QPR 0-2 Cardiff Reports and Comments

Official Site:

Queen's Park Rangers Football Club
0 - 2
Cardiff City Football Club

Goals from Steven MacLean and Paul Parry gave Cardiff a 2-0 victory at Loftus Road, on a frustrating afternoon for the hosts.

The Bluebirds made the most of a below-par performance from the R's to leave W12 with maximum points.

MacLean opened the scoring on 29 minutes, when he capitalised on hesitancy in the Rangers penalty area to smash the ball past Lee Camp from close range.

Rangers started the second period encouragingly, but just as it did seven days earlier, the woodwork thwarted their efforts.

Stefan Moore's shot bounced back off the post, before Danny Nardiello was denied at point-blank range by Ross Turnbull.

The all-important second Bluebirds goal arrived moments after Nardiello's chance, as Parry headed home from the edge of the six-yard box to all but clinch the result.

Both sides made one change from their opening day fixtures in the Coca Cola Championship.

R's boss John Gregory handed Hogan Ephraim his full debut in place of Stefan Bailey, while Parry replaced Warren Feeney for the Bluebirds.

There was no place in the Cardiff 16 for either Robbie Fowler or Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

The R's link up play in the opening exchanges was impressive.

The lively Nardiello was the first to test Bluebirds custodian Ross Turnbull, when he took one touch to control Dexter Blackstock's knockdown before firing a half-volley wide in the sixth minute.

Moments later, Parry forced Camp to shepherd the ball wide of his left hand post, when he let fly from 22-yards.

Rangers had vocal appeals for a spot-kick turned down midway through the half.

Nardiello and Blackstock combined effectively yet again and when the former curled an effort on target from the edge of the penalty box, the ball clearly struck Glenn Loovens' hand, only for referee Mr Joslin to wave away the appeals.

Adam Bolder's late tackle on Parry resulted in the first yellow card of the game and from Tony Capaldi's resultant free-kick, Camp was forced to tip the ball round.

Former R's great Trevor Sinclair, on his return to W12, was next to test Camp, volleying straight at the R's number one on 28 minutes.

Seconds later, MacLean opened the scoring, when he made the most of some hesitant defending in the Rangers rearguard, to smash the ball past an exposed Camp from close range, after the unmarked Parry flicked on Sinclair's corner.

Galvanised by their lead, MacLean should have doubled his tally for the afternoon on 35 minutes, but he inexplicably headed wide from six-yards with the goal at his mercy.

The Bluebirds were forced into a change seven minutes before the break, when Kevin McNaughton appeared to tweak a hamstring and was replaced by Chris Gunter.

Rangers were struggling to find the fluency that graced their impressive performance at Ashton Gate seven days earlier - and they very nearly paid the ultimate price on 41 minutes.

MacLean and Sinclair were gifted the freedom of the 18-yard box and when the latter reacted quickest to meet Capaldi's searching cross, Camp was grateful to see the ball fade less than a yard wide of his right hand post.

Four minutes of added time to a stop-start first period failed to produce any further chances, leaving Rangers with it all to do in the remaining 45 minutes.

Buoyed by Gregory's half-time team talk, the R's were on the front foot straight from the kick-off.

Rowlands fed an inviting through ball into the path of the roaming Moore, who took one touch to set before thrashing a fearsome drive off the outside of Ross Turnbull's right hand post.

The bustling nature of Rangers' play clearly worried the visitors, with Joe Ledley and Sinclair each picking up bookings for mistimed tackles in a rip-roaring start to the second period.

The R's should have been level on 56 minutes, when Danny Nardiello nipped in behind the sleeping Loovens, only to see Turnbull parry the ball to safety from point-blank range.

But they were left wondering what might have been seconds later, when fantastic wide play from Stephen McPhail saw him send in an enticing cross, which the unmarked Parry headed home with ease from six-yards.

Rangers continued to force the initiative, but when substitute Nicky Ward squandered a golden opportunity from eight yards seven minutes from time, you knew it wasn't their day.

QPR: Camp, Stewart, Mancienne, Bolder, Nardiello (Nygaard 63), Blackstock, Rowlands, Moore (Ward 63), Curtis, Ephraim, Rehman.

Subs: Cole, Bignot, Cullip.

Scorers:

Bookings: Bolder 26, Rehman 44

Red Cards:

Cardiff City: Turnbull, McNaughton (Gunter 38), Capaldi (Whittingham 48), Rae, Loovens, MacLean (Feeney 91), McPhail, Parry, Johnson, Ledley, Sinclair.

Subs: Oakes, Purse.

Scorers: MacLean 29, Parry 58

Bookings: Ledley 51, Sinclair 52

Red Cards:

Referee: Mr P J Joslin

Attendance:

[QPR]


Cardiff City Official Site:

QPR vs Cardiff City
Queen's Park Rangers Football Club
0 - 2
Cardiff City Football Club
Date:
18/08/2007
Venue:
Loftus Road
Attendance:
12596
Referee:
P Joslin

Chronological Report: When Saturday comes the butterflies that start and the anxiety of what is going to unfold are all emotions that we can all relate too. This game against QPR was certainly no different. A good performance against Stoke a week prior that unfortunately left us pointless after a share of the spoils looked on as MacLean stepped up from 12 yards - well, we all know the rest of the script on that one.

The Bluebirds have plenty of firepower, but the two main gunmen are currently just outside the squad in terms of fitness, so Dave went with a MacLean and Parry combination. That was the only change from the opener against Stoke.

Loftus Road looked in fine fettle as the travelling City army took their seats behind the goal and again made their presence know with a superb vocal display.

The Bluebirds took an early grip of the game and it wasn't long before Paul Parry unleashed a shot from the edge of the box that fizzed just wide of Camps left hand post. The shot was a product of good work between the ever willing MacLean and the impressive Sinclair.

After 20 minutes the Bluebirds stepped up the pressure and it paid off. A long free kick from McNaughton evaded everyone and Camp had to scamper across to tip the ball wide.

From the corner Johnson, who had been a nuisance throughout headed back across goal and Sinclair forced another save from Camp. Sinclair then took the corner and it found Parry who helped it across the box for MacLean to swivel and fire home to open up his account.

GOAL: QPR 0 - 1 CARDIFF. MacLean

It was MacLean who then should have doubled the lead and his personal account - an exquisite ball from McPhail to Parry allowed the Welsh winger to get to the by-line before crossing. MacLean's diving header came close but spun wide in front of an open net.

Kevin McNaughton left the game after 39 minutes after picking up what looked like a hamstring injury; Chris Gunter replacing the tenacious full back.

Sinclair who was retuning to his old stomping ground again could have added to the City tally - a great ball in from McPhail found the former England International and his header flashed wide.

Half Time: QPR 0 Cardiff City 1

A real explosive opening to the second half saw Rae break clear, but a last ditch tackle from Stewart stopped QPR falling behind further. Before you could catch your breath Stefan Moore nearly brought the Hoops level with a shot from the angle that crashed against the post.

More forced changes for the Bluebirds came as Capaldi slumped off injured as City lost both full backs and Peter Whittingham slotted in.

Paul Parry put the Bluebirds 2-0 up after a great move down the right culminated in McPhail putting an inch perfect cross into the six yard box and Parry headed home.

GOAL: QPR 0 - 2 CARDIFF. Parry

The game was a very physical encounter and the Bluebirds stood up to the challenge. They did this with the help of the travelling City fans who were magnificent all afternoon and were really on this occasion the 12th man.

'Jimmy do the ayatollah' rang out from behind the goal and the new signing duly obliged. 'Jimmy is a Bluebird' came next from the faithful.

The MacLean and Parry combination caused problems all afternoon and it was again MacLean who broke free and Parry put his header wide. This was a great all round performance in terms of quality and commitment - and yes, our two front men got on the score sheet.

Final score: QPR 0 - 2 Cardiff City

Turnbull, Capaldi, McNaughton, Loovens, Purse, Rae, McPhail, Ledley, Sinclair, MacLean, Parry.

Subs: Oakes, Purse, Whittingham, Feeney, Gunter.

[Cardiff]


John Gregory's Comments:

SECOND BEST
Posted on: Sat 18 Aug 2007

John Gregory bemoaned his side's performance after the 2-0 defeat to Cardiff City at Loftus Road.

As always, Gregory was brutally honest in his assessment of the R's display, telling www.qpr.co.uk: "I'm not smiling tonight.

"We were second best all over the pitch. They played very well - they've got a wealth of experience and they performed far better than us.

"Cardiff's two defenders were no-nonsense and ours were anything but. I could have played against our two today - they weren't good."

Gregory added: "Cardiff dominated the game; they kept it better; passed it better; and reacted to every loose ball quicker than we did.

"Manager's can often pick up the odd bit of belief from performances, but I can't honestly say that I did today."

Rangers travel to Turf Moor next weekend and Gregory knows he needs to pick his players up quickly: "The first 10-15 minutes of the second half was the QPR I know, but we didn't produce the performance I expected for the remaining minutes.

"We need to pick ourselves up again and make sure we get some points pretty quickly."

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Dave Jones' Comments:


DAVE'S RANGERS VIEW
Posted on: Sat 18 Aug 2007

Dave took three Loftus Road points as a belated birthday present on Saturday, telling the press afterwards of his admiration to the team's effort against a physical QPR.

"The lads worked hard today and everyone was on top of their game, which is what I was looking for from them," he said. "My lads put in a good shift and they needed to, because if they hadn't then QPR would have beaten us. They tried to beat us into submission but it didn't work.

"Any win is satisfying and we played pretty well. QPR tried to beat us up and the lads stood up firm and never folded against a big, physical side. The two up front did well and Paul Parry gave them problems and something to think about. It was also good to see Steven MacLean score. I'm pleased for him and he could and should have scored another one as well.

"It was important to get a result here, because otherwise the temptation might have been to put the new signings in before they're ready. That's the kind of thing I've never done and wouldn't want to do now. The new players have got to be fully fit and right to play.

"I don't mind putting Jimmy and Robbie in the dugout, but the other lads have got to do the business. I've left out big players before as a manager - and Jimmy and Robbie have been on the bench before in their careers. As a manager you just make the decision you believe is right. If you're banging the goals in, how can you leave your strikers out?

"We've worked hard this week after the defeat last weekend. We are in the first throws of the start of a very long campaign. Everyone stood up to be counted and we never gave up."

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