QPR dropped to the bottom of the Championship table after handing Portsmouth their first win of the season at Loftus Road on Saturday.
Here is the lowdown on the match.
THE LINE-UPS
QPR: Nardi, Ashby (Smyth 64), Dunne, Cook, Fox, Paal (Saito 73), Field (Morgan 64), Madsen, Dembele (Andersen 81), Frey, Chair (Celar 64). Subs not used: Walsh, Clarke-Salter, Hevertton, Bennie
Portsmouth: Schmid, Williams, Poole, McIntyre, Oglivie, Pack, Potts, Lang (Devline 80), Saydee (Lane 61), Murphy (Sorensen 80), O’Mahony (Yengi 71). Subs not used: Archer, Towler, Ritchie, Dozzell, Kamara
SNAPSHOT OF THE GAME
An underwhelming performance by QPR saw them fail to capitalise on taking an early lead against the run of play, leaving them without a home league win this season. Kader Dembele put QPR ahead when he capitalised on an error by Portsmouth goalkeeper Nicolas Schmid and lobbed the ball into an empty net on nine minutes. But the lead did not last for long, a Morgan Fox mistake allowed Callum Lang to escape down the right before his deflected cross fell for Freddie Potts to score.
Ilias Chair missed a glorious chance to restore the lead before half-time, chipping the ball into the hands of Schmid after going through one-on-one. Portsmouth deservedly went ahead at the start of the second half as Lang scored from the penalty spot after he had been brought down by Fox.
Despite having more than half an hour to muster a response, QPR barely fashioned a chance to rescue a point.
TACTICAL APPROACH
Marti Cifuentes made the surprise decision to start with a five-at-the-back formation for the first time since his appointment as head coach.
Fox make his first start of the season, playing on the left of three centre-backs.
The wing-back formation meant Ilias Chair and Kader Dembele took up more central roles in support of Michael Frey up front, but an inability to move possession through midfield meant they were largely starved of service.
Cifuentes brought on Zan Celar to partner Frey in attack in the second half but largely stuck with the three centre-back set up.
STAR MAN
Michael Frey. No-one in a QPR shirt could claim to have had a good game but Frey was the team’s most lively presence. He battled hard against the Portsmouth centre-backs and Rangers only really looked dangerous in attack when he was able to secure possession and link with Ilias Chair.
BEST MOMENT
Kader Dembele’s goal. It came directly after Morgan Fox had made a crunching challenge when a Portsmouth corner had been cleared, and that seemed like a combination of moments that could wake Rangers from a sluggish start to the game. However, it proved to be the high point of the afternoon.
MOAN OF THE MATCH
Rangers’ start to the game. This seemed a crucial match for QPR, given a start to the season that has seen them put in some decent performances but struggle to pick up points. Portsmouth started the day without a league win, and a sold-out Loftus Road expected the home side to show they had been putting things right on the training ground over the international break. However, a lack of conviction in possession and no great cohesion without the ball set the tone for a difficult afternoon.
A TALKING POINT DOWN THE PUB
Where is QPR’s next win going to come from?
Rangers welcome surprise strugglers Coventry to Loftus Road on Tuesday but after that they face a run that will see them take on the current top three in the Championship in the space of four matches. The fixture list does begin to look kinder as Christmas approaches, but QPR could well be adrift at the bottom of the table by that point.
WHAT THE BOSS HAD TO SAY
“Football is about quality not underlying stats and things like this. Football is about scoring more than the opposition. We probably created more chances than the opposition, we had a good start to the game and easily could have been two or three-nil up in my opinion. Then an individual mistake is a game changer.
“It was a disappointing moment to concede the goal. In the second half we were on the way to building momentum and we conceded again. The way we attacked the last 30 minutes was not the best way but I understand for the players – after this trend of results – why it was hard to keep calm and understand what the game required.”
Related stories
