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Queens Park Rangers 1 v 1 Watford
SkyBet Championship
Saturday, 21st November 2020 Kick-off 15:00
cbower added 19:36 - Oct 5
After being at Derby in midweek and witnessing the Jekyll & Hyde performance in the proverbial game of two halves, it was hard to know what to expect from Town today.

McCarthy elected to go with the same eleven and Town opened on the front foot but were unable to make anything from the half chances the opening minutes served up. Similarly, the hosts had some openings but the game took a while to get going. Anderson's goal owed much to the quality of McGoldrick. Whilst the Championships' Player of the Month initially failed to control a high ball which would have set him off on a breakaway for himself, the silky frontman had the presence of mind to lift his head and see Anderson in space bearing down on the 18yard box. McGoldrick slipped the ball into his path and the former Forest man slotted under the advancing Kirkland for the opening goal. Celebrations from the sizeable travelling contingent were, however, rudely cut short when barley 90 seconds later parity was restored. A deep cross from the left went beyond Cresswell and was headed back across goal by a giant Wednesday frontman onto the head of Antonio who nodded home past a helpless Gerken from six yards.

Town responded positively and still looked the better side. Murphy almost profited from a neat McGoldrick throughball and I felt he backed out of the challenge a little as Kirkland came out of his area to clear the danger. From a Cresswell throw, Skuse moved infield and struck a rasping shot against the post with Kirkland well beaten as the ball moved considerably in the air. The host will consider themselves very unlucky not to have gone in at half time 2-1 up when Fryatt latched on to a Berra backheader but the on-loan Leicester frontman hit the shot straight at Gerken who somehow managed to push the ball over for a corner. It was a fine stop but he probably knew very little about it to be fair!

In the second period, Wednesday became increasingly reliant on long balls and the game suffered from periods of poor quality from both sides. McGoldrick blazed a shot high and Murphy hit one effort on the turn that went out for a thrown in. The big Irishman, fresh off a headed double on Tuesday , had another opportunity from an excellent Cresswell corner but headed weekly wide of the far post. Murph went closer with a left footed drive that forced Kirkland to push the ball around the post whilst Anderson did likewise from the right side of the penalty area as Town pushed for a winner. The Owls best opportunity came from a spectacular long range effort from substitute Jermaine Johnson but with Gerken beaten, the ball cannoned back of the crossbar and was cleared to safety. In the latter stages, Anderson was replaced by Tabb with Tunnicliffe moving to the right. This was later followed by the departure of Murphy for Nouble and in stoppage time, Mings came on for McGoldrick as McCarthy clearly settled for the point.

Overall, as they say, an away point is always a good point but on the back of the failure to secure all three midweek, it is hard not to feel we have not made the most of our opportunities in these last two games.

Some player comments:
Gerken - a couple of good stops today, one good punch in the second half too.
Chambers - looked a bit uneasy on the ball at times today and gave possession away once or twice
Smith - good performance against a very tall Wednesday striker
Berra - looking to be an excellent signing and a leader on the pitch
Cresswell - not his best game today but competent. Delivery from corners was good but wasted a couple of free kick deliveries too.
Anderson - took his goal superbly and seems to put in a good shift. Can leave Chambo a bit exposed at times and real wing play and trickery is not yet evident.
Skuse - keeps the midfield ticking over. Good tackler and really unlucky not to open his Town account when striking the post
Hyam - sections of the crowd are itching to get Luke out of the team. He is a worker and is trying to get forward. he needs to move the ball quicker sometimes and avoid needless fouls which give the apposition the chance to put dangerous set pieces into the Town box. Stick with the boy. He is working his nuts off.
Tunnicliffe - got some forward drive and physical presence. Would be nice to secure him for the season
Murphy - his best performance that I have see for a while. Won los of headers and was a good link man too. Perhaps could have done better, especially with a headed chance from a corner in the second half
McGoldrick - you must appreciate what he brings to the team. Hold up play, link play, a threat from outside the box and good movement. Having said that, he was not at his most effective today.
Tabb - did what was needed in the time he was on
Nouble & Mings - nothing to report really

Hoe you got a fell for proceedings despite the long report.
1



unstableblue added 19:54 - Oct 5
This summary from a discussion with a Weds fan at the game:

Ipswich were the better side in terms of quality

Murphy led line well and shouldn't have been taken off

Hyam was good

Skuse looked classy and hit the post

Tunnicliffe impressed

Anderson very poor despite the goal

town defence solid - smith, berra, cressy excellent - and a special mention for chambers

McGoldrick full of confidence, probably too much so in the fact he was taking shots too early

But his main point is that Weds are poor, they have no energy, and have no midfield - WHY DIDNT IPSWICH NOT STEP UP AND TAKE THE GAME

He ended by saying many around him in the weds stand were stating why dont wednesday have the get up and go of players like Hyam

Ultimately, as I think we are all aware, we're letting a lot of points slip through our grasp away from home
1



ipswichjon added 20:11 - Oct 5
Ipswich controlled this match for long periods, controlling the midfield and generally looking composed at the back. McGoldrick and Murphy linked well on occasions and DMcG looks a cut above my striker we've had at Ipswich since Bent/Kuqi/Stewart. Sheffield Wednesday looked more like the away team as we dominated posession but we're maybe lacking that one top creative player either on the wing or in the middle to turn our hard work into more goals.

Hyam's performance was full of energy and he did south off then all filling in for team mates caught further forward so I'd be loath to criticise his creativity. Anderson & Tunnicliffe worked hard but both are to similar and lack genuine pace or a trick that might be what we need to break down the opposition.

Those concerned over Gerken's inclusion can relax, he was calm under crosses, punching away one particularly dangerous free kick under pressure; he also came off his line well and his reaction save from Fryatt at the end of the first half was outstanding.

A good away point but with that one player with a little bit more guile it could have been 3.
Gerken - 7
Chambers - 6
Cresswell - 6
Berra - 8
Smith - 7
Hyam - 7
Skuse - 7
Anderson - 6
Tunnicliffe - 7
Murphy - 7
McGoldrick - 8
Subs
Tabb - 6
Nouble - 6
Mings - 6
Referee - 8
1



Mullet added 21:30 - Oct 5
Mick's approach to team selection seems to be a case of as you like it for the dour Yorkshireman, whose wit is proving as quick, as it is dry in recent weeks. The unchanged 442 a solid response after the goalfest at Derby said more than any of those whinges of discontent ever could. Following on from the collapse of Tuesday night comes Wednesday, another team of similar size and vintage to Town. It's once again refreshingly hard to separate us from many others in a league where teams are tightly packed onto a league table with little space between either end.

Town continued their habit on their travels of taking the place of the home side as the confident and dominant force from the off. Attacking towards a Leppings Lane end full of travelling support the game began with real swagger from us. Town's best of the opening flurry saw an instinctive backheel from Murph fall to an empty box after Cresswell drilled a cross low and hard at him after Wednesday fullbacks left a loose ball outside the box. The Town applause and anticipation rose across the rafters.

The Owls predictably preferred aerial bombardment. A plague of long-range howitzers while they stole yards in a more direct fashion than Town, meant their flighted balls allowed Smith to show who was more comfortable in the air. Their best chance saw Gerken swoop down at the feet of a striker to palm a shot wide before he could set himself. It was one more of those dropping attacks which allowed Town to counter.

Yet again the growing familiarity of the side showed that if Hyam and Skuse filter out play like Town's kidneys, Tunners must be transplanted in as our beating heart; however it was the intelligence of our brain McGoldrick which got Town ahead. Hyam managed to miscontrol a bouncing ball as the league's player of the month and merchant of goal-menace waited for it to bounce. Standing at the ready, a foot inside the halfway line. Springing the offside trap he was tracked by Anderson who stuck on course towards the back stick. The winger sped into the box and into the hunt as McG centred the ball with aplomb. Bang! Host drum and trumpet fell silent as he shot a half-volley across the face of goal and wounded the hosts. 1-0! First blood! Huzzah!

Ando must have felt perplexed that his finish was greeted with the mob chanting McGoldrick's name. Alas it was 3 short minutes of early celebration as the lead was soon to be lost. Another long range bomb exploded in Town faces as Wednesday's strikers skinned our centrebacks, proving there is something rotten in the state of our man-marking. A peeling run to the back post nodded across and then in from all of three yards past a helpless Gerken. It was as simple as it was effective.

Town blustered on in a half where our propensity for dozens of half chances doesn't always tell the whole story. Impressive work in the industrious style we've become comfortable with provided a telling benchmark for the rest of the game. A breathless exchange saw McG attempt a third goal in minutes as he lifted a swirling effort too high to ripple the net from all of 20 yards.

With good all round play from Town Kirkland turned sweeper keeper more than once. The pick of which saw him brush a through ball from McG away from a chasing Murphy a yard outside his box. A few around me bristled at the Irishman's failure to outpace a keeper closer and more importantly facing the correct way as the effort came through.

After 20 odd minutes of advantage won and lost by both sides it was a livewire effort from Skuse which may have peaked the interest of any neutrals in the ground. A lick of paint denied us as he hit a swerving right footer past a flying Kirkland. Clipping the inside of the post and spat out hard for a throw. It dipped back to the midfielder who hit a subtle left side foot chip over the heads of all and over the bar too. The finest stage in the league saw Cole denied one worldy after another.

The half would end with another spectacular chance. Bizarre and tragicomic, the ball fell behind our boys as the home team's striker was left with only Gerken to beat from barely 5 yards. Standing resolute in luminous lime, the glovesman left a sour taste in home fans mouths as his shoulder blocked a hard volley from close range. Going in a goal down would have been unfair on Town who remained professional if a little insipid throughout.

Kicking off the second half Town began as they meant to go on. Cresswell long, Murphy flicked, Tunners cut inside to force a corner. The resultant set piece headed close but not close enough. Unfortunately those good intentions where hard to live up to in the face of a typically well-drilled Dave Jones side.

Wednesday repeatedly went long and hard which saw Town casually play on and on and oddly into trouble from the back too often. Fullbacks were guilty of flicking passes to men barely feet away and it would cause problems all too often needless and generous in equal measure. Whereas the ref was equally confounding in his reluctance to give cards or coherent decisions in the first, the second saw him take a firmer hand on the game.

A soft free kick against Berra on the apex of the box was signalled despite the Scot's fury. Gerken refused to flap as attackers flocked toward him and the ball. Punching hard and true for a corner. Smith also came undone naievely closing a runner who clipped his own heels – yellow card said the ref, boo said I and many others.

Town attacked with regularity but lacked ambition and improvisation all too often. A lifting shot from McG aside, it's hard to pick out a chance which felt like a lead should be ours. Perhaps one near post shot looked to be creeping in after plenty of good work down the flank by our midfield, but none dared stand in the away end as a corner was given slowly but surely. When Murphy gave way to the fresh legs of Nouble one wondered if the rotation of strikers could reverse the inertia of another drab second half.

Wednesday's penchant for violence scuppered many of their own attacks as niggling fouls eventually began to be given. Town seemed to cope in the face of more adventurous but equally uninventive humps, lumps and jumps in on goal. However the best chance of the half was a spectacularly speculative drive from Wednesday which crashed off the woodwork despite Gerken's best efforts to meet it. In the interim Tabb had replaced Anderson but apart from an early header forward his contribution was typical of our midfield's. Lots of running behind the scenes just to keep the whole show going.

Again Tunners repeated his party trick of steaming back tens of yards to cut short a counter attack after a Town set piece was attacked by none of the nine men sent forward. The loanee looked class again and made a case for MOTM long before McG was subbed for Mings in the dying moments. An uncharacteristically fluid change as 4 or 5 at the back and in the middle as Town looked to flood the pitch and leave Nouble floating adrift and alone before the full time whistle came.

Another away game, another draw, another point proves that much ado about nothing is made all too often in post-match reviews. Complaints that we still can't win away will be hard to credit if we manage to keep up the feat at Portman Road whilst sharing the spoils of draws on other teams' patches.
2



troyse added 22:12 - Oct 5
my ratings
gerkin 5
cresswell 4
smith 4.5
berra 4.2
chambers 4
tunnicliffe 5.4
hyam 7
skuse 6.5
Anderson 6.8
murphy 6.4
mcgoldrick 6.2
mcgoldrick,murphy tunnicliffe, Anderson, and luke hyam all played well and all should play v burnley home and stop chanting hyam out of team his worthy of his place don't boo own team only positions dodgy gk and rb
-1



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