The lowdown on QPR 2 Leeds 2 – Battling Rangers performance earns a point against league leaders

QPR secured a point against Championship leaders Leeds United thanks to a committed display in the spring sunshine at Loftus Road.

Here is the low lowdown on the match.

THE LINE-UPS

QPR: Nardi, Dunne, Cook (Morrison 74), Fox, Paal, Edwards Andersen (Madsen 84), Colback, Smyth (Dembele 74), Saito, Frey. Subs not used: Walsh, Ashby, Morgan, Min-Hyeok, Bennie, Petrie.
Leeds: Meslier, Bogle, Rodon, Struijk, Firpo, Rothwell, Tanaka, James, Aaronson (Gnonto h/t), Solomon (Ramazani 84), Piroe. Subs not used: Darlow, Joseph, Guilavogui, Byram, Schmidt, Debayo, Gruev.

SNAPSHOT OF THE GAME

QPR brought a run of four consecutive defeats to an end by holding Leeds to a draw. Rangers did go two goals up in the first half but were hanging on for a point in the closing stages owing to quickfire goals from the visitors either side of the interval. QPR went ahead in spectacular fashion as Koki Saito capitalised on a loose touch from Brenden Aaronson to curl a delightful shot beyond Islan Meslier. Rangers went further ahead midway through the first half when Leeds fell asleep from a throw-in, allowing Paul Smyth time and space to pick out captain Steve Cook, who crashed home a header.

Leeds piled on the pressure with half-time approaching, and pulled a goal back when Morgan Fox unfortunately flicked a Manor Solomon cross beyond Paul Nardi in the QPR goal. Daniel Farke’s side were level early in the second period as a well-worked move down the right ended with Jayden Bogle scoring after Nardi had kept out Solomon’s initial effort. Rangers stood firm as Leeds piled on the pressure, and even managed to hold on after Saito was shown a straight red card for scything down Dan James in stoppage time.

TACTICAL APPROACH

Despite being without a number of his first-choice midfielders through injury, Marti Cifuentes stuck with his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation but made an interesting switch as Ronnie Edwards was moved from the centre of defence to a holding midfield role.

The Southampton loanee previously played a few minutes in the position on his Rangers debut in January but excelled against Leeds, breaking up opposition attacks and providing some much-needed physicality. Cifuentes also handed Lucas Andersen his first start since December in the number 10 role, and although the Dane tired towards the end of the game he put in an admirable shift out of possession. Rangers spent long spells without possession but their willingness to be aggressive out of possession and make the most of long balls played up to Michael Frey meant they caused Leeds plenty of problems.

STAR MAN

Ronnie Edwards. The Southampton loanee has been a reassuring presence at the centre of QPR’s defence and he was similarly classy in a midfield role. He ended the game having made four interceptions and two tackles, rarely looking out of place up against the Leeds midfield.

BEST MOMENT

Cook’s header. It felt as though Rangers were well on track to follow up their thumping 4-0 win against Leeds from the end of last season with another memorable victory when the captain headed in. The way in which Leeds completely switched off at a throw-in to allow Andersen and Smyth to play a one-two and get the ball into the box made it seem as though they were perhaps set to have an off day as well. It ultimately wasn’t to be but the start to the game was certainly a great deal more exciting and enjoyable than much of what QPR have produced in recent weeks.

MOAN OF THE MATCH

Saito’s terrible challenge. Loftus Road appeared surprised when referee Tim Robinson pulled out a red card after Saito brought down Dan James as Leeds tried to break away. The QPR bench fumed – as to be expected at such a late point in the game and in a game that had been so packed with incident – but replays showed it was surely the right decision. The Japanese attacker’s studs went straight into James’ calf and could have caused him some real damage.

A TALKING POINT DOWN THE PUB

A proper QPR performance. With Rangers a good distance from both the relegation zone and the play-off places with plenty of league games still to play, there have been suggestions that performances on the pitch have started to drift. A run of seven defeats from the last nine games have drained a lot of the optimism built up by a strong run of form over Winter, but fans would have surely gone home happy after this. Although Rangers lacked quality for the most part, they showed plenty of effort and commitment to cause Leeds problems, go ahead and ultimately earn the draw. They got in the league leaders’ faces and were probably just about good value for a point.

WHAT THE BOSS HAD TO SAY

“We spoke about the importance of starting on the front foot today. We had a feeling that the last couple of performances we missed a bit of urgency – if that’s the right word. I’m very happy and very proud of the way we started against a fantastic side, in my opinion the best team in the league. It was a pity to concede from the only chance they got in the first half because to go to half-time with an advantage of two goals could be a game changer.

“When you play against quality teams they don’t need much to score goals, and I think that was the reality. We tried to maximise our opportunities according to the week we’ve had and the situation of where we are. It’s not very often that I will feel very proud of the guys but at the same time unhappy, because I cannot be happy at leading two-nil and then conceding two goals and getting a draw.

“It doesn’t help us much in the table but I’m still proud of the guys.”