‘I’m not happy with how we played’ – QPR boss reacts to Millwall derby draw

QPR head coach Marti Cifuentes admitted frustration at his side’s performance in their 1-1 draw with Millwall at Loftus Road on Saturday lunchtime.

It’s the third third game in a row in which Cifuentes’ side have been forced to come from behind.

Duncan Watmore’s fifth goal of the season put Millwall ahead but Michael Frey found the equaliser for Rangers four minutes later.

“I’m not happy with how we played…we can play much, much better,” said Cifuentes said. “We spoke during the week about how important it would be when we were in the phase of building up, as Millwall usually play in a very narrow 4-4-2.”

Rangers found it very hard to break Millwall down, a lack of intensity in the final third meant it was a rather quiet afternoon for Millwall’s defence with the west Londoners only managing two shots on target in the 90 minutes.

“The first half was very slow, and we improved a little bit in the second half – but it wasn’t good enough to really challenge them in the final third,” Cifuentes admitted.

“It was important that we scored after they did and that they didn’t take long to get control. We know that in Millwall’s games, they are the ones with the least active time by far. There are a lot of set-plays and disruptions, so it’s difficult to build momentum, and we simply weren’t good enough to impose the way we wanted to at home.”

One of the recurring issues for QPR this season has been their tendency to fall behind early in matches. It was the fourth time in six Championship games that Rangers conceded first, a worrying trend that Cifuentes acknowledged but could not fully explain.

“It’s difficult to find the reason—there are a lot of factors,” he said.

“It’s something we’ve been talking about and that we need to get better at. Today, for instance, I thought in the second half, we didn’t improve as much as we have in other games. It’s about looking at ourselves and figuring out why it is happening.”

PICTURE: ROB AVIS