The lowdown on QPR 1 Plymouth 1 – Rangers held by nine-man visitors at Loftus Road

QPR are still searching for the first league win of the season after being held to a 1-1 draw by Plymouth Argyle on Saturday.

Here is the lowdown on the match.

QPR: Nardi, Dunne, Cook, Clarke-Salter, Paal, Field, Madsen (Varane 80), Smyth, Dembele (Lloyd 90), Saito (Celar h/t), Frey (Kolli 80). Subs not used: Walsh, Morrison, Dixon-Bonner, Santos, Talla.

PLYMOUTH: Hazard, Edwards, Gibson, Galloway (Ogbeta 87), Mumba (Szucs 77), Gyabi (Houghton 62), Randell, Forshaw, Whittaker, Hardie (Obafemi 62), Cissoko (Issaka 62). Subs not used: Baker, Pleguezuelo, Wright, Bundu.

Despite making the perfect start through a Michael Frey header, QPR were unable to build on their early momentum against a Plymouth side that finished the game with nine men.

The visitors equalised courtesy of a long-range effort from Morgan Whittaker but were immediately up against it when Adam Forshaw received a second booking before the half-hour.

Rangers had plenty of chances after half-time, with Sam Field coming closest to earning three points with a header that bounced back off the post.

Plymouth substitute Freddie Issaka was shown a straight red card in the first minute of second-half injury time for a wild challenge on Kenneth Paal, but Wayne Rooney’s side did enough to hang on for a point.

Marti Cifuentes again went with the 4-2-3-1 formation that seems to be his preferred approach at the start of his first full season at Loftus Road.

Nicolas Madsen was drafted into midfield despite only completing his signing from Belgian side Westerlo yesterday, and impressed with his passing range and footwork.

Koki Saito was also handed a first start after setting up the equalising goal off the bench at Sheffield United last week, with Karamoko Dembele moved into a central role in the absence of Lucas Andersen.

With QPR having an extra man, Cifuentes brought Zan Celar on to partner Frey in attack for the second half and this made Rangers more direct.

The switch helped to create several good chances as the ball bounced around the Plymouth penalty area but the vital goal did not arrive.

Karamoko Dembele. He has been electric in both of his first two appearances for Rangers, and he was once again the team’s main attacking threat. Delivered the perfect corner for Frey to open the scoring and also hit the crossbar with a shot from the edge of the box. He was less involved when QPR went more direct but his quality shows every time he gets on the ball.

Frey’s opener. Rangers made a blistering start to the game, with Dembele at the heart of everything they did. The loanee set up Paul Smyth for a one v one before whipping in the corner for Frey to head home.

Having struggled to break into the team following his January arrival, the big forward looks up to speed now and is doing his chances of becoming first-choice striker no harm.

QPR’s composure in front of goal. Rangers had plenty of chances to make the extra man count in the second half, and they kept the visitors pinned in their own penalty area for the most part. They ended up having 30 shots at goal and a number of good chances, but when the time came to provide the finishing touch the shot was regularly blasted wide of target or the finish lacked the direction to beat Plymouth keeper Conor Hazard.

QPR’s winless start continues. Tough assignments against West Brom and Sheffield United in their opening two Championship fixtures meant Plymouth at home always looked like the best bet for Rangers to get their first three points of the season.

Despite performing well enough against Argyle to earn three points, the inability to find the crucial goal means they now face tough away fixtures against Luton and Sheffield Wednesday without a win on the board.

“Mixed feelings. Only getting one point from a game like this is not enough. At the same time, I’m happy about some parts of the performance, particularly the start of the game. I think we started brilliantly. At half-time, we adjusted some things and attacked much better. Their goalkeeper was outstanding. And with every minute that goes, Plymouth got more energy.

“The last 10 or 15 minutes were too emotional and not the way we should attack.

“There is no time to be concerned. My concern would be if we were a team that looked like it didn’t know what it is trying to do.”

PICTURES: ROB AVIS