QPR finally put on a late show of their own to rescue and unlikely and undeserved point from Preston North End at Loftus Road.

Well we certainly know how the Preston fans will be feeling as they wake up this morning. After conceding six crucial last minute goals ourselves this season it was nice to get two of our own to salvage a result that never looked likely here. This game may have had little at stake for either side but that won’t make the pain any easier to bear for the visitors, and it certainly didn’t dampen the celebrations around Loftus Road at the final whistle.

This draw, sealed at the death by Dexter Blackstock, barely papers over the cracks of a poor team selection and performance. Clearly the shape of our team was wrong for the majority of this game and we are seriously lucky to have taken anything from the match. Preston looked impressive across the park and a 2-0 win certainly wouldn’t have flattered them, if anything it could have been more. That they only left W12 with a single point is down to QPR changing a system that wasn’t working just in time, refusing to lie down, and Preston perhaps deciding the game was over before it actually was.

All of QPR’s problems could be put down to the team selection which was worthy of Ian Holloway at his most eccentric. Camp started in goal behind the same back four that started at Ipswich. Damion Stewart and Fitz Hall were the centre halves with Mancienne at right back and Connolly left back in the absence of the suspended Damion Delaney. Connolly didn’t look like much of a left back at Portman Road and he certainly didn’t seem any more comfortable there this week.

In midfield Leigertwood and Mahon were picked together with Rowlands and Ephraim and that seemed to mean before kick off that Rowlands would be used as a wide player. Not so. Ephraim started wide left but nobody played wide on the right at all. Rowlands, Mahon and Leigertwood all tried to play in the middle with nobody wide right and it was an absolute mess throughout. They looked like three spoilt school kids all refusing to play in a certain position. In the end Leigertwood went out there but he won’t be a wide midfield player as long as he’s got a hole in his arse and Rangers looked amateurish across the middle of the park. I haven’t seen so many square pegs and round holes since the BBC cancelled Play Days.

Up front Blackstock partnered Agyemang against his former club.

Preston were able to name the same starting eleven that demolished Sheff Utd at Deepdale last week because Callum Davidson was passed fit before kick off and took up his position at left back. Alan Irvine brought his team to Loftus Road on the back of a six game unbeaten run and their starting eleven looked a lot stronger and better balanced than it did before Christmas. Chris Brown and Neil Mellor started up front, McKenna and Carter played in the middle of midfield with Whaley and Sedgwick wide and every one of those players was superior to his opposite number in a QPR shirt on the day.

The first chance of the game came after four minutes. Preston started the game playing very nice football through midfield but in the end it was a lucky ricochet that presented them with their first chance as Davidson’s through ball rebounded to Mellor after a wild attempted clearance from Hall. Mellor was offside but the officials decided that a QPR man had played the ball and that allowed the former Liverpool man time to get a shot away. He thrashed at it a little bit, and it flew over the bar taking a nick off Lee Camp on the way. Carter took the resulting corner but Camp claimed comfortably.

Camp had to be on his game again five minutes later as Preston continued to profit down the QPR right. Mancienne was often outnumbered and with Simon Whaley in flying form on the Preston left the Lilywhites were getting great joy down that flank. When Brown slipped Whaley in behind Mancienne a goal seemed likely but Lee Camp saved the former Bury man’s low drive to the near post with his feet. From the corner a quick set piece caught Rangers napping and Sedgwick was able to find Brown with a flick on and his shot was bundled behind by a combination of Camp and the man on the line. The next corner, against from Carter, was claimed by Camp again.

Rangers didn’t really come into the game until the 15 minute mark and by that stage Rowlands had been booked for a wild lunge on Darren Carter. The first attack of any note from the home side saw Agyemang out pace Mawene wide left and cross into the box but Jones scrambled the ball away. Another nice move a moment later almost had Ephraim through on goal but St Ledger read Agyemang’s flick on the edge of the box and intercepted. Still, at least QPR were trying to play football and starting to string one or two things together.

The balance of the side was clearly all wrong though and Preston were soon back on the offensive. St Ledger was left unmarked from a corner but could only send a looping header into the arms of Camp, then Whaley carved QPR up again and sent a cross in that Sedgwick touched back to Mellor who just couldn’t get his feet right to finish. Instead Preston worked it out to the edge of the box and Carter smashed the ball into the Loft. The QPR fans jeered his effort, but it was becoming increasingly apparent to all inside the ground that Rangers just weren’t at the races.

The main cause for excitement among the home fans in the opening half an hour came, once again, through the over zealous behaviour of the stewards towards the QPR fans. Of all the people they could choose to pick on this week they went for Tommy Collins. And here was me thinking sending a team out in a 4-4-2 formation with no right winger was the dumbest thing I’d see all day. The attitude of our stewards continues to amaze and astonish me at times and to decide that Tommy Collins doing what he’s done every match for the past few decades is actually now suddenly against the rules was the work of a seriously brain dead individual. Their reward was everybody in the F and D blocks standing up and making a point in Tommy’s support. Well done the stewards again, you really earned your minimum wage there.

Ten minutes before the break Rangers finally created a good chance of their own. A rare mistake from Mawene left Dexter Blackstock running towards goal with Agyemang up in support and only Sean St Ledger in front of him. He dropped a shoulder right as if he was going to pass to his partner but instead went left and as the space opened up he unloaded a low shot with his left foot towards goal. It wasn’t a clean strike by any means but Lonergan deserves credit for a low save, and he got his reward at the other end 60 seconds later.

On the counter attack Preston forced yet another corner. After sending most of their previous set pieces straight into the arms of Camp Carter was taken off corner duty and Paul McKenna trotted across to the Q Block to have a go himself. His corner was lower than Carter’s had been, an further away from the goal, flying straight onto the head of Youl Mawene who was totally unmarked 15 yards from goal. His flick on found the similarly unattended Neil Mellor at the back post and he needed no second invitation to hammer home a half volley.

This was no more than Preston deserved and reward for Mellor’s hard work and excellent link up play to this point. The noisy following from Preston marked the goal by throwing a load of bowler hats into the lower School End.

Connolly was booked for a foul on Jones and St Ledger was left completely unmarked from a corner but could only find the Upper Loft with his header as frustration grew amongst the home ranks.

In first half stoppage time Michael Mancienne charged into the Preston half and took a shot on from 25 yards, sending the ball just wide of the post. An equaliser there would have been harsh on the visitors, Rangers had been outclassed in the first half and deserved to be more than one goal down.

With that in mind it was astonishing to see the same starting eleven with the same midfield issues retake the field for the second half. Preston were forced into a change though – Neil Mellor spent first half injury time receiving treatment and thankfully he was unable to continue after half time. Rangers would have been glad to see the back of Mellor who’d had an excellent first half but in Tamas Priskin Preston introduced a different kind of threat and he should have been awarded a penalty two minutes after coming on. Fitz Hall lunged in wildly on Priskin when he appeared to be going nowhere, the Hungarian hit the deck but with the referee poorly positioned he was relying on his linesman who kept his flag down. It looked a blatant spot kick to me.

Just after the hour there was finally some action on the QPR bench, and Angelo Balanta was the man who got dressed. This was a blessed relief, finally we’d have a genuine wide player on each flank. The reaction of the crowd said it all when Hogan Ephraim’s number was shown. With Mahon and Leigertwood continuing to stand on each other’s toes in the middle of midfield removing one of those two seemed the obvious move. To take Ephraim off was mind blowing. I’m not saying he’d played particularly well but he provided a much needed threat wide in midfield which we needed more of, not less. I’ll never understand that decision.

Reward for this bloody stupid substitution was swift. Within three minutes Preston were two goals up. Again Mancienne was outnumbered at right back and Chris Sedgwick was able to cut into the area from wide, make Gavin Mahon look like a complete fool and hammer a low cross shot to the near post which caused confusion between Camp and Connolly and bobbled into the net off Priskin.

The Hungarian almost had a second when, once again, Rangers failed to mark up from a corner and his free header was well saved by Camp.

From there on in Preston showed less ambition to go forward and seemed happy to just hold QPR. Dexter Blackstock beat Lonergan to a through ball but toed it just wide of the post when he should have scored. That was followed up by a ridiculous 35 yard attempt from Fitz Hall that flew wide of the post, that stupidity was the signal for many QPR fans to start leaving their seats and heading home.

It was also the cue for De Canio to finally, finally address the problem that had been frighteningly obvious to everybody else all afternoon. At long, long last one of the central midfielders, Gavin Mahon, was removed and replaced by a wide player. Gareth Ainsworth came on to face his former club from the wide right position with Balanta moving to the left. The side finally had a bit of balance about it but with Ainsworth struggling to do anything other than give the ball away and Preston looking comfortable it all seemed to be too late.

Rangers did at least start to create a few chances though, Rowlands suddenly had options to pass to as he broke out of midfield and we started to come into the game more. A clearance from Sedgwick rebounded out for a QPR throw off the referee and from that Balanta crossed to the back post and Blackstock just failed to force the ball home after confusion between Mawene and Lonergan. More progress down the left from Balanta saw a low ball hammered into the near post but Patrick Agyemang somehow failed to convert from a couple of yards out under pressure from the keeper.

Time appeared to be up for QPR as the fourth official readied the stoppage time board and I have to admit I didn’t even get out of my seat when Mancienne laid a ball across the face of the penalty area and Gareth Ainsworth executed a perfect chip over the keeper and into the net to pull what seemed like a consolation goal back for the R’s. = Lonergan was booked in the aftermath for kicking the ball away and wasting time and the extra time that act of stupidity added to the game proved to be crucial.

The board said four minutes though and with Fitz Hall, Ainsworth, Stewart and others all pushing up into attack QPR suddenly had hope. Lee Camp joined the attack for a 92nd minute corner but Martin Rowlands played a poor set piece behind the crowd and Preston were able to break. With Priskin and St Ledger tearing away down the field with only Mancienne for company it seemed that we were going to fall victim to a similar goal to the one we scored at Burnley earlier in the season but Mancienne was able to stick with Priskin who was selfish in possession and ended up running the ball out for a throw in by the dug outs.

That gave Rangers a chance to spread the play across the field to the right flank and Ainsworth. For the first time since coming on he managed to get past his full back and from the corner of the penalty area he delivered the perfect cross for Dexter Blackstock to head home. Loftus Road erupted, an unlikely point had been salvaged, the Preston players and fans looked on mystified.

There was still time for Preston to launch another attack with a free kick from wide left but Rangers got the ball away and celebrated the final whistle as if they’d won a cup semi final.

Rangers deserve great credit for not giving up, and showing the backbone to get back into the match. However let’s not mess about here, that was the wrong QPR team selection and we should have lost the game. De Canio, normally a great purveyor of tactically sound team selections, really got things wrong on Saturday. Why Keiran Lee or Angelo Balanta didn’t start on the wing I just can’t explain. Why start with Ephraim and Balanta against Sheff Utd last month but then try and force Leigertwood to play wide against Preston?

I often said when Holloway was in charge that the QPR results deteriorated more and more with every player he played out of position. It’s easy to feel sympathy with De Canio, robbed of Buzsaky through injury and Delaney through suspension and then losing his key wide attacker Rowan Vine to a horrible injury in the build up to the game, but I felt we could have dealt with the absentees better than forcing three or four players to play a position they’re not used to. When Ainsworth came on he didn’t play particularly well, until stoppage time, but the balance of the side was much better and we showed that had we started with that team we could easily have beaten the division’s form side.

Too many players out of position, and too many players playing well within their ability – Hall and Connolly spring immediately to mind, along with Leigertwood and Mahon – meant that QPR were second best for long periods. Still it was nice, after so many late set backs this season, to get out of jail ourselves. I just hope we haven’t used up too much of our luck in the last two games when they are essentially dead rubbers.

On now to Hull City where nothing would give the QPR fans greater pleasure than to throw a very large spanner in the home side’s promotion push after everything that’s gone on between the two sides in recent years. We owe them one after last season’s debacle on Humberside and with Delaney back against his former club and Buzsaky likely to be fit there’s no reason we can’t go there and get a result – we won’t do it with this starting eleven playing this way though.

QPR: Camp 7, Mancienne 5, Stewart 5, Hall 4, Connolly 5, Ephraim 5 (Balanta 61, 6), Mahon 4 (Ainsworth 66, 5), Leigertwood 4, Rowlands 7, Agyemang 5, Blackstock 5
Subs Not Used: Pickens, Barker, Lee
Booked: Rowlands (foul), Connolly (foul)
Goals: Ainsworth 90 (assisted Mancienne), Blackstock 90+3 (assisted Ainsworth)

Preston: Lonergan 6, Jones 7, Mawene 7, St. Ledger 7, Davidson 7, Sedgwick 7, McKenna 7, Carter 7, Whaley 8, Mellor 8 (Priskin 46, 8), Brown 7
Subs Not Used: Chris Neal, Chaplow, Hill, Lewis Neal
Booked: Brown (foul), Lonergan (time wasting)
Goals: Mellor 37 (assisted Mawene), Priskin 64 (assisted Sedgwick)

QPR Star Man – Martin Rowlands 7 - Not much competition for this, like the Player of the Year award it was between Camp and Rowlands. I do have a fear that he is trying to do too much at times, but in a hotch potch mess of a midfield he was the one that consistently got the ball down and passed it.

Referee: Clive Penton (Sussex) 7 - Didn’t seem to get too many decisions wrong, the main mistake he made in the game was not awarding Preston a penalty in the second half when it looked nailed on. Could have clamped down on the Preston time wasting more in the second half but then did punish them with four minutes of added time that proved to be crucial. We scored a goal with the last kick, or head, or the match the last time he was here as well so long may that continue.

Attendance: 14,966 (1800 Preston fans approx) - The Preston fans travelled in good number and were vocal throughout until their side’s late capitulation. The sight of so many northerners turning up to a football match in bowler hats was a strange one though. The QPR fans were quiet in the first half when there was again no sign of the drum, that appeared in the second half along with a new song and the atmosphere improved somewhat. Quite a few people will be regretting their early departures this morning.

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