside Alan Lee, they had just two goals between them in 18 appearances going into the game.

The game started at a good pace with both teams, as you would expect, keen to get the ball down on the floor and pass the ball. After questioning Michael Mancienne’s ability to cope with the attacking aspects of playing right back during the week I was pleased to see him steaming forward in the first attack. The Chelsea youngster dropped his should on halfway and cut in field into the Ipswich half before firing a low cross shot well wide of the goal. He’s shown he can do it, he just needs to do it more often and work on his crossing which was once again fairly poor on the day.

The first serious threat on goal in the game came after seven minutes when young Ipswich forward Danny Haynes was desperately unlucky not to open the scoring. He always looked to have the beating of Fitz Hall when running at the centre back with pace and after twisting inside then out he worked enough space to get a shot away, smashing a powerful drive off the middle of the post. Haynes hit the shot with such power that it rebounded fully thirty yards away from the goal and back into the midfield melee. He wasn’t quite so close with his next effort though, blasting the ball over the bar after a neat cut back from Lee.

This was a let off for Rangers, and they continued to struggle to cope whenever Haynes got going at Hall. In the second half when the speedier Stewart was able to mark the youngster QPR managed a lot better and Haynes drifted out of the game but in the first half he was on fire. Hall looked laboured and sluggish in the first half but much more at home with the physical challenge posed by Alan Lee after the break with whom he coped very well.

A frantic period of play just after the tenth minute could have seen both teams go ahead. First Jason De Vos powerfully headed goalwards from an Alan Quinn corner but saw the effort blocked by a brilliant save from Lee Camp. With Ipswich still funnelling back into position Rowan Vine raced down the left flank and whipped a low ball into the near post which was only cleared out as far as Ephraim who cracked a shot that hit Dexter Blackstock, seemingly behind the byline, when he really should have scored. As that shot rebounded back into play the referee decided to wave play on and Ipswich flew down the other end and only a great last ditch challenge from Stewart prevented Haynes sliding a dangerous ball across the face of the goal. Breathless, high quality, superbly entertaining stuff from two of the most attractive sides in the Championship.

Rangers were the victim of a perplexing refereeing decision minutes later when Patrick Agyemang was hacked down on the edge of the penalty area by Alex Bruce. It was clearly a foul, the only question was whether a penalty or a free kick would be the verdict. Referee Paul Armstrong looked across to his linesman seeking an answer but after receiving no signal decided not to even whistle for a foul. A ridiculous decision.

Camp was at it again in the 20th minute, diving low to his right to save brilliantly from Danny Haynes after a wicked delivery from a free kick by Owen Garvan – the ball came through a crowd of bodies in the six yard box before reaching Camp and he did very well to keep his eye on it and save. But for the keeper Rangers would have been two nil down and the travelling fans sang his name in recognition after the ball had gone dead.

Danny Simpson picked up a booking for a crude tackle on Rowan Vine before Alan Lee ran in behind the QPR defence but didn’t have the pace to accelerate away from Damion Stewart and ultimately only got a tame shot away that flew a long way wide of the far post.

As half time approached both sides went close to breaking the deadlock. First a foul by Jason De Vos on Dexter Blackstock gave Hogan Ephraim a chance to clip a delicate 25 yard free kick over the wall and a foot wide of the post with Bywater struggling to get across to it. Then Rangers looked set to concede yet another goal in the last minute of a half as Haynes sent a cross into the area, Lee collapsed under a challenge from Hall and Williams blasted over after being left unmarked at the back post. Williams clearly should have scored but it looked like Town should have been awarded a penalty to me anyway with Hall clearly shoving Lee after allowing him to get goal side.

The second half started in heavy rain and never quite lived up to the lively, pacy nature of the first. Michael Mancienne’s booking for fouling Quinn was the first action of any note, the referee could and should have waved play on with Haynes in acres of space and accelerating away behind the QPR defence.

Just before the hour De Canio made his first change of the game. Tired of seeing Mikele Leigertwood giving the ball away in midfield, which he did with frightening regularity, the Italian introduced Martin Rowlands from the bench. With his first touch of the ball Rowlands sprayed a glorious 50 yard ball across the pitch to Vine who cut inside and sent a low cross to the near post where Patrick Agyemang headed fractionally wide and into the side netting. Agyemang worked very hard all day and would have deserved his goal had it gone in.

Rowlands’ introduction improved QPR’s passing and ball retention no end – after a slick passing move with Agyemang the former Brentford man tried to fire a low shot in on goal from the edge of the box but scuffed his shot and made it easy for Bywater to save low down by his feet. Agyemang went himself next time, beating two Ipswich players on a marauding run from the halfway line before seeing a low shot deflected wide. This was QPR’s best spell of the second half but the again failed to pose much of a threat from corners which, considering they had Fitz Hall, Damien Stewart, Patrick Agyemang and Dexter Blackstock in the penalty area offering an aerial threat is not really good enough and needs looking at.

At the other end Alan Lee was fortunate not to be booked for a theatrical dive under minimal contact from Hall in the penalty area. After being denied a blatant spot kick in the first half the former Cardiff forward probably thought he had a right to try his luck but in truth his attempt to con the referee was pathetic and lucky to escape further punishment. Danny Haynes was booked for dissent and kicking the ball away as frustration continued to grow in the home ranks.

De Canio also sent on Kieran Lee for Rowan Vine who’d had a pretty poor game and that tidied QPR up a lot with Lee excellent on the ball, springing numerous counter attacks with balls from midfield, and solid in defence and tracking back. I really don’t understand why we don’t use him more.

With a quarter of an hour left to play Alan Quinn tried his luck with a free kick from the edge of the area after Hall was very harshly adjudged to have fouled Lee on the edge of the area. Again Ipswich were denied by Camp though as he flung himself off to his left and palmed the free kick away. The keeper looked less impressive a moment later though when a clearance from Stewart deflected off Haynes and spiralled up into the afternoon rain. It seemed to take an age to come down and when it did Camp spilled it back into the danger zone under pressure from Alan Lee. Luckily for the visitors Lee couldn’t knock the rebound in, or find a team mate with a cross and they chance went begging. A rare mistake by Camp on the day when he was almost faultless, but after last week’s Jekyll and Hyde performance at Wolves questions are being asked about his handling more and more on the various QPR message boards.

Ipswich then brought on Gary Roberts who was booed by his own fans as he entered the field of play but nearly made them eat their words with a shot seconds after entering the fray which flew straight at the keeper.

Rangers had their biggest let off of the game with six minutes left to play. Jim Magilton sent on teenage scoring sensation Jordan Rhodes, with more than 40 goals to his name in reserve and youth grade football this season, and that lifted the crowd as he raced into the penalty area to prepare for an Ipswich corner from their right side. Rhodes’ late arrival caused panic in the QPR penalty area with nobody really sure who was marking who any more and Michael Mancienne inadvertently sent a flicked header onto the inside of his own post. As it bounced down in the area Velice Sumulikoski reacted quickest and sent a low shot in on goal which was blocked on the line by Matt Connolly and cleared away. Connolly looked to have handled the ball behind the line to me but neither the goal nor the penalty was given and Rangers were able to break away down the field with Agyemang while Ipswich players were arguing with the linesman at the other end.

Agyemang won a corner on the counter attack and the Ipswich players used the break in play to surround the match official, with Alex Bruce particularly vociferous in his protests. After reading Jason De Vos talking about respect for match officials in the programme it was pleasing to see him ushering his team mates away before making his point to the referee calmly – how he stayed so composed when the decision appeared to be so wrong only he will know.

I got the impression that Paul Armstrong knew the decision was wrong as well because every fifty fifty call for the rest of the match went Ipswich’s way and every time QPR crossed the halfway line he brought the attack to a halt and awarded Ipswich a free kick, often for no discernible reason whatsoever. Still, we certainly had the rub of the green over that incident – we were denied a point at Sheff Utd by Kilgallon’s handball on the line in injury time and we won one with one of our own here. Who said what comes around goes around? No consolation to Ipswich of course.

The referee’s bizarre decisions continued to come thick and fast with Angelo Balanta ridiculously booked for an innocuous foul on the halfway line ten seconds after coming on as a substitute. The youngster looked confused, and I have to say he wasn’t alone.

As at Wolves last week the referee played almost two minutes more than the three minutes he advertised but unlike at Molineux and so many other grounds this season Rangers were able to see it out with few scares and left the field with a point well won.

Make no mistake about it, Ipswich were the better team here, but not massively so and as an away team at one of the play off chasers you’d expect to have scares and need your goalkeeper to play well. Six months ago we’d have lost this game 3-0 without really batting an eyelid and the way we hung on at one end and posed a significant threat at the other hints at progress being made all the time. What’s more our style of football, particularly when Lee and Rowlands came into the midfield, was every bit as good as the home side’s and just what QPR fans have been crying out for for many a long year now.

Lee Camp made another poor handling error in the second half but did more than anybody else to win QPR a point with three or four really fine saves and a command of the penalty area, particularly in the first half, that was better than it has been for some time. Clearly some work had been done there after a shaky display at Wolves last week. Michael Mancienne also turned in his best performance for some time and with the local press in Ipswich reporting the Tractor Boys may move for him in the summer if QPR don’t tie up a permanent deal this show will only have heightened Magilton’s interest in the defender.

Fitz Hall looked out of his depth against Hayes but much more at home with Lee, he looks like a player that needs a good pre-season under his belt to me. Damio Stewart did very little wrong on his return to the team and Matt Connolly, while never looking entirely comfortable at left back, held his own pretty well.

In midfield Mikele Leigertwood gave the ball away far, far too often and it’s no surprise that our performance improved when Rowlands replaced him – likewise Vine who didn’t get a lot of joy out of either of Ipswich’s impressive full backs Simpson and Sito and was replaced by Lee who played very well after his introduction. Up front Patrick Agyemang seems to be playing his way back into form, he was very impressive at Wolves last week and again today, certainly holding the ball up a lot better than he has been doing and running at Bruce and De Vos to great effect. I’ll be backing him for the first goal against his former club Preston next week without a shadow of a doubt, Bruce couldn't deal with him at all and continues to look a pretty poor defender for me.

I expect us to win that game despite Preston’s excellent recent form, and I’ll back us to beat Charlton at Loftus Road as well as they continue to implode. That only leaves West Brom at home and Hull away which look like defeats to me and Norwich away where I fancy us for a result. Two wins and a draw would be a fine end to a fine second half to the season and set us up nicely for an assault next term.

Whether we’ll be looking forward to dates with Ipswich again in 2008/09 still hangs in the balance, the Tractor Boys remain seventh and are one of the best sides we’ve faced this season by far. However, they lacked a cutting edge against us in both games this season and I just feel that Magilton’s failure to nail down one of the loan signings h has publicly chased over the past few weeks will just give teams like Wolves, Hull and Watford and advantage over them in the shake up at the end of the season.

I expect both these sides to be competing right in the thick of the top six this time next year.

Ipswich: Bywater 6, Simpson 7, Bruce 6, De Vos 7, Sito 7, Williams 5 (Roberts 77, 6), Sumulikoski 8, Garvan 7, Quinn 8 (Rhodes 84, -),Lee 6, Haynes 7.
Subs Not Used: Colgan, Wright, Trotter.
Booked: Simpson (foul), Haynes (kicking the ball away)

QPR: Camp 8, Mancienne 8, Connolly 6, Hall 5, Stewart 7, Ephraim 6 (Balanta 90, -), Mahon 6, Leigertwood 5 (Rowlands 57, 8),Vine 5 (Lee 65, 7), Blackstock 6, Agyemang 7
Subs Not Used: Pickens, Barker
Booked: Mancienne (foul), Balanta (foul)

QPR Star Man – Lee Camp 8 - Made a bad handling error in the second half but this came after three or four top drawer saves and excellent command of the area in the first half that won us the point. I was very impressed with Mancienne as well although he did give the ball away once or twice.

Referee: Paul Armstrong (Berkshire) 4 - Some very strange decisions both ways. Ipswich should have had at least one penalty if not two, Alan Lee should have been booked for diving trying to win a third and overall there were just some really perplexing decisions all round. There was one in the second half where Rowan Vine was kicked up in the air going for a high ball and ended up being penalised himself, in the first half Patrick Agyemang was clearly brought down right on the edge of the area and the only debate seemed to be whether it was inside or outside the area – Armstrong looked at his linesman despite being no more than ten yards away from the incident himself and ended up waving play on. Inconsistent and mystifying in equal measure.

Attendance: 24,570 (2000 QPR fans approx) - Very, very little noise form the home fans throughout the game but we’ve come to expect that at Portman Road. The Rangers’ fans travelled in pretty decent numbers and were in good voice for most of the match. Disappointing to hear stories of our hooligan element in action at Manningtree station after the match, we could do without these sort of people following our club.

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