For the second time this season QPR beat the division’s top side with a fabulous strike at the Loft End. Martin Rowlands’ sizzling 25 yarder was enough for an impressive Rangers team to beat Wolves.
QPR turned in their best performance of the season in the league to beat a Wolves team that continues to head the table despite this defeat.
The last time the R’s faced the league leaders at Loftus Road it was Birmingham City and they were beaten 1-0 with a spectacular goal at the Loft End. Same scoreline, same quality of winning goal here but whereas the vicory against the Blues was a backs to the wall effort with ten men this win against Wolves came thanks to a commanding performance that was all too much for the visitors to cope with. Mick McCarthy’s men only really came into the game for any length of time once QPR had decided to shut up shop with 20 minutes to play.
Rangers battered Wolves into submission with Helguson and Agyemang giving Richard Stearman and Michael Mancienne, on his first return to Loftus Road, a torrid time for most of the afternoon. At the other end a forward line that has scored almost 30 goals between them already this season was completely stunted by an impressive display from Gorkss and Stewart and in between all of that Rowlands and Ephraim had their best games of the season in midfield.
Only a series of saves from Wayne Hennessey and some poor finishing by three or four members of the QPR team prevented this from being a three or four goal win and had Rangers racked up that kind of a score Wolves could have had few complaints. Rangers were hanging on a bit at the end but that masks the story of the day – the home team was dominant and deserved to win by more.
With Fitz Hall and Mikele Leigertwood banned, Connolly, Buzsaky and Vine all injured and Lee Cook just coming back from a lay off Paulo Sousa’ options were somewhat limited going into the game. The back five remained the same with Radek Cerny the keeper behind Ramage, Gorkss, Stewart and Delaney. In midfield Mahon played the holding role with Ephraim on the right and Martin Rowlands returning to the side as captain on the left. Up front Heidar Helguson played behind Dexter Blackstock and Patrick Agyemang.
That three pronged attack looked very physically strong on paper and with Michael Mancienne returning to Loftus Road for the first time alongside Richard Stearman it was easy to see why Sousa thought a more aggressive approach may be the best way to go against the league’s leading team. Up front Chris Iwelumo and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake came into the game in terrific form and would provide a stern test of Gorkss and Stewart who had been playing so well in the games leading up to this one.
QPR should have taken the lead inside the first 90 seconds. Hogan Ephraim got free down the right and whipped in a low cross that Stearman made a hash of on the penalty spot, presenting possession to Helguson who took an excellent touch to set himself but then lashed wildly over the bar when he really should have hit the target.
After six minutes a free kick for an elbowing offence on Mahon that David Jones was lucky to escape further punishment with was lofted into the area by Rowlands but the Wolves players ran out en masse and caught several QPR men offside. Wolves tried this again later in the half but neglected to tell Stearman about it and he stayed in and played everybody on – QPR failed to capitalise though. Sixty seconds later a golden chance to take the lead was spurned when Agyemang beat the offside trap to seize on a poor mistake by Mancienne and race through on goal but he saw his effort blocked at close range by the onrushing Wayne Hennessey in the Wolves goal.
With three corners to go with these two early chances it was clear that QPR had started the better of the two teams but they could easily have fallen behind 12 minutes in when Gavin Mahon mis-controlled a bouncing ball in the area and Ebanks-Blake touched the ball back to Edwards who beat Cerny all ends up with a curling shot from 20 yards out that sailed an inch wide of the post. On the next attack a free kick to the back post eluded Cerny in a crowd of players but Stearman could only hook the loose ball onto the roof of the net.
Rangers were soon back on the attack again and Dexter Blackstock became the latest striker to spurn a great chance to give the home team the lead. A lovely through ball from Helguson had Blackstock in behind the defence but the ball took a nasty bobble as he went to drive it goalwards and ultimately his shot flew high and wide into the jeering Wolves fans. The former Southampton striker had another great chance to score five minutes later when Hennessey came for a Rowlands free kick and missed it completely, the attentions of Stearman prevented Blackstock from forcing the ball into an empty net. Blackstock had been plodding about holding his lower back for some time before this and sure enough he was removed seconds later and replaced by Lee Cook. Heidar Helguson went into the forward line with Agyemang and Cook assumed the position at the point of the diamond.
Wolves were left to rue another near miss in the 21st minute when a clumsy foul by Ramage on Kightly on the edge of the box presented them with a very dangerous free kick. It looked to be ideally set up for a right footed inswinger from the left corner of the penalty area but Wolves instead worked a neat routine whereby Jones tapped it to Edwards who stopped it for Jones to curl it over the wall, across the face of goal and about an inch wide of the post with Cerny totally beaten.
Wolves though were struggling to get possession of the ball for any length of time. The QPR foreards were putting in an outstanding shift to hassle the visiting defenders and prevent them bringing the ball out from the back, Martin Rowlands and Hogan Ephraim were outstanding ahead of steady Gavin Mahon and at the back Iwelumo and Ebanks-Blake were hardly getting a sniff as Gorkss and Stewart excelled again. Rangers’ dominance continued into the break as first a low shot from helguson was saved by Hennessey who then spilt the ball and had to be quick to grab it off Agyemang’s boot in the six yard box, then Lee Cook worked into space in the area but saw a left footed shot fly straight at the goalkeeper with the whole goal to aim at. Patrick Agyemang also drilled a shot wide after again making his presence felt on the edge of the box – the QPR play was very direct, much more so than in Sousa’s first two games but it was hugely effective and Mancienne and Stearman couldn’t live with it.
I cannot imagine Mick McCarthy was overly enthused by his side’s first half performance and Wolves were out early for the start of the second presumably with a flea in their ear from the experienced manager. Indeed they started the half on the front foot with a couple of crosses into the penalty area but normal service was quickly resumed as the QPR strikers recommenced their physical assault on the Wolves centre halves.
Two minutes after the break a long ball down the field from Cerny was allowed to bounce by Stearman and that gave Helguson invitation to run in behind the last man and get a shot away on goal. From 12 yards out slightly left of centre his half volley was well struck but Hennessey managed to get the ball behind with a save off his standing leg – I think it’s fair to say the keeper did not know a lot about it, Helguson looked frustrated. At the other end Edwards hit a volley from fully 30 yards high into the School End.
Nine minutes into the second half Wolves came as close to a goal as they did all day with a free kick from David Jones. Damien Delaney was adjudged to have fouled Michael Kightly on the edge of the penalty area after stepping across the winger’s run and that gave Jones a chance to whip a shot over the wall and down into the bottom corner. Despite it being on the side of the goal that the wall had responsibility for Cerny was alive to the danger and flew across the goal line to produce a world class one handed save right by the base of the post. For all their domination Rangers were indebted to the Czech goalkeeper for keeping them on level terms.
McCarthy had seen enough and just before the hour mark he sent on former Gillingham winger Matt Jarvis for David Jones. Jarvis has missed several weeks of action with a hamstring injury but he immediately got to work on the QPR defence, tricking and teasing his way past Ramage and into the penalty area with his first touch of the ball. His cross to the back post looked to be past the unmarked Ebanks Blake at the back post but the striker flung out an arm to punch it goalwards and another superb save from Cerny was required to keep the bouncing effort out. Despite appeals from every QPR defender it looked very much to me like referee Williamson and linesman Malone had missed the hand ball because no flag was raised or play on gesture signalled, Blake also escaped a mandatory yellow card so I assume had Cerny not saved it the goal would have stood which is quite disturbing. All thoughts of the potential injustice evaporated within ten seconds though.
Cerny cleared the ball downfield and once again Heidar Helguson won it in the air on the edge of the Wolves’ penalty box. There seemed to be little danger as the ball landed at the feet of a static Patrick Agyemang but Martin Rowlands burst forwards from midfield, took it off his team mate’s toe and unleashed an unstoppable drive into the roof of the net. The deep and speed on the ball beat Hennessey all ends up, it was a fabulous strike in front of the watching Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni.
Initially QPR seemed keen to go for a second goal and within five minutes of taking the lead they had big appeals for a penalty at the Loft End waved away when Helguson cut the ball back into the area and Stearman turned it behind with what looked like his arm. In the end a corner was QPR’s only reward and that opportunity passed them by when Stewart headed down into the six yard box at the back post but was penalised by the referee for climbing on his man.
Mr Williamson had his yellow card out in the next meaningful action, Michael Mancienne continued his torrid return to Loftus Road by misjudging a long ball down the middle and then rather than allow it to bounce in behind him he thrust up an arm and deliberately knocked it away from the danger zone. There were few complaints with the subsequent booking. The subsequent free kick was met with a towering back post header by Helguson but it lacked sufficient power or direction to trouble Hennessey unduly.
This though signalled an end to QPR’s attacking ambitions in the match and they spent the final 20 minutes or so on the back foot trying to soak up pressure. If there is a criticism of the performance it’s that we stopped doing everything that had got us into the winning position for the last part of the match. When we were attacking and roughing up the Wolves defence not only did we look dangerous but the visitors never looked like scoring except from occasional set pieces. It surely would have made more sense to continue with that for the entire match rather than suddenly dropping deep behind the ball and trying to defend against such a potent attack. The rearguard action began with a tremendous clearing header from Damion Stewart who was facing his own goal six yards out with Ebanks-Blake at his back as Kightly sent in a devilish cross. The clearance fell to Jarvis who cut inside to shoot but Ramage thrust out a leg and blocked the effort.
McCarthy then changed his strike force with Vokes and Keogh coming on to provide a different threat to that posed by Iwelumo and Ebanks-Blake – Stewart and Gorkss had marashalled the potent Wolves’ forward line superbly but Vokes signalled his intention quickly with a rasping 25 yard volley that Cerny spectacularly caught with a diving save off to his left.
For his part Paulo Sousa gave a clear indication of what the mentality was to be during the closing stages when he replaced Helguson with Damiano Tommasi. Helguson impressed on his home debut despite missing two good chances, his presence and ability to beat far taller men than himself in the air proved to be invaluable and he looks like a decent signing at this early stage. Tommasi was pretty poor after his introduction, giving the ball away and conceding free kicks far too often. One of his first acts was a moment of confusion with Damien Delaney which turned a QPR throw in into a Wolves free kick on the corner of the penalty area but Stewart and Gorkss’ power in the air dealt with the delivery from Kightly.
As Wolves enjoyed their best spell in the game numerous low crosses were flying backwards and forwards in front of Cerny’s goal and Jarvis was giving Ramage a torrid time down the left flank. After a neat one two with Keogh Jarvis drew the first QPR caution of the game when he was chopped down by Martin Rowlands but the free kick came to nothing. He also had what looked like a decent penalty appeal waved away when he cut into the penalty area again and fell under a clumsy looking tackle from Ramage – thankfully for the home fans Iain Williamson showed little interest in the incident.
With three minutes of stoppage time to play Sousa sent on Sam Di Carmine for Lee Cook presumably to try and make the ball stick around the halfway line when cleared a bit more often. The Italian showed a leaden footed first touch with his first involvement but almost smashed in a carbon copy of his Birmingham screamer with his second. Picking the ball up just inside his own half Di Carmine looked up to see only Michael Mancienne and about 70 yards of grass between him and the Wolves goal so he set off on a purposeful, marauding run that ended with a low drive from the edge of the box that beat Hennessey but flash a foot wide of the post as well. Still, he’d served his purpose of holding the ball up and running the clock down and the final whistle followed shortly after the goal kick.
So Paulo Sousa is now unbeaten in three games as QPR manager. This was a terrific performance – fast paced, totally committed and decent to watch. Rangers were perhaps a little more direct than the fans, coaches, owners and players would like to be but against the best team in the division Sousa came up with a game plan that worked a treat. All the talk pre-match was about Michael Mancienne’s return but he looked wholly uncomfortable with Agyemang, Blackstock and Helguson and it was no surprise that the goal came from a long ball and header won by the latter. Wolves had a weakness at centre half, Sousa recognised that and the players carried out the plan to perfection.
Only in the final 20 minutes did Wolves start to get on top and even then they found Damion Stewart, Kaspars Gorkss and Radek Cerny in fine form. Rangers only really looked troubled when Matt Jarvis came on and started getting at Ramage down the Wolves left. Martin Rowlands seemed well suited to the left of the diamond role and his goal was a fine way to cap hi best performance of the season and although they didn’t score Agyemang and Helguson played well too. If Agyemang could actually score goals with his pace and power he’d be playing at a higher level than this, sadly his end product often fails to match the hard work that goes before.
It is only the away form that is holding QPR back and with three of the next four matches on the road that needs to be corrected as soon as possible. However in this performance there was a new dimension to QPR, a harder and grittier edge to go with the flashy stuff, and that will come in useful on what is sue to be a cold night in Sheffield on Tuesday and then at Plymouth next Saturday. The pint glass is half full once again.
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QPR: Cerny 8, Ramage 6, Stewart 9, Gorkss 9, Delaney 7, Ephraim 7, Mahon 7, Rowlands 8, Blackstock 6 (Cook 27, 6) (Di Carmine 90, -), Helguson 7 (Tommasi 77, 5), Agyemang 7
Subs Not Used: Cole, Borrowdale
Booked: Rowlands (foul)
Goals: Rowlands 63 (assisted Helguson)
Wolves: Hennessey 8, Foley 6, Stearman 5, Mancienne 5, Ward 6, Kightly 5, Edwards 6, Henry 6, Jones 6 (Jarvis 58, 7), Iwelumo 5 (Vokes 72, 6), Ebanks-Blake 5 (Keogh 78, 6)
Subs Not Used: Higgs, Collins
Booked: Mancienne (handball)
QPR Star Man – Kaspars Gorkss 9 Yes, again. Outstanding in the air and composed on the deck. Stewart alongside him was superb as well and Rowlands, Ephraim, Agyemang and Helguson all played very well too but it’s hard to look past Gorkss for me who was composed, strong and dealt wonderfully with all four strikers that Wolves used. He’s done his bit now, with Hall back from his ban on Tuesday it will be interesting to see whether he gets dropped after a man of the match performance for the second time this season.
Referee: Iain Williamson (Berkshire) 7 Obviously this mark would have been far lower had Ebanks-Blake been allowed to score with his handball, and I really think both officials missed it. They got away with that but were very decent apart from that, Williamson allowed the game to flow, only booked when totally necessary and belied a reputation as a card happy referee. Seemed to give a lot of decisions QPR’s way in the first half but it was hard to argue with many of them.
Attendance: 13,416 (1500 Wolves fans approx) The atmosphere came across very well with plenty of singing from the Ellerslie Road side of the ground but as the camera gantry is basically above the signing section that may have exaggerated it. Very little heard from the Wolves fans.