Bankes takes City visit - Referee
Monday, 20th Aug 2018 19:07 by Clive Whittingham

Peter Bankes from Merseyside is back at Loftus Road for the first time in nearly a year as the beleaguered R's face Bristol City on Tuesday.

Referee >>> Peter Bankes (Merseyside), last refereed QPR in a home defeat to Fulham nearly a year ago.

Assistants >>> Darren Blunden (Kent) and Michael George (Norfolk)

Fourth Official >>> Tim Robinson (West Sussex)

History

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.

Stats

This will be a fifth game of the season already for Bankes, and his third in the Championship following Birmingham’s 2-2 with Norwich on day one and Leeds’ 4-1 thrashing of Derby at Pride Park. He’s shown a dozen yellows and no reds in that time, half of those bookings coming in the Derby game.

Last season he finished with eight reds and 156 yellows in 42 games (3.71 bookings a game), led by seven yellows handed out in Norwich’s 3-1 home win against Aston Villa. In three appointments with Bristol City they took just a single point, losing 2-1 at home to champions Wolves and 3-2 to Sheff Utd right at the end of the season after drawing 2-2 with Bristol City early doors. Both teams had a player sent off in the televised Wolves game.

In 2016/17 he showed 127 yellows and 12 reds in 38 games, including four yellows and a red when Fulham lost 4-0 at home to Bristol City which was his last appointment with the Whites and would be most welcome as a repeat on Friday.

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