The lowdown on QPR 1 Stoke 1 – Rangers remain winless at home after draw with the Potters

QPR’s winless run extended to 13 games as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Stoke City at Loftus Road.

Here is the lowdown on the match.

QPR: Nardi, Dunne, Cook, Morrison (Fox 77), Ashby, Varane, Field (Andersen 77), Smyth (Paal 70), Madsen (Morgan 61), Saito, Celar (Lloyd 61).

Subs not used: Walsh, Hevertton, Bennie, Dixon-Bonner

Stoke: Johansson, Wilmot, Phillips, Gibson, Bocat, Seko, Sidibe (Thompson 75), Manhoef (Rose 90), Koumas (Tezgel 72), Jun-Ho, Cannon.

Subs not used: Bonham, Stevens, Tchamadeu, Dixon, Vidigal, Ennis

QPR remained at the bottom of the championship after drawing 1-1 with Stoke City.

Despite starting brightly, Rangers fell behind to a Tom Cannon strike midway through the first half after Jimmy Dunne had lost possession.

Zan Celar then passed up the opportunity to score his first QPR goal as she shot wide from the penalty spot after Paul Smyth had been fouled by Eric Bocat.

Marti Cifuentes’ side drew level in the second half when Stoke captain Ben Gibson turned into his own net from a Koki Saito corner.

Neither side could find a winner in the closing stages, with Cannon and QPR substitute Alfie Lloyd both hitting the woodwork while Bae Jun-Ho controversially had a winning goal ruled out for handball by referee Gavin Ward.

Cifuentes deployed something much closer to the 4-2-3-1 that QPR began the season playing, rather than the five-defender system that was regularly utilised before the international break.

A significant change in defence saw Liam Morrison make his first Championship start for the club at centre-back, and he slotted in comfortably alongside Steve Cook.

Koki Saito started in what seems to be his preferred position on the left wing and he was once again Rangers most consistent attacking threat.

A slight problem for QPR seemed to be the use of right-footer Harrison Ashby at left-back, with the team going on to struggle for width on that side for much of the game.

Cifuentes largely stuck with the same formation as his team chased a winner in the second half, opting for like-for-like changes, although his lack of options on the bench perhaps influenced that.

Koki Saito. His corner forced the own goal, but he was once more one of the few QPR players who carried an attacking threat throughout. He rarely loses possession, and his ability to dribble past opponents is a massive help for an attack that can seem stodgy too often.

The equaliser. Moments of joy have been hard to come by at Loftus Road this season, so an opposition player getting on the scoresheet for the home side is always welcome. At that point in the game, it felt as though Rangers might have the momentum to go and claim a first home win of the campaign, but it was ultimately not to be.

Why Zan Celar took the penalty? Nicolas Madsen finished emphatically from the spot in the defeat to Hull in September and scored eight spot kicks for Westerlo in Belgium last season. Celar has now not found the net in 19 games for Rangers and is seemingly low on confidence, meaning it made little sense to let him be the man to try and level the scores.

Missing the target from 12 yards was only made more embarrassing by the PA system playing the goal music after thinking Celar had found the net.

When will performances start bringing results?

Despite being bottom of the Championship table, you can probably count on one hand the number of truly awful performances QPR have put in this season.

This was another game where they probably had enough chances and momentum to take all three points, but they ended up with an eighth draw of the campaign – no side in the second tier has more. A number of players are set to return from injury in the coming weeks, but Rangers cannot afford to end up any more points further away from safety.

“It was difficult to address the players after the game. What can I tell them? I feel they are doing 100 per cent of what they can do, they are trying and working really hard. It has not been enough, and the reality of the table is what It is.

.

“We cannot hide or give excuses. We are at the bottom of the table and once again we were not able to win, that’s the reality.

“Once again I see a team that is committed and working really hard. The supporters were fantastic today with the team and especially with me.”

PICTURE: ROB AVIS