QPR 2-1 Ipswich Town - Match Report
Monday, 2nd Jan 2017 17:01

Pawel Wszolek netted in the 83rd minute as the Blues opened 2017 with a 2-1 defeat at QPR. The home side went in front via Idrissa Sylla’s goal on the half hour before Tom Lawrence smashed in a brilliant equaliser for the Blues, who will feel they should have taken at least a point from the match but were again left rueing defensive mistakes.

Josh Emmanuel replaced Grant Ward in an otherwise unchanged Town XI, which lined-up in a 3-5-2 formation.

Emmanuel started at right wing-back with Myles Kenlock at left wing-back with skipper Luke Chambers, Adam Webster and Christophe Berra the three centre-halves.

Cole Skuse, Kevin Bru and Tom Lawrence were in central midfield with Brett Pitman again partnering David McGoldrick up front.

QPR made two changes with Jordan Cousins and Ariel Borysiuk taking over from Sandro and Yeni Ngbakoto in midfield. Irish youngster Ryan Manning, who trained with the Town academy as a schoolboy, made his senior home debut.

The game started frantically but with neither side being able to create an opening. QPR wideman Jamie Mackie was probably fortunate not to pick up an early yellow card for a late challenge on Webster, who was playing in the centre of the Town defensive three.

In the 10th minute Pitman took a nasty kick in the face from Ariel Borysiuk on halfway but was OK to carry on after treatment. Referee Tony Harrington had waved play on with Lawrence breaking into the final third but the on-loan Leicester man was crowded out, although believing he had been fouled.

Town, in their Barcelona-style third kit, threatened for the first time in the 13th minute when Lawrence sent in an under-hit freekick from the left and McGoldrick’s header looped over the bar.

But the Blues were getting on top and were having most of the ball. On 14 QPR keeper Smithies was forced off out of his goal to his left to paw away a Pitman flick intended for Bru.

Then, from the resultant corner, the ex-Huddersfield man did well to get down to his left to save McGoldrick’s well-struck shot from a tight angle on the right.

On 17 Lawrence played Emmanuel in on the right of the box, the youngster crossing towards Pitman from the byline but a defender blocked.

The game switched to the other end with QPR winning a series of corners but without turning them into a significant chance.

McGoldrick threatened again in the 27th minute after Skuse cut out a QPR attack on the edge of the Town box and sent the Irish international striker away. The Blues number 10 tricked his way past Joel Lynch before hitting a shot which the former Huddersfield man managed to get back to block. A subsequent cross similarly found Lynch in its path.

But despite the Blues having had the better of the game’s few chances, the home side took the lead on the half hour.

Berra misjudged a James Perch long throw from the right, his header looping into the box behind him, and escaped Webster to powerfully volley past Bialkowski from close range as the ball came over his shoulder.

From Sylla’s perspective it was a fantastic strike but from Town’s it was a goal which shouldn’t have been conceded.

Soon after the goal Sylla underwent treatment for a head injury and was eventually replaced by summer Town target Conor Washington.

Deep in four minutes of injury time largely as a result of the Sylla injury, the Blues won a freekick on the left midway inside the QPR half. Lawrence’s initial ball into the box was returned to him and his subsequent cross found Chambers at the far post from where the skipper smashed a shot high and wide from a tight angle when he ought to have sent a low ball across the area.

The Blues hadn’t deserved to be behind at the break having had the better of the half overall, keeping the ball and moving it around confidently at times, and having created most of the period’s few opportunities.

The change of system had allowed Emmanuel and Kenlock to get forward on either flank, while the back three had been largely comfortable.

But Smithies had only really been tested by McGoldrick’s effort at his near post. At the other end Sylla’s goal - which was brilliantly taken but as so often recently came as a result of a series of Town errors - had been the only QPR chance of note.

Presumably in order to address the lack of chances, the Blues switched Emmanuel for Grant Ward ahead of the second half as they moved back to 4-4-2.

Three minutes after the restart the Blues got back on terms with another goal of the season contender to compete with Pitman’s winner against Bristol City on Friday.

Skuse played the ball to Lawrence in space 25 yards out and the Wales international slammed a superb strike past Smithies and into the net off the inside of his right post.

Two minutes after the goal Ward played in Pitman but Grant Hall was able get across to force the bouncing ball out for corner before the striker could get it under control.

The half had quickly developed into an end-to-end affair and Washington forced Bialkowski into his first save of the afternoon with a shot from a tight angle on the left.

Smithies again saved at his near post from McGoldrick in the 53rd minute, this time down to his right, then the Town frontman crossed from the right for his strike partner Pitman, who headed wide but having strayed offside.

On 66 Kenlock confidently skipped in from the left, nutmegging Perch, before hitting a low cross-shot which Smithies pawed behind.

Three minutes later, Jonathan Douglas replaced Bru with boos from some in the 2,324-strong Town support greeting the Irishman, while the home side switched Manning for Abdenasser El Khayati. With 14 minutes left Jonas Knudsen replaced Kenlock.

In off the post!ðŸ‘Œ @Official_ITFC midfielder @TomLawrence99 adds another to his collection of spectacular finishes. pic.twitter.com/o5q9mmRFH8– Football On 5 (@FootballOn5) January 2, 2017

Two minutes later, McGoldrick sent Lawrence away as Town counter-attacked quickly but the 22-year-old was unable to repeat his early strike and shot well over.

The Blues were by now sitting back, allowing the home side to take the game to them and looking to catch them on the break but were still looking the more likely winners.

McGoldrick had another chance with seven minutes left on the clock after Lawrence had cut the ball back to him from the left but the striker blazed over.

But Town’s failure to take chances such as that one was to prove costly in the 83rd minute when QPR went back in front.

Nedum Onuoha played a hopeful long ball forward, Webster allowed Wszolek to get behind him and the Pole rounded Bialkowski before tapping home. Once again it was a goal which owed a great deal to a Town defensive error.

In three minutes of injury time McGoldrick scuffed a shot through to Smithies and Town were still pressing at the final whistle, the QPR keeper claiming a long Knudsen throw from the left as time ran out.

It was a game which the Blues would probably have been disappointed to have drawn let alone lost, having been on top for the most part and having had the better of the game’s opportunities.

However, the overall performance was let down by defensive errors which led to both QPR goals and - aside from Lawrence’s excellent equaliser - a lack of clinical finishing at the other end.

The result sees the Blues drop a place to 15th ahead of Saturday's FA Cup third round tie against Lincoln City at Portman Road with their next league game at home to Blackburn the following weekend.

QPR: Smithies, Bidwell, Hall, Lynch, Borysiuk (Onuoha 58), Cousins, Mackie, Wszolek, Perch, Sylla (Washington 38), Manning (El Khayati 69). Unused: Ingram, Ngbakoto, Shodipo, Sandro.

Town: Bialkowski, Emmanuel (Ward 46), Kenlock (Knudsen 76), Chambers (c), Webster, Berra, Skuse, Bru (Douglas 69), Lawrence, Pitman, McGoldrick. Unused: Gerken, Dozzell, Sears, Varney. Referee: Tony Harrington (Cleveland). Att: 15,136 (Town: 2,324).

Photo: Action Images

Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.

Page:
1
2
3
4
5
6

LWNR2013 added 18:33 - Jan 2 Blue boy .. agree with all your posts except last one. You just have to have a pop. So my New Year 'Res' : not to be irritated by those with misplaced Superiority Complexes....... obviously. MM out.
3

Surco72 added 18:34 - Jan 2 Douglas was good , Chambo good , mms tactics' good , we played well yet we still couldn't get a point from a very poor Qpr side ... Some are so easily pleased , if everything is so good why can't we win two matches in a row . If the defence keep making the same mistakes why are they not coached better or dropped ? Same tired excuses from a man with no more ideas
10

blueboy1981 added 18:34 - Jan 2 Gcon ....... has surfaced ....... Alleluia. Probably thinking up more verbal garbage. Should take some doing this time.
1

Gcon added 18:38 - Jan 2 Blueboy, darling - I'm right here! Did you go to the game? Doubt it, right. We actually played very well and were very unfortunate to come away with nothing. Plenty of positives though, not that you are big on positives.
-17

Geddis78 added 18:39 - Jan 2

I am no MM fan, but fair is fair, from what I heard on the radio, we lost due to missing our chances which we actually created and them scoring the 2 opportunities we gifted them. Even after the goal, McGoldrick missed another one. Understand the frustrations 're the subs but as the guy who was actually at the game said, they didn't actually cause us to lose the game. Need a goalscorer, let's hope we can get Ward. Was very impressed by him.

-7

blueboy1981 added 18:40 - Jan 2 LWNR2013 ......... good on ya ......... I guessed certain people would be short of words, after this lot today. And therefore resort to casting aspersions of others. Man up and wise up (more importantly) to the truth - to those that it continues to apply.
-8

martin587 added 18:47 - Jan 2

I was at the game today and QPR were there for the taking,they are a poor side struggling like us to get a grip.
Our defence let us down badly today and the midfield although showed a few good signs were poor and lacked confidence,so once again our strikers suffer with very poor service.
The substitutions were wrong and just about showed why MM has lost the plot.Douglas is NOT the answer.Dozzell should have gone on so we could have pushed on,but once again a manager void of any ideas has let us down.

blueboy1981 added 18:52 - Jan 2

This result today proves beyond any reasonable doubt, that whatever money Evans releases, and whoever comes to this Club in terms of players - they will never be utilised to their full capability, as individuals, or as a team.
Evans is not a Football person - but my guess is he too has reservations along these lines with what he is seeing.

We had the players in the travelling squad today to have certainly won the match - what we didn't have was a Manager capable of procuring such a result from within it. Yet again.

Lukeybluey added 18:55 - Jan 2

Poor substitutions cost us today. We should have won. We were dominating for large parts of the game and then bizarre substitutions and we lose. If it wasn't broke or actually breaking then dont fix it. I remember a time when Big Joe was in charge, we would be dominating games and quite rightly he wouldn't put any subs on! We would have the same 11 for 90 mins. So frustrating being a Town supporter. We have to beat Lincoln. I'd never thought I'd be saying that! No disrespect to Lincoln!

Mick_Mills_Tache added 18:55 - Jan 2

Baffling. Utterly baffling. 1-1 against a woeful QPR team and we're actually on top and looking to get the winner afond out of nowhere, he brings on Douglas and takes off Kenlock for our second worst player in the squad in Knudsen. Totally killed the game. It's as if he's doing it purposefully to stick two fingers up to us fans but, what he doesn't realise is that it backfires every time! It can't be a shear coincidence that whenever Douglas starts or plays, we don't score or we don't win?! I refuse to believe that can be a coincidence!

Other opinion could be that maybe Mick went to settle for the point to help his old friend, Holloway, out after he tried sticking up for a few weeks ago. Sounds ridiculous but I really wouldn't put it past him. I can't see no other explanation for his choice of substitutions when we were on top looking for a winner?!

blueboy1981 added 19:02 - Jan 2 Mick Mills Tache ........ absolutely right - how could any sane mind think otherwise ? McCarthy couldn't give a monkeys about this Club, or the Supporters.
6

gorse added 19:02 - Jan 2

Kenlock had problems and was limping. Douglas on the other hand is classic square peg round hole MM. He was always a more attacking midfielder and cannot, and never has been able to hold, and cannot play alongside Skuse because he destroys Skuse's game. Skuse cannot trust him not to close when he should hold.

I have hardly commented on here this season cos I try to keep my mouth shut if I have nothing constructive to say but that was the last straw. Errors like that are bad form and zero confidence which the manager should manage. Douglas should never be on the pitch unless Skuse is injured, then Lord help us. Never mind the fact we should have been attacking a poor team. Last straw, Mick has to go.

gorse added 19:13 - Jan 2 Also blueboy I often agree with a lot of what you have to say about the club, but your goading and criticism of other commenters I find pointless, tedious and irritating. Take it to the forums if you must but this is for commenting on the article not personal attacks on other supporters #irony
5

bringbackthedutch added 19:27 - Jan 2 When Douglas came on my other half turned to me and said 'would anyone else in the ground have made that substitution?'. It was pure madness.As others have said we were on top and should have gone for the jugular, not try and shut up shop and blow it. Overall, we played a bit better, but squandered our chances and gifted them their goals.
4

Blue_Moses added 19:28 - Jan 2 McCarthy out
5

warktheline added 19:31 - Jan 2

Oh what a shame for the 'walking dead', 'dead leg Douglas' strikes again! Mick just had to have a full house of 'cozy club members' in his jolly up in West London! You spoil sport Mr. McCarthy, no 'mad hatters tea party' this evening! 'Clueless' aka Gcon and his dwindling band of 'walking dead' are still waiting patiently for McCarthy's 'tactical awakening' .....some two years now!
PS, young Dozzell, sorry to say but, you indeed had that 'seat warming' 90 mins coming! How dare you show so much flair without back tracking! Let that be a lesson to you son, learn to do the 'dirty stuff' first before you try entertaining fans in the county of Suffolk!!!!!!

blueboy1981 added 19:40 - Jan 2 ....... probably on the sl-sh now with Holly - before laughing all the way back home - after giving his pal 3 points. S-d the Supporters - they don't matter. Think I'm joking ? ......... perhaps you'd be surprised ... !!
1

DirtyOldNodger added 19:47 - Jan 2 4 pages of McCarthy hating when we lose, all within a few hours of the game finishing. What a sad bunch of fair weather fans you all are.
-14

TimmyH added 20:01 - Jan 2 Defense use to be one of the positives under a McCarthy management...he doesn't even do that well anymore. So what's the point of him managing?...just like his mate Holloway Past it!!!
5

grumpyoldman added 20:01 - Jan 2 if it was just a few fans complaining you could justify calling us fair weather fans, remind me how much have the gates dropped by over the last two seasons?
10

corkblue added 20:06 - Jan 2 There are still season tickets up for sale! Best apply now prior to the drop!
1

pup12 added 20:19 - Jan 2

Oh my God!!!!!! How did this this result happen?!?!?!ill tell you how that total waste of space MM cocked it up.Incredibile how he can't help but change a team on the front foot.Listened to Mick Mills and he was spot on,on the front foot away from home.Creating chances,in with a shout of winning it then make negative substitutions?!?! To often this has happened.People have said already on here this is why Sunderland,wolves sacked him.He has no imagination to take clubs to next level.Im Ipswich till I die but this is a testing time how can I turn up knowing exactly what's gonna happen.We either start bad and get worse or look good and MM changes it to be negative and throw it away.We could and should be well above the scum by now.Mm out now while January window still open.