‘My mum can analyse the stats’ – Cifuentes hails Smyth following QPR wondergoal against Bristol City
Having fallen behind to a Scott Twine free-kick on the hour mark, Smyth levelled the game with a remarkable effort from distance after he had rounded goalkeeper Max O’Leary as Rangers broke from a Bristol City corner.
It was Smyth’s first league goal of the season and helped extend QPR’s unbeaten run to five matches.
“Sometimes I know there are players that are easier to criticise than others,” said Cifuentes when asked about Smyth. “The fact that when you analyse many of the line-ups of opponents [against QPR], and so many times they change who is playing left full-back because of the presence of Paul Smyth says a lot about what he contributes.
“My job as a coach is to analyse the game and not the stats. My mum [can] analyse the stats and say you had less shots than the opponent. But the reality is that Smythy gives a lot. So it’s not just about analysing at the end of the season his number of assists and his number of goals, but everything he gives to the team in terms of running in behind, his capacity to push the opposition backline lower because of his pace, and his capacity to drive because his work rate is excellent when we don’t have the ball. All those things.
“I’m happy he can score and hopefully he will be rated because the goal is not easy. It could have been a red card [for O’Leary] but he has the honesty to keep on going after the tackle of the keeper and then he scores.”
Smyth’s goal was QPR’s first shot of the afternoon at Ashton Gate, as they struggled to gain any momentum in the game. Even though the equaliser was an unusual one, Cifuentes said it was a situation where he felt his side was capable of taking advantage.
“It’s a big thing for me. Defensive set-pieces are an opportunity to build a counter, that’s the way I see it,” he explained. “It’s the same when we don’t have the ball, I think it is an opportunity to regain and score.
“I don’t think we need to look at defensive set-pieces like we just need to defend the action, which of course is very obvious.
“I’m very happy with the way it worked because it’s work the team has been doing relentlessly, again and again and again, every week to try and get a situation like this.”