The lowdown on QPR 1 Bristol City 1 – Rangers hold play-off chasers to move point closer to safety

QPR secured a hard-fought draw against in-form Bristol City to move eight points clear of the Championship relegation zone.

Here is the lowdown on the game.

THE LINE-UPS

QPR: Nardi, Dunne, Edwards, Morrison, Ashby, Varane, Colback (Bennie 73), Dembele (Smyth 59), Madsen (Fox 73), Saito (Kolli 86), Min-Hyeok (Andersen 86). Subs not used: Walsh, Frey, Morgan, Sutton

Bristol City: O’Leary, Vyner, Dickie, Pring, Hirakawa (Mehmeti 58), Bird (Twine 74), Knight, McCrorie (Tanner 58), Williams, Earthy (Bell 74), Wells (Armstrong 84). Subs not used: Bajic, Thomas, McGuane, Roberts

SNAPSHOT OF THE GAME

Buoyed by an important win at Oxford United on Wednesday, QPR started well against their play-off chasing opponents.

Harrison Ashby passed up a glorious opportunity to give Rangers the lead, poking a shot straight at Bristol City goalkeeper Max O’Leary after Kader Dembele had picked him out brilliantly.

Not long after, an excellent team move then allowed Nicolas Madsen to find the perfect cross for the diminutive Kader Dembele to head home from inside the box.

Bristol City, who had won three of their last four games ahead of this one, equalised less than ten minutes later through their first real attack as George Earthy poked into the corner of the net following great work from Max Bird to set him up.

The visitors enjoyed the majority of possession from that point onwards but they struggled to fashion chances to take home all three points.

The biggest moment of danger for Rangers arrived when Ronnie Edwards misplaced a back-pass, but former QPR loanee Nakhi Wells was unable to take advantage when clean through on goal.

TACTICAL APPROACH

Marti Cifuentes once again went with his tried and tested 4-2-3-1 formation but a growing injury list did force him into some by personnel changes.

Kenneth Paal was absent so Harrison Ashby replaced him at left-back, while a lack of options in central midfield meant Nicolas Madsen was moved from the left wing – where he impressed against Oxford – to the no 10 position. Yang Min-hyeok and Kader Dembele were also handed starts in attack after coming off the bench to combine for a goal on Wednesday.

The attacking midfield trio of Dembele, Saito and Madsen combined well during QPR’s bright start to the game, never more so than in the build-up to Dembele’s goal, but their influence faded following the Bristol City equaliser.

The majority of Cifuentes’ second-half substitutions were like-for-like, with the only tactical tweak being the decision to move Ronnie Edwards into midfield so Jack Colback, who was on a yellow card, could be substituted.

STAR MAN

Jimmy Dunne. Looked back to his confident best, largely keeping the left side of the Bristol City attack quiet, making five tackles and three interceptions. Was also a threat in the opposition box, almost getting on the end of a cross not long after Rangers had taken the lead.

BEST MOMENT

Dembele’s goal. It’s been a while since Rangers have played anything like free-flowing attacking football, but they genuinely looked invigorated after ending their winless run at Oxford last time out. The prelude to Dembele heading in Madsen’s cross involved clever flicks and reverse passes alike. With the possibility of relegation now looking remote, hopefully there will be a chance to see more of the same before the season is out.

MOAN OF THE MATCH

The reaction to Sinclair Armstrong’s return. Striker Armstrong was given less than 10 minutes off the bench to try and win the game for the visitors, and that is unlikely to be the only part of his first Loftus Road return he is frustrated with. He was welcomed back with a chorus of boos when replacing Nakhi Wells, and although it is now commonplace for players returning to a former club, Armstrong’s impressive rise through the academy and his contribution to a successful fight against relegation last season probably deserved more gracious recognition.

A TALKING POINT DOWN THE PUB

How much of this side will be at Loftus Road next season? Nine of the 16 players who featured for QPR throughout the 90 minutes will either be returning to their parent clubs or will be out of contract in the summer. Rangers underwent a major rebuild in the off-season last year and it clearly took time for many of the new players to find their feet, meaning another this time around could see any progress that has been made by Cifuentes somewhat undermined. While recent results may suggest that change is needed, it may be that continuity is the key to QPR starting to move up the table in seasons to come.

WHAT THE BOSS HAD TO SAY

“In my opinion the first 25 minutes were the best start [to a game] of the season here at home. I really enjoyed the expression of the team, the identity we showed playing attacking football, creating chances and playing forward. This is what we would like to see.

“It is not that easy because there is an opposition. In the first moment of quality, they showed [they scored], we were in a low block for a bit too long and perhaps a bit disorganised. The table doesn’t lie, they are a good side.

“In the last pass or the last decision, we could have created even more chances, but the spaces were there.”

PICTURES: ROB AVIS