QPR keeper Liam Kelly: FA Cup is still a magical experience
With crowds dwindling, watered down sides and a relentless focus on league football, Queens Park Rangers goalkeeper Liam Kelly still spoke with fondness about the FA Cup ahead of tonight’s home tie against Sheffield Wednesday.
The west Londoners go into another all-Championship tie after thrashing Swansea 5-1 at Loftus Road.
Kelly, 23, signed for QPR in June on a four-year deal, choosing to trigger a release clause in his deal at Livingston.
He admits the lure of what could be in the FA Cup is very different to life in Scotland.
“I think of your Man Citys, your Chelseas and your Liverpools at their venues – I was playing for Livingston last year in Scotland,” said Kelly. “With no disrespect to them, it’s a million miles away from where I was. If I get the opportunity to play against them then I’ll be over the moon.”
Gers manager Mark Warburton echoed his goalkeeper’s sentiment, albeit while offering a hint that he would be shaking up his first 11 after a hard-fought victory over Leeds United at the weekend.
“My attitude as a kid, loving football – I grew up loving the FA Cup,” said Warburton. “I’m a Spurs fan but [recall] images of Charlie George lying on the floor [after securing Arsenal’s first double by scoring the extra time winner against Liverpool in the 1971 final]. The FA Cup for me is a magnificent tournament so I want to be in the hat.”
Referring to Wednesday manager Garry Monk, the Rangers boss added: “I’m sure Garry’s exactly the same. You have to look after your squad. The league is so demanding in terms of the fixtures and the pressure it puts on players and squads.
“Why would you not want to be in the hat, for the chance for the supporters? You get a glamour tie in the fifth round of the FA Cup, you’re only so many games away from Wembley, so why not?”
Rangers rode their luck at time against Leeds with goalkeeper Kelly conceding they had “a lot of fortune”. Warburton will want his players to clamp down on surrendering possession cheaply in dangerous areas, as they did repeatedly on Saturday.
However, as Kelly pointed out, the trademark high press – a trademark of Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa’s sides – put QPR’s ability to play out from the back under a microscope. They are unlikely to suffer such a severe examination this evening.
“We’ll never face a press like that again [this season],” said the 23-year-old, clutching his man-of-the-match Champagne after saving Patrick Bamford’s unconvincing penalty to secure victory at the weekend. “We’ll never face the bravery they have got on the ball again. We’ll be delighted to see the back of Leeds.”
The roar which went around the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium on Saturday as Kelly immediately followed up his penalty save by coming confidently to claim the resulting corner suggested the fans feel the goalkeeping troubles which have plagued them at times this season may have been solved.
If Rangers can tidy up their ball retention after a match which saw them claim just 35 per cent of possession then the addition of on-loan Spurs winger Jack Clarke to their ranks will give them a fierce counter-attacking threat in the second half of the season.
With former Millwall youngster Ebere Eze and Bright Osayi-Samuel already boasting bags of pace and trickery up front, Warburton brought in Clarke, 19, last week. He showed how all three could operate in tandem for the last 16 minutes against Leeds, Osayi-Samuel spearheading a front three.
“I want Jack to provide [competition],” said Warburton. “He can play left or right, he’s shown his quality in training already.
Warburton was coy about which of his attacking aces will feature tonight but it would be a huge call to leave out Osayi-Samuel – who is in the form of his life – even against opponents routed 5-0 at home by Blackburn at the weekend.
The Nigerian-born attacker went into the Leeds game having scored four goals and laid on three assists in eight appearances. Although the 22-year-old did not directly add to that tally on Saturday, it was his driving run at the Leeds back line which saw him surrounded by four grey shirts as he drew the foul from which Nahki Wells scored the decisive 20th-minute goal, albeit with the help of an arm or two.
Every time Osayi-Samuel ran at the Leeds defence terrified defenders swarmed around him and if Warburton decides his on-form winger needs a breather tonight, he may well be kept on the bench in case Rangers need his potency.
PICTURES BY KEITH GILLARD
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