The lowdown on QPR 1-1 Coventry – Rangers move off the bottom of the league but winless run continues

 QPR’s winless run stretched to seven games after they drew 1-1 with Coventry City at Loftus Road on Tuesday night.

Here is the lowdown on the match.

QPR: Nardi, Smyth (Ashby 80) Dunne, Cook, Clarke-Salter, Paal (Saito 9), Varane, Field, Dembele (Morgan 58), Chair (Andersen 58), Celar (Lloyd 80). Subs not used: Walsh, Fox, Santos, Madsen

Coventry: Dovin, Van Ewijk, Thomas, Latibeaudiere, Binks, Dasilva, Eccles (Torp 73), Sheaf, Rudoni (Sakamoto 84), Wright (Bassette 84), Thomas-Asante (Simms 73). Subs not used: Collins, Mason-Clark, Kitching, Tavares, Andrews

A point was enough to halt a stretch of four consecutive defeats and move Rangers off the bottom of the Championship table, but they remain in the relegation zone ahead of a tough run of fixtures leading up to the international break. They fell behind after just four minutes as Haji Wright struck when the home defence had missed numerous chances to clear following a rapid counter-attack. Rangers were much improved from Saturday’s dismal defeat to Portsmouth, but they found it hard to fashion chances to score throughout. They did draw level in the second half when 18-year-old Kieran Morgan came off the bench to bounce home his first professional goal from a Paul Smyth cross. Coventry had the better opportunities to snatch the win but QPR goalkeeper Paul Nardi twice did well to deny Ellis Simms when the striker was through on goal.

Marti Cifuentes stuck with the back five that he switched to for the Portsmouth defeat but a couple of alterations did mean his side looked far more comfortable in this one. Paul Smyth was selected as the right wing-back, providing greater attacking intent down that side, but it was the reintroduction of Jonathan Varane in midfield following his suspension that made the biggest difference. The Rangers midfield was both more solid without the ball and more fluid with it thanks to the Frenchman, and that meant Cifuentes’ side could get up the pitch with far greater ease than they had in their last outing. The QPR boss was forced into another change, with Zan Celar making his first league start upfront since the opening day of the season owing to Michael Frey’s calf injury.

Jonathan Varane. Made QPR a much better team than they had been in defeat to Portsmouth. Wanted to get on the ball whenever possible and was usually in a good position to win it back when necessary. Played a couple of long-range passes that brought a new dimension to the way the team was trying to play.

Kieran Morgan’s goal. The youngster earned praise following a cameo from the bench against Portsmouth after showing a willingness to get on the ball and play forwards, and he did similar after coming on in the 58th minute. His goal was well taken, even if it should probably have been saved by Coventry goalkeeper Oliver Dovin. But he was also precise with his passing and always keen to try and make things happen in midfield.

The goal QPR conceded. Rangers started the game brightly, with a big tackle by Jonathan Varane followed by Kader Dembele winning a corner. However, they managed to turn that corner into a Coventry counter-attack and then proceeded to twice fail to clear the ball as it bounced around their own penalty area. It was an entirely avoidable goal to concede and gave a team already low on confidence a difficult start that they did not need.

Which version of QPR will we see at the weekend? The inconsistency of Rangers’ performances this season can be put down to factors such as new players adjusting to the league and injuries suffered by a couple of the stars of the previous campaign. However, it would be hard to argue that they have yet managed to string together two good showings in a row. This was a clear improvement on the weekend defeat but it would seem naïve to think Rangers will continue to get better at Burnley on Saturday.

“Not the result that we wanted. I never start the game thinking a point would be good. After a difficult start it was tough. This is the kind of trend we have had lately. I’m a strong believer that in life and football you need to work harder when things are not working. You need to keep believing and keep trusting.

“The main thing for me today with the performance, apart from the result, is this feeling that the guys believe and there is trust.

“We are in a difficult situation. We are not getting the results that we want but there is belief and a strong trust. There is a strong commitment. Sometimes we will get it right and sometimes we will get it wrong. All the teams in the world can have bad trends but this [result] hopefully can be one to build on in the future.”

PICTURE: PA