Manchester-based official Thomas Kirk takes his second QPR game on Saturday as the R’s host Sheff Utd at Loftus Road.
Referee >>> Thomas Kirk (Wilmslow)
Assistants >>> Sam Lewis (Buckinghamshire) and Alex James (Dorset)
Fourth Official >>> John Busby (Oxfordshire)
QPR 1 Hull City 3, Tuesday October 1, 2024, Championship
There was more to come too. Lewie Coyle’s handled clearance in his own box was seen by newbie referee Thomas Kirk and Madsen delivered a penalty taking masterclass with a finish right up into the top corner, kissing the bar as it went – a conversion so brilliant even Pandur had no hope of getting near it.
QPR: Nardi 6; Santos 3, Cook 5, Dunne 5, Paal 4; Field 5, Madsen 5 (Lloyd 83, -); Dembele 5 (Chair 74, 5), Andersen 4 (Smyth 65, 5), Saito 6 (Dixon-Bonner 83, -); Frey 5 (Celar 46, 5)
Subs not used: Ashby, Fox, Bennie, Walsh
Goals: Madsen 44 (penalty, unassisted)
Hull: Pandur 8; Coyle 6, Jones 6, McLoughlin 6, Drameh 7; Salter 6 (Zambrano 58, 6), Simons 6, Palmer 7 (Mehlem 58, 6); Belloumi 7 (Omnur 93, -), Bedia 6 (Burstow 86, -), Millar 8 (Giles 95, -)
Subs not used: Alzate, Burns, Kamara, Rushworth
Goals: Drameh 25 (unassisted), Bedia 36 (assisted Coyle), Millar 71 (unassisted)
Yellow Cards: Simons 17 (foul), Jones 63 (time wasting), McLoughlin 64 (foul)
Referee – Thomas Kirk (Wilmslow) 7 Very good. Big decisions correct. On top of everything. Love a card for time wasting when it’s early enough to effect player behaviour rather than a performative action in stoppage time.
Estate Agent Thomas Kirk joined the EFL list in 2022/23, refereeing 32 games across the bottom two divisions and cup competitions. He showed 113 yellows (3.51) and just two reds in those games, topped out by a trio of seven card hauls. Last season he showed 134 yellows (4.06) and four reds in 33 appointments, led by ten yellows in Newport’s early 4-0 home win against Doncaster in League Two. He made his Championship debut on December 23 last year, with Norwich’s 2-0 home win against Huddersfield.
It’s been mostly League One, Two and Cup for Kirk so far this season – a chunky 118 yellows (4.9) and two reds in 24 matches, although a good chunk of those came in two games with ten yellows at Burton 1-1 Tamworth in the FA Cup and another eight at Bolton 1-2 Barnsley in League One. He’s only done four Championship games so far this season and, weirdly, three of them involved Hull – 1-0 defeats to Blackburn and Cardiff as well as their win at Loftus Road. It’ll mean that after Saturday he’ll have five Championship games on his slate but only one of them won’t have featured one of Hull or QPR.
This is his first Sheff Utd appointment.
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