Taarabt's brilliance completes Allen's humiliation - History Monday, 18th Sep 2023 16:34 by Clive Whittingham Emphatic wins and heavy defeats have punctuated QPR's recent games with Swansea at Loftus Road, and when these sides met on Boxing Day in 2010 it was very much one of the former. Memorable MatchQPR 4 Swansea City 0, Sunday December 26, 2010, Championship It had been a remarkable, record breaking start to the 2010/11 season for Neil Warnock’s QPR side. The summer transfer activity had hardly set the world alight. Warnock won plaudits for the way he steadied the ship and prevented a relegation the previous year when a season of Jim Magilton, Paul Hart and Mick Harford all having a go at managing the team went badly wrong, but a recruitment drive led by his old guard from Palace and Sheff Utd felt a bit ‘jobs for the boys’ and didn’t inspire a lot of confidence. We infamously said signing Clint Hill and passing up the opportunity to make Dusko Tosic’s loan from Portsmouth permanent was a big mistake. As it turned out, the shape and balance of the side was perfect. Adel Taarabt was the undoubted star whose quality pushed Rangers over the top from promotion contender into title winner, but there was quality throughout the 4-2-3-1 set up with Ale Faurlin and Shaun Derry’s central midfield partnership particularly instrumental and Heidar Helguson leading the line immaculately. They went through the first 19 games of the Championship season unbeaten to top the table heading into Christmas. The winter period, however, proved more difficult. Rangers only lost six league games all season and three of them came in the period over Christmas and New Year. First Watford came to Loftus Road and won 3-1 in a game shown live on BBC, ending the unbeaten record at the twentieth hurdle. Then an injury hit R’s side lost 2-0 at Leeds in the middle of an icy blizzard. Reinforcements were just around the corner: Wayne Routledge would be a pivotal figure through the second half of the year, replacing the stricken Jamie Mackie and scoring key goals against Coventry, Reading and Hull; Danny Shittu would return for a second spell at the club to bolster a defence that was starting to wobble slightly; and Ishmael Miller would go down in recent club folklore for his 88th minute winner at home to Sven Gorak Eriksson’s Leicester City. Meantime, though, a Boxing Day game at home with fellow promotion contenders Swansea, brilliantly managed at this point by Brendan Rodgers and with Scott Sinclair on a hot streak. They’d won six of their prior eight away games in the league before kick off and promised to pose a stern test. Rangers had only escaped the corresponding fixture in South Wales with a 0-0 thanks to Paddy Kenny saving David Cotterill’s penalty – presumably an establishment conspiracy to deny Cotterill a Premier League platform from which to tell the truth about vaccinations. Swansea started the game well but this would become a tale of Taarabt torment for Wales international Joe Allen. When he allowed the Moroccan to turn him deep in Swansea territory on the quarter hour there was always likely to be trouble, and one more trick around Alan Tate later it was time to roll the ball into the path of Mackie to fire into the bottom corner. Mackie, who’d scored eight times in his first eight QPR appearances after arriving from Plymouth, celebrating a first goal for Rangers in 14 games. A bizarre sequence of events saw both teams reduced to ten men immediately after the opening goal. Kyle Walker, running absolutely red hot in a loan spell from Tottenham, set off at electric speed from his own half on a run that carried him past most of the opposition team until there was only Tate between him and the goal and, right on the edge of the area, the Swansea defender slid in and took him out. The only debate, and it wasn’t even really much of one of those, was whether it would be yellow or red but referee Phil Crossley, although awarding the free kick, initially and ridiculously seemed to be happy to carry on without a card at all. Amidst the confusion Tate stuck his head into a confrontation with Mackie and then started on Clint Hill into the bargain. Should have been thanking his lucky stars he wasn’t already heading towards the dressing rooms, never mind booting it off with several opponents, and finally, belatedly, Crossley fished the red card out and dismissed him. For reasons known only to the officials, however, Hill was asked to follow him. Still, the extra space created by a ten v ten formation ended what rudimentary crowding of Taarabt Swansea had been attempting before that and the Moroccan set sail on a one-man destruction mission. After half time it was Taarabt who seized on Helguson’s brilliant flick on before journeying into the penalty area and a clumsy foul by Ashley Williams. An obvious spot kick, another Swan fortunate Phil Crossley’s definition of an obvious goalscoring opportunity was so lenient, but two nil from the spot thanks to Helguson and game over. A third would soon follow when Rodgers’ trademark play out from the back style once again got his side in trouble as Faurlin snaped in on a slack pass and moved the transition quickly to the outstanding Helguson and then once again Taarabt who finished low beneath the goalkeeper for 3-0 – Dorus De Vries, as he was always rather prone to do against QPR, conceding a goal he’d orinarily be expected to save in his sleep. There was, famously, a fourth goal to come. Taarabt, just outright taking the piss by this stage, picked the ball up tight to the South Africa Road touchline and started trying elaborate backflicked passes to team mates. Annoyed and looking to stick a boot in to end the showboating, Allen came across to deal with matters only to find Taarabt now crabbing back towards him across the pitch and completing the Welhsman’s ritual humiliation with an outrageous click and collect nutmeg through him and out the other side again. Allen’s shoulders slumped, and his face looked to the floor, a rare example of a man’s soul leaving his body live on camera. Behind him, Taarabt bent the ball around De Vries and into the bottom corner from 25 yards for 4-0 and QPR’s goal of the season. There was a narrow defeat to come at Paul Lambert’s Norwich, who would claim the second automatic promotion spot and (fairly disgracefully) the manager of the year award, to come. But Rangers would only lose three of their remaining 22 league games after that, even with the horrible distraction of the Ale Faurlin transfer hearing hanging around the closing weeks, and they won the league title with a game to spare by beating Watford 2-0 at Vicarage Road.
Subs Not Used: Cerny, Clarke, Agyemang, Ephraim Sent Off: Hill 19 (fighting) Goals: Mackie 16 (assisted Taarabt), Helguson 62 (penalty won Taarabt), Taarabt 70 (assisted Helguson), 80 (unassisted) Swansea: De Vries 3, Rangel 6, Tate 4, Monk 4, Williams 6, Agustien 6 (Dobbie 71, 5), Allen 6, Pratley 6, Dyer 5 (Taylor 20, 5), Sinclair 6, Beattie 6 (Easter 71, 5) Subs Not Used: Ma-Kalambay, Orlandi, Serran, Gower Sent Off: Tate 19 (fighting) Booked: Williams (foul) Classic encountersLFW regular and AKUTR’s columnist Dave Barton has set up a QPR Memories YouTube channel, with a mixture of clips, classic games, and old highlights packages. His three recent meetings with Swansea are embedded below, give him a subscribe on YouTube or follow @QPR_Memories on Twitter. Recent MeetingsQPR 1 Swansea 1, Saturday January 21, 2023, Championship Neil Critchley only won one of a dozen games in charge during his brief reign at QPR, but there were a couple of sliding doors moments along the way where you wonder how things could have turned out differently. Premier League-bound Sheff Utd equalising via a deflection in the 95th minute at Loftus Road was certainly one, and another similar scenario played out in W12 against Swansea. Rangers went 1-0 up through a cute finish by former Swan Jamal Lowe, his first goal for the club, and with Russell Martin’s side quite happy to pisball about completing a succession of passes in their own penalty area it looked for a long time like this is how the scoreline would stay. But Rangers, vulnerable and low on confidence on the latest in a series of six-game winless runs, sat too deep, too soon, and eventually shipped a late equaliser to Jay Fulton. QPR: Dieng 6; Laird 6 (Kakay 38, 6), Dickie 5, Dunne 6, Paal 6; Field 6, Iroegbunam 5 (Dozzell 89, -); Chair 5, Lowe 6, Roberts 5 (Adomah 90, -), Dykes 6 (Willock 58, 5) Subs not used: Clarke-Salter, Johansen, Archer Goals: Lowe 27 (assisted Dykes) Swansea: Benda 4 (Fisher 61, 5); Latibeaudiere 5, Cabango 6, Darling 5, Manning 6; Grimes 6, Allen 5 (Ntcham 59, 7); Cooper 6, Fulton 7, Cullen 6 (Cundle 58, 6); Piroe 6 Subs not used: Wood, Sorinola, Naughton, Congreave Goals: Fulton 81 (assisted Cundle) Swansea 1 QPR 1, Saturday September 5, 2022, Championship QPR were distinctly below par in the first meeting of 22/23 under Mick Beale, going down 1-0 to a first half goal from Joel Piroe. Things might have been different had referee Olly Langford had the stones to issue the red card Ben Cabango’s first minute foul on Chris Willock deserved with the QPR man clean through on the goal. But it could also have been a lot worse but for a rare penalty save from Seny Dieng to keep Piroe out from the spot. Swansea: Benda 7; Naughton 6, Wood 6, Cabango 6; Sorinola 6 (Oko-Flex 60, 6), Allen 7 (Cundle 74, 6), Grimes 8, Paterson 7 (Cullen 60, -(Stevens 64, 6)), Manning 6; Piroe 7, Cooper 8 (Fulton 74, 6) Subs not used: Fisher, Darling Goals: Piroe 21 (assisted Cooper) Bookings: Grimes 34 (foul), Paterson 39 (foul), Piroe 77 (time wasting) QPR: Dieng 6; Laird 5, Dickie 5 (Balogun 82, -), Dunne 5, Paal 6; Johansen 5, Field 4 (Iroegbunam 70, 6), Dozzell 5 (Adomah 70, 5); Willock 6 (Armstrong 81, -), Dykes 6 (Roberts 61, 6), Chair 6 Subs not used: Kakay, Archer Swansea 0 QPR 1, Saturday May 7, 2022, Championship QPR rounded off the Mark Warburton era, and the Loftus Road careers of several players, with a 1-0 win at Swansea on the final day of the 2021/22 season. A couple of eye-catching saves from Seny Dieng looked to have the teams heading for a second 0-0 draw of the season — QPR busted and chronically out of form by this point, Swansea still obsessing over completing one-twos in their own penalty box. But the games’ outstanding player, Ilias Chair, got free ten minutes from time and put the winner on a plate for Andre Gray. Swansea: Fisher 5; Christie 7, Latibeaudiere 7 (Smith 65, 6), Naughton 6, Manning 5; Grimes 6, Downes 6; Congreve 6 (Paterson 61, 6), Piroe 6 (Ntcham 61, 6), Wolf 6; Obafemi 6 Subs not used: Fulton, Hamer, Abdulai, Cotterill QPR: Dieng 7; Adomah 6, Sanderson 5 (Kakay 46, 6), Ball 7, Barbet 6, McCallum 7; Amos 5, Field 6, Thomas 6 (Gray 64, 7); Dykes 6 (Dozzell 64, 6), Chair 8 Subs not used: Walsh, Mahoney Goals: Gray 80 (assisted Chair) QPR 0 Swansea 0, Tuesday January 25, 2022, Championship Luke Amos hit the post. Swansea kicked the ball around a lot in their own half. QPR: Marshall 7; Odubajo 6, Dickie 6, Dunne 7, Barbet 6, Wallace 6 (Adomah 61, 6); Field 7, Amos 6 (Dykes 61, 5), Johansen 6; Austin 5, Willock 7 (Thomas 82, -) Subs not used: De Wijs, Ball, Dozzell, Walsh Bookings: Odubajo 69 (foul), Johansen 76 (foul), Austin 90+2 (unsporting) Swansea: Hamer 7; Christie 6, Cabango 7, Naughton 7, Manning 6, Latibeaudiere 6; Downes 5, Grimes 7, Smith 6; Wolf 6 (Fulton 66, 6), Piroe 6 (Obafemi 66, 6) Subs not used: Bennett, Joseph, Fisher, Abdulai Red Cards: Downes 90+2 (two yellows) Bookings: Smith 29 (foul), Cabango 47 (foul), Downes 72 (foul), Downes 90+2 (unsporting), Obafemi 90+5 (foul) Swansea 0 QPR 1, Tuesday April 20, 2021, Championship QPR’s impressive end to the 2020/21 season continued with a midweek win at Swansea City behind closed doors. The teams took turns in hitting the post in the first half. Ilias Chair did it twice for Rangers, bundling one against the woodwork from close range to begin with, then having a better effort deflected there by goalkeeper Freddie Woodman. At the other end Wayne Routledge nearly took the post out of the ground with a low show, and later went through on goal but miscontrolled and allowed stand-in keeper Joe Lumley to save. Rangers played well, but for much of the game it felt like another game where that wouldn’t be made to pay in goals and a win until Albert Adomah slipped Lyndon Dykes in a minute from time and he smashed in the winner. Swansea: Woodman 6; Naughton 6, Bennett 6, Guehi 6; Roberts 5, Smith 6, Fulton 5 (Dhanda 75, 5), Grimes 5, Bidwell 5; Routledge 5 (Cullen 71, 6), Lowe 7 (Whittaker 86, -) Subs Not Used: Manning, Hourihane, Hamer, Cooper, Cabango, Latibeaudiere (thank the God of match reporters he didn’t come on) Bookings: Fulton 23 (foul) QPR: Lumley 7; Dickie 7, Ball 6, Barbet 7; Kakay 5 (Adomah 74, 7), Thomas 7 (Austin 67, 6), Johansen 7, Chair 7 (Field 79, 6), Hämäläinen 7; Willock 8, Dykes 7 Subs not used: Kane, Bonne, Bettache, Walsh, Duke-McKenna Goals: Dykes 89 (assisted Adomah) Bookings: Dickie 55 (foul), Austin 85 (foul), Hämäläinen 90+2 (delaying the restart), Lumley 90+4 (taking the piss) QPR 0 Swansea 2, Saturday December 26, 2020, Championship QPR made it eight without a win and appeared to be circling the drain when Swansea won comfortably at Loftus Road on Boxing Day. Mac Bonne missed a great early chance for the hosts who then mastered their own downfall when Yoann Barbet headed a high ball out of Seny Dieng’s grasp and onto the inside of his own post allowing Andre Ayew an open goal with the rebound. One pass from Matt Grimes is all it took to split QPR completely apart after half time and send Jamal Lowe screaming through on goal for a clinching second goal. With Les Ferdinand and Lee Hoos pointedly hanging around in the main stand in full view of the cameras at full time it felt like another managerial change may be in the offing in W12. QPR: Dieng 6; Dickie 5, Cameron 5, Barbet 5; Kane 5 (Adomah 77, 5), Carroll 5 (Willock 77, 5), Ball 5, Chair 5, Hämäläinen 5 (Osayi-Samuel 66, 5); Dykes 5, Bonne 5 (Kelman 66, 5) Subs not used: Duke-McKenna, Kelly, Bettache, Masterson, Thomas Yellow cards: Ball 78 (foul) Swansea; Woodman 6; Cabango 6, Guehi 7, Bennett 6; Roberts 6, Fulton 7, Grimes 7, Dhanda 6 (Smith 65, 6), Bidwell 6; Ayew 7, Lowe 7 Subs not used: Manning, Benda, Fry, Leela, Professor Farnsworth, Latibeaudiere, Cooper, Garrick, Palmer, Routledge Goals: Ayew 44 (unassisted), Lowe 53 (assisted Grimes) Yellow Cards: Dhanda 33 (foul) Swansea 0 QPR 0, Tuesday February 11, 2020, Championship QPR were somewhat down in the dumps when they last met Swansea at the Liberty Stadium in February. Nahki Wells’ departure late in January was a blow, and had been followed up by four consecutive defeats including an FA Cup exit. At Swansea the rot was stopped with a hard fought 0-0 draw in front of the Sky cameras. It could have been more but for better finishing either side of half time by Jordan Hugill. But also could have been worse, had Chuckles Woolmer not waved away a very decent shout for a Swansea penalty in the final minute. Swansea: Woodman 5; Roberts 6, Rodon 6, Guehi 6, Naughton 7; Grimes 5, Gallagher 5; Ayew 6, Dhanda 7 (Kalulu 74, 6), Celina 5; Brewster 5 Subs not used: Fulton, Routledge, Mulder, Scully, Cullen, Cabango Bookings: Naughton 90 (foul) QPR: Kelly 6; Rangel 7 (Kane 83, -), Hall 6, Barbet 7, Manning 7; Ball 5, Cameron 6; Osayi-Samuel 7, Eze 7, Pugh 5; Hugill 4 Subs not used: Lumley, Oteh, Chair, Clarke, Amos, Masterson Bookings: Rangel 41 (foul), Osayi-Samuel 56 (foul) QPR 5 Swansea 1, Sunday January 5, 2020, FA Cup Third Round Having cut loose on Cardiff with a 6-1 win on New Year’s Day, QPR repeated the dose for their South Wales rivals Swansea in the FA Cup third round later that same week. Jordan Hugill set the tone with a brilliant chest and volleyed finish from Todd Kane’s cross for 1-0 and Bright Osayi-Samuel quickly caught Jake Bidwell dithering in his own area for 2-0. It was three before half time when Ilias Chair’s indirect free kick was steered home by Hugill. Swansea made changed second half and one of those, George Byers, pulled a goal back immediately after Geoff Cameron was caught trying to do too much bringing the ball out of defence. But any nerves were quickly dispelled by Lee Wallace belting in a first goal for the club with his swinger from outside the box, and Josh Scowen bettering that with a spectacular fifth — this turned out to be his last significant contribution for Rangers before departing for Sunderland. QPR: Kelly 6; Kane 6, Cameron 6 (Gubbins 90, -), Masterson 7, Wallace 7; Ball 7, Scowen 7; Osayi-Samuel 8 (Shodipo 69, 6), Chair 8 (Dalling 80, -), Pugh 7; Hugill 7 Subs not used: Hall, Smith, Wells, Barnes Goals: Hugill 21 (assisted Kane), 45 (assisted Chair), Osayi-Samuel 29 (assisted Bidwell), Wallace 76 (unassisted), Scowen 90+1 (assisted Kane) Swansea: Nordfeldt 4; Roberts 5, Cooper 5, Bidwell 3, John 5; Carroll 4, Fulton 4; Dyer 4 (Baston 58, 5), McKay 5 (Celina 58, 6), Peterson 6 (Byers 58, 5); Kalulu 6 Subs not used: Dhanda, Mulder, Scully, Naughton, Cabango Goals: Byers 60 (assisted Celina) Bookings: Fulton 64 (foul) QPR 1 Swansea 3, Wednesday August 21, 2019, Championship QPR were made to pay for a lack of clinical finishing in front of goal by an efficient Swansea side when these teams met at Loftus Road in August. The Swans, in the midst of a pace-setting start to the season, took a first half lead on the counter attack when Ayew freed Celina to streak away and score from a QPR corner. But QPR forced numerous saves from Freddie Woodman in the visitors’ goal, including one at full stretch from Ebere Eze’s 20-yarder with the score at 0-0. Jordan Hugill eventually headed an equaliser, and two very decent shouts for a handball penalty were waved away by referee Paul Tierney, but Yoann Barbet’s silly tackle turned the game the way of the Welsh side when Borja converted the resulting penalty. A late third for Sam Surridge from close range added gloss to the scoreline. QPR: Lumley 5; Kane 7, Hall 6, Barbet 5, Manning 6; Cameron 5 (Chair 45, 7), Smith 6 (Pugh 52, 6); Osayi-Samuel 6; Amos 6 (Scowen 31, 6 ), Eze 7; Hugill 7 Subs not used: Kelly, Leistner, Mlakar, Wells Goals: Hugill 66 (assisted Chair) Bookings: Osayi-Samuel 62 (retaliation), Hugill 90+2 (dissent) Swansea: Woodman 7; Roberts 6, van der Hoorn 7, Rodon 6, Bidwell 7; Fulton 7, Grimes 7; Ayew 6 (Naughton 81, 6), Byers 6 (Garrick 62, 7), Celina 8; Borja 6 (Surridge 77, 6) Subs not used: Nordfeldt, Routledge, Wilmot, Dhanda Goals: Celina 29 (assisted Ayew), Borja 70 (penalty, won Garrick), Surridge 80 (assisted Ayew) Bookings: Rodon 41 (foul), Fulton 55 (foul), Woodman 75 (time wasting) QPR 4 Swansea 0, Saturday April 13, 2019, Championship QPR, on a dire losing run that had cost Steve McClaren his job as manager, suddenly and completely at random turned on the style against Swansea when these sides met at Loftus Road in April. The bottom three were starting to loom in the rear view mirror after home defeats to Bolton and Rotherham but Darnell Furlong settled nerves with a second minute opener from a corner, having nearly scored an identical opportunity moments before. Tomer Hemed made the most of dreadful defending to make it 2-0 on four minutes and then banged a second in from close range on 16 to put the game out of sight before it had even really begun. A monumental goal mouth scramble at the start of the second half resulted only in another QPR corner, but when that delivery also caused panic among the visiting ranks Mass Luongo was able to shin in what would turn out to be his final goal for the club. QPR: Lumley 6; Rangel 8 (Eze 88, -), Leistner 7, Furlong 7, Manning 8; Luongo 7, Cousins 7; Osayi-Samuel 7, Scowen 8, Freeman 7 (Wszolek 69, 7); Hemed 8 (Walker 83, -) Subs not used: Ingram, Smith, Wells, Lynch Goals: Furlong 3 (assisted Freeman), Hemed 5 (unassisted), 16 (assisted Scowen), Luongo 54 (assisted Scowen) Bookings: Scowen 11 (kicking Dan James), Rangel 38 (kicking Dan James), Osayi-Samuel 44 (kicking ball away), Cousins 45+4 (kicking Dan James) Swansea: Nordfeldt 3; Roberts 5, van der Hoorn 3, Carter Vickers 3, Naughton 4 (Fulton 45, 5); Byers 5 (Rodon 65, 5), Grimes 5; Dyer 5 (Celina 45, 5), James 5, Routledge 5; McBurnie 4 Subs not used: Benda, Asoro, McKay, Baker-Richardson Bookings: Rodon 85 (foul) Swansea 3 QPR 0, Saturday September 25, 2018, Championship Steve McClaren’s decision to drop his entire first team and surrender the club’s place in the League Cup at Blackpool during the week didn’t bring him any rewards when he recalled the supposedly rested players for the league match on the Saturday. Rangers were well beaten at Swansea who scored three times through Baker-Richardson from close range, Callum Roberts after he’d turned back inside the area, and substitute Jay Fulton via a deflection over Joe Lumley. Baker-Richardson missed a sitter from close range soon after opening the scoring, and saw another well saved by Lumley after Ebere Eze had been caught dallying in his own penalty box. It was a fairly shambolic display and the hosts could have won by many more. Swansea: Mulder 6; Naughton 6, van der Hoorn 7, Rodon 6, Byers 7 (Olsson 84, -); Roberts 7, Carroll 6, Grimes 7, Celina 7 (Fulton 71, 6); Baker-Richardson 7 (Fer 71, 6), McBurnie 7 Subs not used: Nordfeldt, Carter-Vickers, McKay, James Goals: Baker-Richardson 16 (assisted McBurnie), Roberts 76 (assisted Fulton), Fulton 83 (assisted McBurnie) QPR: Lumley 5; Rangel 5, Baptiste 4, Lynch 4, Bidwell 4; Eze 4 (Smith 70, 3), Luongo 4, Cameron 3, Freeman 4 (Wszolek 87, -); Wells 5 (Hall 87, -), Hemed 4 Subs not used: Ingram, Osayi-Samuel, Kakay, Smyth Bookings: Luongo 26 (foul), Bidwell 29 (foul), Wells 76 (foul) QPR 1 Swansea 1, Thursday January 1, 2015, Premier League QPR missed a great chance to post three points to the Premier League table with a New Year’s Day draw at Loftus Road towards the end of Harry Redknapp’s time in charge of the club. The R’s led for most of the match with Leroy Fer scoring after 19 minutes and looked certain to hold onto that when former QPR man Wayne Routledge was harshly sent off five minutes from time for scrapping. Even when Wilfried Bony stuck a stoppage time equaliser into the top corner Rangers thought they’d won the game from the kick off but Charlie Austin saw one head and one volley blocked on the line, Joey Barton’s follow up was saved and then Auston agonisingly hooked over the bar from close range. QPR: Green 7; Isla 7, Dunne 6, Caulker 7, Hill 6; Fer 6, Barton 8, Henry 7, Vargas 6; Austin 5, Zamora 5 (Hoilett 83, -) Subs not used: Onuoha, McCarthy, Mutch, Wright-Phillips, Phillips, Ferdinand Goals: Fer 19 (unassisted) Bookings: Isla 57 (foul), Dunne 61 (foul), Barton 73 (foul), Henry 85 (foul) Swansea: Fabianski 8; Rangel 7, Williams 6, Fernández 6, Taylor 6; Britton 7, Ki Sung-Yueng 7; Dyer 6 (Emnes 60, 6), Sigurdsson 8 (Bony 71, 8), Routledge 8; Gomis 6 Subs not used: Carroll, Tremmel, Bartley, Richards, Barrow Goals: Bony 90+1 (assisted Ki Sung-Yeung) Red card: Routledge 85 (violent conduct)
Swansea 2 QPR 0, Tuesday December 2, 2014, Premier League QPR went through 12 away matches under Redknapp without a single win that season, and they weren’t particularly close to breaking that record at the Liberty Stadium at the beginning of December. Posing no attacking threat whatsoever, it was simply a case of when the visitors would crack and the answer, as it had been in similar circumstances at Newcastle the game before, was 12 minutes from time. Robert Green, who’d been excellent to this point, was beaten by a low drive across the by Ki Sung-yueng. That effectively finished the game as a contest but former QPR favourite Wayne Routledge notched a second for good measure five minutes later. Swansea: Fabianski 6; Richards 7, Williams 6, Bartley 6, Taylor 6; Britton 7 (Shelvey 79, 6), Ki Sung-yueng 7; Montero 7 (Dyer 70, 8), Routledge 8, Sigurdsson 8 (Carroll 87, -); Bony 8 Subs not used: Gomis, Barrow, Amat, Tremmel Goals: Sung-yeung 78 (assisted Dyer), Routledge 83 (assisted Dyer) Bookings: Taylor 70 (foul), Britton 75 (foul) QPR: Green 8; Onuoha 6, Dunne 6, Caulker 6, Suk-Young 5; Barton 5 (Hoilett 80, -), Henry 5, Fer 5, Kranjcar 5, Vargas 6; Austin 6 Subs not used: Ferdinand, Phillips, McCarthy, Isla, Mutch, Zamora Bookings: Barton 35 (foul), Fer 56 (foul)
Swansea 4 QPR 1, Saturday February 9, 2013, Premier League QPR proved easy pickings for Swansea during the 2012/13 relegation season, losing both fixtures and conceding nine goals in the process. At the Liberty Stadium in February the game was barely even a contest, with Michu and Angel Rangel scoring for the hosts before half time. Harry Redknapp sent on Bobby Zamora at half time and he threatened to make a game of it with a goal immediately after the restart but Swansea scored a third straight from the kick off through Pablo Hernandez and went on to add a fourth goal through Michu midway through the second half. Swansea: Vorm 5, Rangel 7, Chico 6 (Bartley 33, 6), Williams 7, Davies 7, De Guzman 7, Ki 6, Hernandez 7, Dyer 7, Routledge 7 (Agustien 62, 6), Michu 8 (Moore 80, -) Subs not used: Tremmel, Tiandalli, Lamah, Shechter Goals: Michu 8 (assiste Dyer), 67 (assisted Hernandez), Rangel 18 (assisted Routledge), Hernandez 50 (assisted Michu) Bookings: Davies 45 (foul) QPR: Cesar 4, Onuoha 3, Samba 3, Hill 3, Traore 3, Derry 3 (Granero 46, 6), Jenas 3 (Wright-Phillips 69, 6), Mbia 4, Townsend 5, Mackie 4 (Zamora 46, 7), Taarabt 5 Subs not used: Green, Ben Haim, Park, Bothroyd Goals: Zamora 48 (assisted Taarabt) Bookings: Samba 9 (foul), Taarabt 39 (foul) Traore 45 (foul)
QPR 0 Swansea 5, Saturday August 18, 2012, Premier League A summer of optimism around QPR was blown apart in an opening day massacre at the hands of Swansea City back in August that season. Few Rangers fans expected the toil and trouble that followed but they were given a rude awakening in Michael Laudrup's first game as the Swans boss. Rangers conceded early when summer signing Michu scored his first goal for the Welsh outfit with a long range strike that Robert Green really should have saved. QPR went close to an equaliser a couple of times before the break - Jamie Mackie saw a shot cleared off the line at one point - but the visitors cut loose after half time with Michu adding a beautifully taken second and Nathan Dyer waltzing through the defence to make it three and kill the game off just after the hour. In searing heat and playing a side that loves teams to come out and chase them, QPR were lambs to the slaughter thereafter and conceded further goals to Dyer and Scott Sinclair prior to his pointless big money move to Manchester City. QPR: Green 2, Onuoha 3, Ferdinand 3, Hill 3 (Wright-Phillips 64, 5), Fabio 3, Diakite 5 (Derry 86, -), Park 6, Taarabt 5, Mackie 4, Hoilett 6, Cisse 4 (Johnson 77, 5) Subs: Murphy, Nelsen, Dyer, Zamora Bookings: Diakite 55 (foul) Fabio 58 (foul) Swansea: Vorm 6, Rangel 7, Chico 8, Williams 7, Taylor 6, Britton 7 , Dyer 8 (Sinclair 77, 7), Routledge 8, de Guzman 8 (Agustien 70, 7), Michu 9 (Gower 84, -), Graham 7 Subs: Tremmel, Tate, Moore, Richards Goals: Michu 8 (unassisted), 53 (assisted Routledge), Dyer 63 (assisted Routledge), 71 (assisted Agustien), Sinclair 81 (assisted Michu) Bookings: De Guzman 41 (foul), Rangel 62 (handball)
QPR 3 Swansea 0, Wednesday April 11, 2012, Premier League Prior to that, QPR actually had a formidable record against Swansea. They maintained that with a crucial 3-0 home win in April 2012 as their great escape from relegation gathered momentum. Desperate for maximum point hauls to keep them in with a shout of survival, QPR overcame a nervous beginning in which Swansea , predictably, dominated the possession, to seize control of the game on the stroke of half time. In a minute of time added on at the end of the first half Swansea full back Neil Taylor climbed on Bobby Zamora to try and head a ball he was never likely to win fairly and conceded a soft free kick in a wide area. A low delivery from the set piece from Adel Taarabt was only half cleared and the ball eventually fell to Joey Barton at the back post who drilled in a crisp volley from 15 yards out. Swansea, in poor form at the time, allowed their heads to drop and Rangers ran away with the game in the second half. First Jamie Mackie, looking suspiciously offside, collected the ball on the edge of the Swansea area and fired in a deflected second, then Akos Buzsaky let rip with a screamer from 25 yards that rocketed into Michel Vorm’s top corner. QPR: Kenny 6, Onuoha 6, Ferdinand 7, Hill 8, Taiwo 7, Barton 8, Diakite 8, Buzsaky 7, Taarabt 6 (Smith 88, -), Mackie 7 (Wright-Phillips 77, 6), Zamora 6 (Bothroyd 78, 5) Subs Not Used: Cerny, Gabbidon, Campbell, Young Booked: Taiwo (tackling a man with his face), Diakite (hacking a man’s leg off) Goals: Barton 45 (assisted Taarabt), Mackie 55 (assisted Ferdinand), Buzsaky 67 (assisted Taarabt) Swansea : Vorm 5, Rangel 5, Caulker 6, Williams 5, Taylor 5 (Tate 46, 5), Sigurdsson 7, Britton 6 ( Moore 62, 5), Allen 6, Routledge 5 (Dyer 46, 6), Graham 7, Sinclair 6 Subs Not Used: Tremmel, Monk, McEachran, Gower
Swansea 1 QPR 1, Tuesday December 27, 2011, Premier League QPR were good value for a point at the Liberty Stadium when these sides met at Christmas that season, and possibly could have had more had they shown more ambition to push for a winner in the closing stages. Things started poorly for Neil Warnock’s men when Danny Graham was allowed to bring the ball down with the palm of his hand by referee Lee Probert and then stroke in a well taken opening goal. But the R’s roared back in the second half and Jamie Mackie got a well deserved equaliser when the home defence misjudged a long clearance from goalkeeper Paddy Kenny and Mackie stole in to nutmeg Vorm and score. Swansea: Vorm 7, Rangel 7 (Moore 57, 4), Williams 7, Caulker 6, Richards 6, Sinclair 6, Britton 6, Agustien 7, Allen 6, Routledge 7 (Dyer 56, 6), Graham 7 Subs Not Used: Tremmel, Dobbie, Monk, Lita, Gower Booked: Richards (foul) Goals: Graham 14 (assisted Routledge) QPR: Kenny 6, Young 7, Hill 7, Hall 7, Traore 6, Mackie 7, Barton 6, Derry 6, Faurlin 7, Taarabt 7, Helguson 6 Subs Not Used: Cerny, Orr, Gabbidon, Bothroyd, Connolly, Smith, Wright-Phillips Booked: Hill (foul), Barton (foul), Taarabt (kicking ball away) Goals: Mackie 58 (assisted Kenny)
Previous ResultsHead to Head >>> QPR wins 22 >>> Draws 15 >>> Swansea wins 17 2022/23 Swansea 1 QPR 0 2021/22 Swansea 0 QPR 1 (Gray) 2021/22 QPR 0 Swansea 0 2020/21 Swansea 0 QPR 1 (Dykes) 2020/21 QPR 0 Swansea 2 2019/20 Swansea 0 QPR 0 2019/20 QPR 5 Swansea 1* (Hugill 2, Osayi-Samuel, Wallace, Scowen) 2019/20 QPR 1 Swansea 3 (Hugill) 2018/19 QPR 4 Swansea 0 (Hemed 2, Furlong, Luongo) 2018/19 Swansea 3 QPR 0 2014/15 QPR 1 Swansea 1 (Fer) 2014/15 Swansea 2 QPR 0 2012/13 Swansea 4 QPR 1 (Zamora) 2012/13 QPR 0 Swansea 5 2011/12 QPR 3 Swansea 0 (Barton, Mackie, Buzsaky) 2011/12 Swansea 1 QPR 1 (Mackie) 2010/11 QPR 4 Swansea 0 (Taarabt 2, Mackie, Helguson) 2010/11 Swansea 0 QPR 0 2009/10 QPR 1 Swansea 1 (German) 2009/10 Swansea 2 QPR 0 2008/09 QPR 1 Swansea 0 (Leigertwood) 2008/09 Swansea 0 QPR 0 2004/05 QPR 3 Swansea 0** (Cureton, Rowlands, Gallen) 2001/02 Swansea 4 QPR 0* 1980/81 Swansea 1 QPR 2 (Langley, King) 1980/81 QPR 0 Swansea 0 1979/80 QPR 3 Swansea 2 (Goddard 2, C Allen) 1979/80 Swansea 1 QPR 2 (Burke, Stephenson og) 1978/79 QPR 2 Swansea 0 (McGee, Eastoe) 1966/67 Swansea 1 QPR 3 (Lazarus 3) 1966/67 Swansea 1 QPR 2** (Hazell, Keen) 1966/67 QPR 4 Swansea 2 (L Allen 2, Marsh, Sanderson) 1965/66 QPR 6 Swansea 2 (R Morgan 3, Colins 2, Lazarus) 1965/66 Swansea 4 QPR 2 (Collins, L Allen) 1962/63 Swansea 2 QPR 0* 1951/52 Swansea 2 QPR 3 (Gilberg, Hill, Addinall 1951/52 QPR 1 Swansea 1 (Smith) 1950/51 Swansea 1 QPR 0 1950/51 QPR 1 Swansea 1 (Addinall) 1949/50 Swansea 0 QPR 1 ( Hudson ) 1949/50 QPR 0 Swansea 0 1947/48 QPR 0 Swansea 0 1947/48 Swansea 3 QPR 1 (Durrant) 1924/25 Swansea 2 QPR 0 1924/25 QPR 0 Swansea 0 1923/24 QPR 2 Swansea 2 (Davis, Marsden) 1923/24 Swansea 2 QPR 0 1922/23 Swansea 3 QPR 0 1922/23 QPR 2 Swansea 1 (Davis, Chandler ) 1921/22 Swansea 1 QPR 0 1921/22 QPR 1 Swansea 0 (Birch) 1920/21 QPR 1 Swansea 1 (Manning) 1920/21 Swansea 1 QPR 3 (Gregory, Birch, Manning) 1913/14 Swansea 1 QPR 2* * - FA Cup ** - League Cup ConnectionsRobbie James >>> Swansea 1973-83 & 1988-90 >>> QPR 1984-87 Swansea born and bred, Robert James graduated from the city’s schoolboy side to play for his hometown club-making his debut in April 1973 aged just 16. Over the next decade, James would go on to play almost 500 times for the Swans and became known as ‘the darling of the North Bank’. He was a pivotal part of the side that rose from the Fourth to First Division in just three seasons in the late 1970s and early 1980s under the management of John Toshack. He helped the club to sixth place in the first season back in the top flight. James’ utility was seen as a vital commodity as he could play as effectively in defence as he could midfield. He earned international recognition with Wales whilst at the Vetch Field and would go on to win 47 caps for his country. In 1983, after ten seasons with Swansea which had sadly ended with their relegation, James looked for a fresh challenge in England and signed for Stoke City. Despite being an ever-present in his season there he moved on a year later to Queens Park Rangers for £100,000. He made his debut from the subs bench against Arsenal in November 1984 and went on to be an important part of the R’s squad over the next four seasons, memorably scoring in a home win against the Gunners in 1985. Mainly playing as full-back for Rangers, James’ was rather barrel chested by the time he got to Loftus Road but he was enthusiastic and was a key part of the team that went all the way to the League Cup Final in 1986. Sadly he couldn’t prevent Rangers from a disappointing 3-0 defeat to Oxford after beating Chelsea and Liverpool in the quarter and semi-finals. A year later James left Loftus Road and signed for Leicester before appearing once again for his beloved Swansea and then winding down his career with Bradford and Cardiff. He had a brief spell in the Welsh Leagues and managed both Merthyr and Llanelli. He collapsed and died aged 40 while player manager at Llanelli in 1998. Still seen as a true Swansea legend, a bust of James stands proudly by the ticket offices at the Liberty Stadium and the club is assembling a wall of fame for former greats in his memory. Others >>> Jamal Lowe, Swansea (loan) 2023, 2020-2021, QPR (loan) 2023 >>> Ryan Manning, Swansea 2020-2023, QPR 2015-2020 >>> Jake Bidwell, Swansea 2019-2022, QPR 2016-2019 >>> Little Tom Carroll, QPR 2020-2021, (loan) 2013-2014, Swansea 2017-2019 >>> Leroy Fer, Swansea 2016-2019, QPR 2013-2014 >>> Angel Rangel, QPR 2018-2020, Swansea 2007-2018 >>> Wayne Routledge, Swansea 2011-present, QPR (loan) 2011, 2009-2010 >>> Scott Sinclair, Swansea 2010-2012, QPR (loan) 2007 >>> Scott Donnelly, QPR 2004-2007, Swansea 2010-2011 >>> Paulo Sousa, Swansea (manager) 2009-2010, QPR (manager) 2008-2009 >>> Brian Murphy, Swansea 2003-2006, QPR 2011-present >>> Jordi Lopez, Swansea 2009-2011, QPR 2009 >>> Tommy Williams, QPR (loan) 2002-2003, (loan) 2003, (loan) 2009, Swansea 2006-2007 >>> Leon Knight, QPR (loan) 2001, Swansea 2006-2007 >>> Marcus Bean, QPR 2002-2006, Swansea (loan) 2005 >>> Kenny Jackett, QPR (coach) 2001-2004, Swansea (manager) 2004-2007 >>> Karl Connolly, QPR 2000-2003, Swansea 2003-2004 >>> John Hollins, QPR 1975-1977, QPR (coach) 1995-1998, Swansea (manager) 1998-2001 >>> Robbie James, Swansea 1973-1983, 1988-1990, QPR 1984-1987 >>> Leighton James, QPR 1977-1978, Swansea 1980-1983 >>> Jeremy Charles, Swansea 1976-1983, QPR 1983-1985 Tweet @loftforwords Pictures — Action Images Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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