Premier League referee Peter Bankes is the man in the middle on Sunday as QPR return to action post World Cup with a televised clash against Burnley.
Referee >>> Peter Bankes (Merseyside),
Assistants >>> Edward Smart (West Midlands) and Nick Greenhalgh (Lancashire)
Fourth Official >>> Sam Allison (Trowbridge), fire fighter and former semi-pro footballer who became just the second ever black referee in this country, following Uriah Rennie, when he joined the last last season. Further reading here and here.
QPR 1 Sheff Utd 3, Friday April 29, 2022, Championship
Frankly given the scale of dominance, particularly through midfield, Sheff Utd should be ashamed and embarrassed that we had to start going through the painful Championship rigmarole of players who aren’t injured sitting down, demanding a stoppage, physios trudging on, player walking slowly off, referee complicit in the whole thing waving the cunt straight back on, and him sprinting back into position. Everybody, everybody — Every. Body. - involved in this knows what’s going on. Grown ups, grown men, adults, going through this pretence, game after game, week after week, month after month, to the point now where the ball is in play for barely 50% of the average Championship match — by miles and miles and miles the worst ratio in European football. Basham knows he’s not injured, Peter Bankes knows Basham isn’t injured, the trained medical professionals who at some point have sworn some sort of oath know Basham isn’t injured, everybody in the ground knows Basham isn’t injured, and yet we go through this fucking scandalous pantomime. It’s disgusting. And everybody involved in it should be flogged until they need some actual medical treatment. I’ll do the flogging for free - certainly a better use of my time than dropping another 200 sheets going to Swansea next week.
QPR: Mahoney 7; Adomah 6, Sanderson 5, Dunne 7, Field 6, McCallum 6; Johansen 4, Dozzell 4 (Thomas 72, 5), Amos 5 (Kakay 72, 6); Chair 6, Austin 6 (Dykes 62, 5)
Subs not used: Ball, Gray, Halwax, Hendrick
Goals: Austin 31 (assisted Adomah)
Bookings: McCallum 88 (dissent), Johansen 90+6 (foul)
Sheff Utd: Foderingham 6; Osborn 6, Basham 6, Egan 7, Robinson 7, Stevens 6; Norwood 7, Fleck 7 (Hourihane 90+3, -), Berge 8; Gibbs-White 7, Ndiaye 7 (Osula 75, 6)
Subs not used: Davies, Davies, Uremovic, Norrington-Davies, Jebbison
Goals: Ndiaye 54 (unassisted), Robinson 73 (assisted Basham), Hourihane 90+4 (assisted Berge)
Bookings: Fleck 87 (foul), Robinson 90 (foul)
Referee — Peter Bankes (Lancashire) 6 Little to referee, with QPR so uncompetitive at points. I thought he let Jack Robinson get away with a lot of the needless cuntery that’s always been a part of his game, including wrestling and throwing a man to the ground on the far side of the pitch to me in the second half. Sam McCallum ended up with a dissent booking after the most blatant handball you’ll ever see was missed entirely. Also this routine we’re now obliged to go through where a player can sit down, demand treatment, physios get waved on, player trudges to the side of the pitch (in Basham’s case laughing and winding up the people in the Paddocks) and then sprint straight back on when everybody in the ground including the referee knows there’s fuck all wrong with him is pathetic and needs stamping out — some sort of system that allows the referee to make him stay off the pitch for longer would help, though is fraught with problems and difficulty.
QPR 1 Leeds 0, Saturday January 18, 2020, Championship
There was rightly some dispute around the opener, however on second viewing I can have very little sympathy for Leeds for the first hand ball, which Wells knows next to nothing about. The second is a little more understandable and whilst its unfortunate, and would have been disallowed in the Premier League with their VAR system, QPR have had more than their fair share of questionable decisions against them in recent times to feel too sorry for the Champions of Europe. Besides, I don’t recall too much humility from them when Kemar Roofe was punching in equalisers against Nottingham Forest last season.
Alioski headed wide after being found by Hernandez before Costa managed to pick out Bamford at the far post but he could only header over under pressure from Hall. On the hour mark, the ex-Chelsea striker latched onto another Ayling pass and his dramatic swan-like dive was enough for referee Peter Bankes to point to the spot and award his third penalty against QPR in four outings with us — two of them to Leeds.
Bamford picked himself up to place a penalty to Kelly’s right hand side. The Scot guessing correctly and palming the ball out of play before catching the resulting corner with ease. Loftus Road celebrated that probably longer and louder than it did that actual goal. Leeds’ fascination with Bamford’s ability to boost all the key metrics except the most important one of all costing them in a big game again.
With minutes left to go and Leeds players involving themselves in everything, from what side of the pitch the home players should leave when being substituted, to where free kicks should be taken, they were reduced to 10-men. Kalvin Phillips’ horror tackle on Geoff Cameron last year left the American out for a number of months just as he was building up some form. For whatever reason, with minutes left on the clock, he decided to have a second crack at the Rangers veteran. His over the top, studs up challenge would have been late if it was five seconds earlier. It left Cameron in a heap on the ground and started a small riot with players in the blue and white rightly incensed. Absolute horror.
QPR: Kelly 8, Kane 8, Hall 7, Masterson 8, Wallace 6: Cameron 6, Amos 7 (Scowen 74, 6); Osayi-Samuel 8, Chair 7, (Clarke 74, 6) Eze 6; Wells 7 (Pugh 83, -)
Subs not used: Barnes, Manning, Leistner, Ball.
Goals: Wells (pre-assist Eze)
Bookings: Masterson 71 (time wasting), Wallace 79 (foul), Cameron 88 (retaliation), Wells (foul play).
Leeds: Casilla 5; Dallas 5 (Alioski 45, 6), Cooper 6, White 6, Ayling 6; Phillips 5, Klich 6 (Stevens 87, -); Costa 5, Hernandez 7, Harrison 6; Bamford 3
Subs not used: Mesiler, Struijk, McCalmont, Shackleon, Casey
Red Cards: Phillips 88 (serious foul play)
Bookings: Dallas 42 (foul), Hernandez 74 (foul), Ayling 88 (unsporting)
Referee — Peter Bankes (Merseyside) 4 Often feels as though these referees become so obsessed with making sure that they are ticking every box on their assessor’s sheet that they lose the complete feel for the game. Look like you’re going to connect with a Leeds player as they are clearing the ball, that’s a foul. Let a Leeds player fall over and grab the ball that’s a foul. Touch a Leeds player as they are making a pass, that’s a foul. Have three men round you and get man handled and pushed to the floor, that’s not a foul BOS, up you get. Wildly inconsistent, very much looking to make it the Bankes show, and got the big decisions in the game (bar the Phillips red card) wrong.
Millwall 1 QPR 2, Saturday September 21, 2019, Championship
Second half, balls out of the bath. Rangers had, at last, come to play. Manning and Kane were both a thick ten to fifteen yards further forward from wing back than they had been in the first period. Eze and Chair were also more advanced, supporting the front two and getting good ball to Hugill and Wells. Hugill wanted a penalty for being wrestled down at the back post under an early Manning free kick but referee Peter Bankes, whose hobbies and interests include awarding penalties against Queens Park Rangers, waved it away. Hugill was then booked for a monstrous foul to interrupt a Millwall counter attack. The R’s weren’t standing for any shit any more, and they took a fifty sixth minute lead when Kane adventured into the penalty box and attempted a one two with Wells which bobbled back into the path of the in form striker and was dispatched into the top corner without a second thought with sniper-like power and accuracy. Eat that and tell me you’re still hungry.
Millwall: Bialkowski 4; Hutchinson 6, Pearce 6 (Mahoney 76, 5), Cooper 6; McCarthy 6 (O’Brien 88, -), Ferguson 6; Wallace 6, Molumby 5, Thompson 7; Smith 5, Bodvarsson 5 (Bradshaw 69, 6)
Subs not used: Wallace, Williams, Steele, Leonard
Goals: Hutchinson 71 (assisted Smith)
Bookings: Thompson 47 (foul), Hutchinson 85 (foul)
QPR: Lumley 6; Cameron 7, Leistner 8, Barbet 7; Kane 7, Manning 7; Chair 6 (Pugh 83, -), Ball 8, Eze 7; Wells 7 (Scowen 77, 6), Hugill 6
Subs not used: Smith, Mlakar, Masterson, Kelly, Alfa
Goals: Wells 56 (assisted Kane), 72 (unassisted)
Bookings: Cameron 33 (foul), Hugill 51 (foul), Wells 73 (overcelebrating)
Referee — Peter Bankes (Merseyside) 7 Not the referee we wanted for this game given his recent history with guys but I thought he was very good here, controlling the game adeptly, not buying any attempt to con him, and not over fussing. Felt sure he’d award the late penalty appeal on Smith just because, but it never was and he rightly waved it away. An earlier handball appeal by Millwall looked a much better shout, so marks off for not awarding that, but frankly after last season he owed us that one.
Leeds 2 QPR 1, Saturday December 8, 2018, Championship
Rangers had been clock running at 0-0, and that increased ten fold with a lead to protect. Referee Peter Bankes, as we’ve come to expect from Championship officials this season, did absolutely nothing to address it. Pawel Wszolek, in particular, frequently strayed into the realms of taking the absolute piss with his throw ins and delayed restarts down the right side of the field. The majority of the last five minutes of the half were taken up by an injury to defensive central midfielder Geoff Cameron, who was subsequently replaced by Josh Scowen The Goblin Boy at half time, but despite all that obvious cheating, and the goal, and the prolonged celebrations, and the lengthy treatment for Cameron, Bankes added just three minutes to the end of the first half. I’d expected the thick end of six. Honestly, it was us causing it this week just as Hull had done to us seven days prior, and it’s getting really, really silly now.
If conceding at such a late stage showed a lack of street smarts, conceding a penalty immediately after half time was thick as mince. Quite how Bankes managed to see Leistner handle the ball away from Roofe as he pulled a long ball down in the penalty box I’m not sure — he was directly behind it, with bodies blocking his view — but we know from Blackburn a month ago that this particular referee won’t think twice when given the chance to award a spot kick against Rangers and he was once again lightning fast to turn one point into none. Leistner was booked for dissent.
Leeds haven’t had a penalty in 59 games dating back to October 2017, so we should have known the law of Jensen/Doyley would mean they got one against us here. Roofe certainly didn’t look like a man short of practice, confidently sweeping the kick into the bottom corner for his second of the game, tenth of the season and sixth in three games against Rangers. Homey, he’s not going to get tired, it’s Drederick Tatum.
In weather you could drown a duck in, QPR tried to pack the Leeds area with bodies and force an equaliser by any means they could. Smith looked to have been clearly hauled down by Janson when contesting a Rangel throw in the box — the Swede’s arm wrapped around Smith’s throat was a big clue — but it turns out Bankes’ eyesight isn’t that brilliant after all and a linesman staring straight at it was, presumably, thinking about other things. Confusion and collision between Phillips, usually a central midfielder but pressed into service at the back here, and Peacock-Farrell nearly spilled an open goal chance to Eze before he was removed. It just… wasn’t…. quite…. dropping QPR’s way and when Mass Luongo tried and failed and tried again and failed again to wiggle enough space in the area for a late shot on the goal the ball eventually fell to Jake Bidwell who improvised an improbable 20-yard lob over Peacock-Farrell with his weaker right foot. The keeper, who looked like he’d fucked it from the moment it left Bidwell’s boot, flung up a glove at the last minute to steer it away. Luke Freeman was pelted with bottles and coins as he took the resulting corner because… well, because Leeds.
Leeds: Peacock-Farrell 6; Shackleton 7, Jansson 5, Phillips 5, Douglas 6; Forshaw 6; Alioski 6, Saiz 6 (Halme 81, 7), Klich 6, Hernandez 8 (Clarke 86, -); Roofe 8
Subs not used: Bamford, Huffer, Harrison, Baker, Davis
Goals: Roofe 45+3 (assisted Hernandez), 52 (penalty, won Roofe)
Bookings: Klich 33 (foul), Phillips 63 (foul)
QPR: Lumley 6; Rangel 6, Leistner 5, Lynch 5, Bidwell 6; Cameron 6 (Scowen 46, 6), Luongo 6; Wszolek 5 (Osayi-Samuel 73, 6), Eze 6 (Smith 78, 5), Freeman 6; Wells 6
Subs not used: Ingram, Furlong, Cousins, Hemed
Goals: Wells 26 (unassisted)
Bookings: Scowen 48 (foul), Leistner 52 (dissent), Rangel 76 (foul), Lynch 85 (nearly Christmas)
QPR Star Man — Mass Luongo 6 Hard to choose from a pretty mediocre performance. Would have gone for Wells had he not missed that gilt edged second half chance. Luongo battled effectively in a tough midfield battle. Only a six though, which tells its own story, in Hernandez and Roofe Leeds had the two best players on the pitch.
Referee — Peter Bankes (Merseyside) 4 Managed to drag six yellow cards (some reporting Lumley got one and it was seven but I didn’t see that if so) out of a game that barely warranted three. He's now shown 82 yellows in just 18 appointments this season. How he’s seen the Leistner handball from where he is, I’ve no idea. How anybody could miss Smith being pulled down by his neck in the area late on, likewise, but then it was pretty clear by that point that you’d more chance of flying to the moon in a wheelie bin than getting a QPR penalty out of this bloke. Did absolutely nothing to stem QPR’s obvious and frankly fairly embarrassing first half time wasting and then only added three minutes before half time. A poor all round display with few positives.
Blackburn 1 QPR 0, Saturday November 3, 2018, Championship
The first half was a mixture of mistakes, weird refereeing and occasional pieces of neat play, which always seemed to fall to pieces in the final thirds. Wells managed to chip the ball into the crowd from an inviting range and a good strike from Freeman seemed to hit the bar with the keeper a mere spectator. It really was turning into a tediously dull Championship encounter with neither side deserving much more than nil, so a scoreless first half was a fair reflection on what was on offer.
At least the referee was making things interesting, as he seemed to be going around guessing at decisions with no consistency other than that of being consistently bewildering to all who were watching. He blew for fouls that didn’t look like offenses and obviously the opposite when it did; and heaven only know what was going on with Bidwell foul throw or not foul throw situation, it was all just a bit odd and obviously didn’t improve, for us anyway, in the second half. In total yellow cards were handed out without a bad foul in the entire game, including one to Luongo after just four minutes. It seemed Mr Bankes’ ambition was to confuse and frustrate; he clearly succeeded.
Leinster really didn’t deserve to be on the losing side, but with the game drifting towards the inevitable bore draw, Mr Guessit stepped up to provide some excitement. From the back of the stand, at the wrong end of the ground, Scowen’s challenge on Brereton looked a concerning one thought the linesman standing nearby and looking right at it didn’t seem to have a problem with it. No-one around me was really surprised when Guessit pointed to the spot. I haven’t seen a reply, but I’ve heard conflicting views and it doesn’t really matter. Preston or Blackburn, it doesn’t really matter, we just knew something would go wrong late on and it did. Dack stepped up and Lumley dived out of the way of what would’ve been a routine save, if he’d been braver for a fraction of a second. It’s so frustrating, how many penalties would be saved if the keepers didn’t move so early? This one was just off centre and at a really comfortable height for a goalie; an easy save which would’ve prevented Dack celebrating like he’d won the World Cup. The Blackburn fans finally came to life and we were treated to a couple of renditions of "We are on our way back.” A huge, miss-informed exaggeration if ever I’ve heard one. They are a completely ordinary Championship side who will finish mid table, meaning more joyless visits to this dreary place for us, as you can be bloody certain we aren’t going anywhere either; well not upwards anyway.
Blackburn: Leutwiler N/A, Bennett 6, Lenihan 7, Williams 7, Bell 6, Smallwood 6 (Palmer 63 5), Evans 7, Reed 6, Dack 7, Armstong 5 (Brereton 80), Graham 5 (Rothwell 74 5)
Unused subs: Nyambe, Rodwell, Conway, Fisher
Goals: Dack 86 (penalty won Brereton)
Bookings: Reed 19 (foul), Smallwood 33 (foul), Evans 56 (foul), Brereton 90+4 (foul)
QPR: Lumley 5; Rangel 6 (Furlong 87, -), Leistner 7, Lynch 6, Bidwell 6; Scowen 6 (Chair 88, -)
Luongo 5; Wszolek 5, Eze 5 (Smith 76, 4), Freeman 5; Wells 5
Unused subs: Ingram, Hall, Cousins, Osayi-Samuels
Bookings: Luongo 4 (foul), Eze 51 (foul), Leistner 66 (foul), Freeman 90+5 (foul)
Referee: Peter Bankes (Merseyside) 4 A horribly infuriating official, who badly handled an easy game. I would hate to see him in charge of a tougher fixture. Everyone in the ground was confused by so much of what he did. The assistant was very close to the penalty incident and gave nothing but I wasn’t surprised when it was given.
QPR 0 Bristol City 3, Tuesday August 21, 2018, Championship
QPR: Ingram 3; Rangel 4 (Sylla 76, 5), Leistner 4, Baptiste 5, Bidwell 3; Scowen 4, Luongo 3 (Cousins 60, 4); Eze 4, Freeman 3, Wszolek 4 (Smith 60, 4); Washington 3
Subs not used: Lumley, Chair, Kakay, Smyth
Bookings: Scowen 56 (foul)
Bristol City: Maenpaa 6; Hunt 7, Pisano 7, Webster 7, Kelly 6; Watkins 6 (O’Dowda 76, 6), Brownhill 7, Pack 7, Eliasson 7; Taylor 8 (Eisa 90+1, -), Weimann 8
Subs not used: Dasilva, Walsh, Paterson, Moore, O’Leary
Goals: Taylor 41 (assisted Brownhill), Weimann 50 (assisted Eliasson), 90 (assisted Brownhill)
Bookings: Pisano 26 (foul), Brownhill 48 (foul), Pack 70 (foul)
Referee — Peter Bankes (Merseyside) 7 Much like Saturday, decent refereeing in a non-competitive game although as in the Preston and Sheff Utd games did nothing to clamp down on late gamesmanship designed to run the clock down other than point at his watch, then didn’t add on the time at the end. It seems now that every Championship side, once leading in the last 20 minutes, is trained to engage in this injury feigning, time wasting shithousery and unless the referees get wise and strong to it it’s going to fester.
QPR 1 Fulham 2, Friday September 29, 2017, Championship
In the first quarter of an hour alone Sheyi Ojo took the long way around Jack Robinson and shot wide, then Idrissa Sylla (finally given a start up front with Jamie Mackie) chested down and volleyed over from an offside position, then Luke Freeman shot wide after good approach work from Scowen, then Scowen himself shot wide, then Stefan Johansen shot into the side netting after Joel Lynch was caught flat footed. QPR unlucky not to be ahead, fortunate not to be behind, and nursing a yellow card from a very harsh refereeing call against Massimo Luongo.
Luongo had a shot blocked, a shot saved wide, and a cut back fumbled by Button provoking a scramble. After three fairly obvious fouls had been waved away in quick succession referee Peter Bankes awarded a foul on the Australian on the edge of the box against Fredericks and Freeman struck the set piece wide with the keeper beaten.
And if you think that’s fucking stupid, then there’s Joel Lynch. Just back, probably rushed back, from injury, you could probably forgive a tired lapse in concentration seven minutes from time when he tried to trap a ball that should have just been cleared, ended up conceding possession to Fulham sub Neeskens Kebano and then ran after him into the penalty box, fouled him and conceded a spot kick. You could also — even though it was shambolic, even though it was moronic, even though it was a situation entirely of his own making an execution — perhaps forgive him for getting up and screaming (as he always does) abuse at Jake Bidwell, who’d had rock all to do with any of it. Because this is Fulham, and Fulham don’t score penalties, so there wasn’t much to worry about — Fonte stuck this one clean over the bar, the fourth spot kick missed by the Whites against QPR in the last three meetings.
So you start to make peace with it then don’t you? Half the crowd makes an early exit, the Fulham fans do their little "it’s happening again” chant, you accept the defeat and start bracing yourself for Bolton’s inevitable first win of the season on the other side of the international break. Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme. Except that, for once, a referee had taken account of the time wasting, and the injuries, and everything else, and added nine minutes. And, for once, Conor Washington was in the right place at the right time to bumble one into the net from close range right at the start of it, so suddenly it’s 1-2 with time to spare. Luke Freeman looked like he was going to score off the kick off, only for Button to thwart him one on one; Matt Smith had a header cleared from the goal line by a combination of two defenders, Luongo had a shot blocked, Scowen had a shot blocked. Fulham, now, clinging on. QPR, now, rampant.
QPR: Smithies 6; Baptiste 6, Robinson 7, Lynch 4, Bidwell 5; Scowen 6, Luongo 6, Freeman 6; Wszolek 6 (Smith 60, 5), Mackie 6 (Washington 76, 6), Sylla 7 (Wheeler 84, -)
Subs not used: Furlong, Lumley, Manning, Osayi Samuel
Goals: Washington 90+2 (assisted Smith)
Bookings: Luongo 17 (foul), Mackie 22 (foul), Lynch 82 (foul)
Fulham: Button 6; Fredericks 8, Kalas 6, Ream 6, Sessegnon 7; Norwood 6, McDonald 6, Johansen 6; Ojo 6 (Kebano 55, 6), Fonte 6 (Cisse 90+4, -), Mollo 6 (Odoi 62, 6)
Subs not used: Bettinelli, Madl, Graham, Djalo
Goals: Robinson og 41 (assisted Fredericks), Johansen 85 (assisted Fonte)
Bookings: Norwood 63 (repetitive fouling), Fredericks 65 (foul), Button 87 (time wasting)
Referee — Peter Bankes (Merseyside) 6 Put pressure on himself by booking Luongo so early for so little, then ended up letting loads of worse stuff go after that. But otherwise I thought he was pretty decent. Holloway, and others, felt the penalty was a dive but it looked absolutely nailed on to me at the time — referee only gets one look. Nice to see a referee actually adding adequate time to a half with injuries and time wasting rather than just doing the standard two minutes first half four minutes second half regardless of what’s happened.
Aston Villa 1 QPR 0, Tuesday April 4, 2017, Championship
Aston Villa: Johnstone 6, Hutton 6, Chester 6, Baker 6, Taylor 6, Jedinak 7, Lansbury 7, Bacuna 6, Adomah 6 (Hogan 77, 6), Amavi 7 (Green 85, -) Kodjia 6 (Elphick 90, -)
Subs not used: Hourihane, Bree, Bunn, Grealish
Goal: Kodjia 5 (assisted Bacuna)
Yellow Card: Kodjia 87 (foul)
QPR: Smithies 6, Bidwell 6, Onouha 6, Hall 5, Furlong 6 (Petrasso 75, 5), Mackie 6, Freeman 7, Luongo 8, Goss 6 (Washington 72, 6) N’Gbakoto 6, Sylla 5 (Smith 64, 6)
Subs not used: Ingram, Wszolek, Perch, Manning
Yellow Card: Mackie 23 (foul)
Referee — Peter Bankes (Merseyside) 7 I sit near a guy at HQ who only ever comes alive in a game to berate the referee, irrespective of how well or badly QPR are playing or what else has gone on during the game. So, if he is silent for 90 minutes, the ref has done well. After many years, I can sense when a ref would cause him to explode and I’m pleased to say that Mr Bankes did not cross that threshold. Generally unfussy and only two cards in a competitive game. Took at least two opportunities to keep his cards in his pocket in favour of a quiet word in the aftermath of robust, but genuine, challenges.
QPR 1 Huddersfield 2, Saturday February 11, 2017, Championship
If the first goal was sub-standard defensively, you couldn’t help but admire the sheer quality of the second. Luongo had already been let off without a booking when he really should have seen yellow from referee Peter Bankes as QPR struggled to hang onto Town’s coat tails when the visitors collected the ball deep in their own half, by their own corner flag. Comfortable and confident on the ball, led from the back by Michael Hefele the Terriers started to pass the ball. And they kept passing it with increasing intensity, pace and purpose. Each one completed was cheered by the travelling support, each one completed put QPR in further trouble. Zulus, thousands of them, sweeping down the field, forcing the issue, twisting the knife. Hefele’s ball to van la Parra down the right was key, Kachunga might have been slightly fortunate that his mishit turn back inside fell perfectly for Nahki Wells but the finish was emphatic and you’ll struggle to see a better looking, more thoughtfully constructed goal at this level this season.
Huddersfield started to rock a little. They’d have been facing a sixty eighth minute penalty if referee Bankes had had his way: Smith hauled down underneath a wide free kick, the official pointing straight to the spot, the linesman spoiling the party by correctly identifying the QPR target man had — for reasons I can’t understand — gone miles too soon and run offside. A minute later Smith connected brilliantly with Washington’s cut back — Ward equal to it with a brilliant save in the top corner.
Manning’s seventieth minute free kick was illegally blocked by a hand in the wall. Brown was yellow carded for his complaints about the distance his team mates were marched back from the second set piece. Lua Lua drilled the second effort into the crowd rather than the net. The Brighton loanee must have thought he’d scored when he connected brilliantly with a low shot from 20 yards out after a corner was cleared but despite the ball flying straight and true through a crowd of some 20 players, Ward somehow kept an eye on it and produced the save of the game with his legs. Hall’s soft touch and delicate chipped cross looked like it might give Smith a chance to head in at the back post. Another scramble saw Ward save from Washington.
It was like the Alamo. Bankes added seven minutes to an eminently watchable encounter, and played nearer nine, but QPR couldn’t find a way through a second time. Twice they appealed for penalties — the first for a push on Washington maybe worth a second look, the second for handball as the ball flicked up off a slack touch and onto the arm of a Huddersfield man would have been harsh for me.
QPR: Smithies 6; Wzsolek 6 (Ngbakoto 80, -), Perch 6, Onuoha 5, Bidwell 5 (Lua Lua 53, 6); Hall 6, Manning 6, Luongo 5; Mackie 5 (Freeman 53, 7), Smith 7, Washington 6
Subs not used: Goss, Ingram, Furlong, Sylla
Goals: Freeman 60 (unassisted)
Bookings: Manning 45+1 (foul), Hall 58 (foul), Luongo 85 (foul)
Huddersfield: Ward 8; Cranie 6 (Smith 80, -), Hefele 7, Schindler 6, Lowe 6; Mooy 7, Hogg 6 (Billing 20, 8); Kachunga 6, Brown 8, van la Parra 6 (Lolley 79, 6); Wells 7
Subs not used: Payne, Quaner, Stankovic, Coleman
Bookings: Brown 62 (dissent)
Referee — Peter Bankes (Merseyside) 7 I thought he was pretty good, despite QPR’s vociferous second half penalty appeals for a push on Washington and a hand ball. The one that was a spot kick he gave, only to find Matt Smith had already been flagged offside. Bookings correct, game controlled pretty well until the final few minutes when he made a few dodgy calls in midfield. Perhaps a little generous with Aaron Mooy, but to be honest that’s just part of Mooy’s game and QPR could do with a couple of players like him themselves.
QPR 1 Sunderland 2, Wednesday September 21, 2016, League Cup Third Round
QPR: Ingram 6; Kakay 6, Caulker 6, Lynch 7, Hamalainen 5; Sandro 6, Cousins 6 (Chery 85, -); Wzsolek 6, El Khayati 4, Washington 6 (Luongo 79, 6); Sylla 7 (Polter 74, 5)
Subs Not Used: Smithies, Onuoha, Borysiuk, Paul
Goals: Sandro 60 (assisted Lynch)
Sunderland: Pickford 6; Denayer 5 (Love 69, 6), O’Shea 6, Djilobodji 6, van Aanholt 6; NDong 8, Kirchhoff 6, McNair 8, Gooch 5 (Cattermole 69, 7); Watmore 6, Asoro 5 (Maja 69, 7)
Subs not used: Jones, Mika, Kone, Greenwood
Goals: McNair 70 (assisted Watmore), 80 (assisted NDong)
Referee — Peter Bankes (Merseyside) 8 Excellent for almost the whole game, letting a fairly wild encounter run its bumbling course unchecked to the benefit of the neutrals. Seemed to lose the plot a bit in injury time, having only added three minutes to the end of the game he then didn’t really seem to know what to do about Sunderland intentionally running down all of that with several spurious injuries. Overall though, very decent indeed.
QPR 1 Leeds United 0, Saturday November 28, 2015, Championship
Ale Faurlin was exemplary in the middle of the midfield, but a seventh minute free kick booted off towards Acton after Hoilett had been felled by Liam Bridcutt — the Sunderland loanee was booked on his debut — wasn’t his finest hour. Nor was Hoilett’s header straight up in the air on the half hour after a good cross from Paul Konchesky — even lesser spotted than QPR youth team players in the first team. Nor was Robert Green inexplicably deciding to come charging 40 yards away from his goal to try, and fail, to intercept a straightforward Leeds punt down the field leaving Chris Wood to stride round him but take too long over the finish to exploit the open goal.
The teams both had similar penalty appeals waved away by referee Peter Bankes either side of half time. Hoilett seemed to have been clearly pushed under a Konchesky cross for the first, Wood likewise for the second, but neither were awarded.
QPR: Green 5; Perch 6, Onuoha 7, Hall 7, Konchesky 6; Petrasso 6 (Austin 57, 7), Sandro 7, Faurlin 8, Yun 6 (Chery 57, 7), Hoilett 7 (Henry 89, -), Phillips 6
Subs not used: Luongo, Smithies, Angella, Tozser
Goals: Austin 58 (assisted Faurlin)
Leeds: Silvestri 7; Wootton 5, Belusci 5, Cooper 5, Taylor 5; Mowatt 6 (Botaka 67, 5), Bridcutt 6, Cook 6, dallas 6; Antenucci 5 (Erwin 80, -), Wood 4
Subs not used: Byram, Murphy, Doukara, Adeyemi, Peacock-Farrell
Booked: Bridcutt 6 (foul), Wootton 35 (foul), Cook 82 (foul)
Referee — Peter Bankes (Merseyside) 7 At the time I thought the Junior Hoilett penalty appeal looked a stick on, but I haven’t seen it back. Thought his time keeping was intriguing — two minutes added to the end of a first half when Dallas had been down for twice that by himself, then four minutes in the second despite a lack of injuries and goals. But overall, pretty decent - kept control nicely, not a lot of cards, good advantage played at times.
Wolves 2 Queens Park Rangers 3, Wednesday August 19, 2015, Championship
It took a quarter of an hour for the first goal to arrive. Matt Phillips thought he should have had a free kick down the QPR left but referee Peter Bankes, rightly, said no and the home team broke away down their right. James Henry's cross was deflected by Paul Konchesky and the ball fell to Afobe on the six yard line who took one touch and then dispatched it into the bottom corner.
The travelling faithful in the side stand feared Ramsey's Cardiff experience had made him timid with his substitutions. Faurlin seemed to be blowing hard. Bankes booked Nedum Onuoha for the tackle of the match on the hour and Green, having stood so far off to his right he was closer to the corner flag than his left hand post, was nowhere close to getting back across to Afobe's free kick as it flew over the wall and, mercifully, into the side netting. Henry was also booked on his return to the club he supports — a sensible, cynical, tactical foul as Wolves threatened another counter.
Bankes added five extra minutes, seemingly because he was enjoying the game so much rather than because there had been a load of substitutions or injuries in the second half (there hadn't) but there was to be no last-second heartbreak for Rangers this time and the players celebrated on the pitch with their manager at full time.
Wolves: Martinez 3; Iorfa 6, Stearman 6, Hause 5, Golbourne 6; Henry 7 (Van La Parra 63, 6), Coady 6, McDonald 7, Edwards 7; Afobe 8, Dicko 7 (Le Fondre 46, 5)
Subs not used: Ikeme, Price, Doherty, Ojo, Ebanks-Landell
Goals: Afobe 17 (assisted Henry/Edwards), McDonald 24 (unassisted)
Bookings: Hause 45 (foul), Le Fondre 74 (foul), Coady 90+4 (foul)
QPR: Green 7; Perch 6, Hall 6, Onuoha 6, Konchesky 5; Faurlin 7 (Polter 89, -), Henry 7; Luongo 8, Chery 8 (Doughty 78, 7), Phillips 8; Austin 7
Subs not used: Hill, Gladwin, Lumley, Emmanuel-Thomas, Hoilett
Goals: Austin 38 (assisted Phillips), Phillips 52 (assisted Luongo), 72 (assisted Luongo)
Bookings: Onuoha 60 (foul), Henry 64 (foul)
Referee — Peter Bankes (Merseyside) 7 Thought he got the Onuoha booking badly wrong, that looked a good tackle to me, and where on earth he got five minutes at the end from when the second half had three substitutions, three goals and no injuries I don't know. Overall though, pretty decent.
Peter Bankes was moved onto the Premier League list for the 2019/20 season and was doing UEFA Europa Conference League games last season for the first time as well. This season he’s showed 63 yellows and a red in 13 games, topped up significantly by 10 bookings in a Europa Conference League game between Panathinaikos and Slavia Prague, and eight at Oxford 0 Palace 2 in the League Cup. Despite being on the Premier League list he has already had one Burnley game — 1-1 draw at Preston in a Lancashire derby. Last season he finished with 107 yellows and just two reds in 27 matches. Burnley are 1-3-2 from six games with this official and it’s 4-0-8 with QPR in 12 games.
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