QPR Crash in Scotland - Reports and Dowie's Reaction...Connolly's Injury Appears Not Serous

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UPDATED:

QPR went down 0-2 to Falkirk, with more importantly, defender Matt Connolly carried off. Below various report. QPR today wore their new Red(ish) Away Strip


QPR Official Site CONNOLLY NOT SERIOUS
Iain Dowie refused to be downbeat after seeing his R's side lose 2-0 at Falkirk this afternoon.
Two goals in as many first-half minutes did the damage at the Falkirk Stadium, and the Rangers First Team Coach conceded: "They started a lot better than we did, and I was disappointed with both of their goals from our perspective.
"But we had a good chat at half-time and I thought we were much better in the second half.
"Unfortunately, we had problems with the radios we were using, and I was unable to get my message across from where I was watching the match up in the stands. I wanted us to push up more, and be more offensive.
"Credit to Falkirk, they played very well but there were certainly parts of our performance I was pleased with; we challenged and won the ball high up the pitch and, as I say, we looked better after the break."
Of greater concern to Dowie would have been the injury sustained by Matt Connolly, resulting in the full-back being stretchered off in the second half.
"Matt has rolled his ankle but it doesn't look too serious, thankfully" revealed Dowie. "At this stage, there certainly doesn't seem to be any suggestion of a break, but we will need to wait for the results of a scan before we know for sure."
What did please Dowie was the continued development of his back four, which limited Falkirk following the two goals.
"As a unit our defence looks very solid," he said. "Aside from the goals, Falkirk didn't create anything, and Lee Camp didn't have anything to do.
"And both goals didn't actually have anything to do with the defence - the first one, one of our lads let the runner go, and the second one from the corner, again one of our lads lost his man on the edge of the box.
"But you learn a lot from matches like this."QPR


Falkirk Herald/Julian Peck - Falkirk deserve victory over QPR
FALKIRK 2 D. Stewart 15 (og), J. Stewart 17 QPR 0 (HT 2-0)

The first team's third pre-season friendly saw a Stewart 'double' in the opening half put the Bairns on easy street against their Championship opponents.

QPR's Damion Stewart was first up, having the misfortune to bundle the ball into his own net while under pressure from Michael Higdon.

Neil McCann and Gerard Aafjes can claim a lot of the credit, though. The former playing a superb defence-splitting pass to the Dutch defender, whose low drive across goal gave Rangers' Jamaican internationalist little chance of a clearance.

Two minutes later his namesake - John Stewart - took all the plaudits himself with a blistering first-time volley, from at least 15 yards out, after connecting with McCann's corner on the left.

"Results are not a concern at this time of the year," said Hughes. "It's not about winning or losing, rather how sharp the players are.

"I asked them to go up a gear after the Ross County game last week and they did that.

"Now we will look forward to our trip to Holland and that's where I'll be wanting the players to peak.

"It's all about being ready for Rangers on the first game of the season in two weeks time."

Falkirk, however, did look pretty decent against one of the club's tipped for promotion to the English Premier League, and now owned by billionaire Formula One rights-holder Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, the principal at the Renault F1 team.

QPR, for their part, only produced a wild shot over by Emmanuel J Ledesma early on and were largely chasing shadows as the Bairns produced some wonderful football.

In the 23rd minute that was summed up when McCann, Higdon and Stewart queued up to get on the end of Scott Arfield's clever chip into the box but were left wanting after a last-gasp clearance from the Rangers defence.

Damien Delaney then had a half chance to get one back for the visitors but hit wide of the upright from six yards following a corner kick.
But their apparent lack of urgency, or inability to match Falkirk's smart passing game, kept shots to an absolute minimum.

The next, and only other of the first half, was another from Ledesma that, again, blazed over the cross bar.

After the break, QPR goalkeeper Lee Camp held Michael Higdon's 20-yard piledriver and, at the other end, Martin Rowlands tried his luck from a similar range but watched the ball fly wide.

John Stewart may have been awarded a penalty in the 67th minute after a strong tackle in the box by Damion Stewart but referee Mike McCurry waved play on.

Other than that, goal action was few and far between or, rather, virtually non-existent as both Hughes and Ian Dowie made a flurry of substitutions throughout a flat second half.

Yet, despite the Falkirk manager playing down the final result, it was, probably, a deserved one. For the decent number of travelling supporters? Fairly uninspiring.

Next up for the Bairns, one day prior to flying out to Holland, is a game against Alloa, at Westfield, on Monday night (7.30 p.m.).

Falkirk: Olejnik, McNamara, Barr, Bullen, Aafjes, Cregg (McBride 83), Arfield (Murdoch 83), McCann, Barrett (Moffat 85), J. Stewart (Latapy 75), Higdon
Not used: Barclay, McCaffrey, Robertson, Staunton

QPR: Camp, Delaney, Connolly (Ramage 56), Mahon (Walton 82), Hall, Stewart, Ledesma (Ainsworth 68), Rowlands (Bolder 62), Blackstock, Agyemang (Balanta 78), Ephraim (Alberti 45)
Not used: Crowther, Rehman, Rose
Referee: Mike McCurry Falkirk Herald


Falkirk Official Site----Click to See: Falkirk-QPR Photos

FALKIRK 2 QPR 0 ...Falkirk's first-half superiority sets up a deserved victory thanks to an own goal and John Stewart's super volley.

There was little doubt that Queens Park Rangers were going to provide the stiffest test of the pre-season fixtures for the Bairns and it was reflected as John Hughes selected a strong Falkirk line-up but missed Carl Finnigan who was injured against Berwick Rangers. John Stewart’s goal against the Borderers won him a starting place up front.

Some neat passing movements by both sides impressed the crowd in the early stages before the game was broken up by a clumsy Blackstock challenge on Cregg. The first real chance fell to Rangers Ledesma but his long range drive flew well wide of the target.

Neil McCann was impressive in Falkirk’s midfield and two moments of magic from the winger sent the Bairns into a shock 2-0 lead. In 15 minutes, his slide-rule pass sent the overlapping Aafjes hurtling in the box and from the full-back’s low cross DAMION STEWART had the misfortune to turn the effort into his own net from the six yards. Two minutes later, an identical move saw Aafjes win a corner this time and from the kick, McCann’s accurate cross fell perfectly for JOHN STEWART to volley a superb low drive wide of Lee Camp from 10 yards distance.

The visitors looked stunned by the turnaround and Connolly flew in late on McNamara on the right to earn a quick word from Mike McCurry.

Stewart sent a ball flashing across the QPR box in 22 minutes to cause more problems and Delaney was relieved to hook a clearance away. Falkirk were well in control with the visitors still test Olejnik at this stage.

Aafjes caught a bad one on the shin from Ledesma on the half-hour mark but limped back into the action after treatment. Ledesma was a involved again as he tried to rally the visitors with a neat dribble on the edge of the box but his parting shot flashed well wide of Olejnik’s left-hand upright. On the stroke of half-time, Ephraim constructed a chance from almost on the bye-line but Olejnik carefully pushed his shot behind at his post.

Half-time : FALKIRK 2 QPR 0

The Londoners looked more committed as the half began but found it difficult to make an impression on a stuffy Falkirk rearguard superbly marshalled by Bullen and Barr.

Stewart was tripped as he intercepted a pass meant for his namesake, Damion, but the Referee allowed play to continue for Michael Higdon to thump a shot at Camp from 25 yards which was east meat for the ‘keeper.

Gavin Mahon strode into the Falkirk box on the end of Patrick Agyemang’s pass in 49 minutes and only a timely block from Lee Bullen prevented the midfielder from shooting home. More neat control from Rowland two minutes later won him space to fire in a drive from the edge of the box but it was a foot wide of the post.

Barrett and Connolly collided in 53 minutes and the unfortunate QPR defender had to be stretchered off and replaced by former Newcastle United defender Peter Ramage.

A breakaway by John Stewart in 63 minutes had the QPR rearguard back peddling but a strong challenge by Damion Stewart just inside the box prevented the striker from getting his shot in, despite some impassioned pleas from the local fans for a penalty kick.

Rangers continued to battle and Darren Barr was fortunate to avoid a yellow card for chopping down Ainsworth in full-flight as the substitute sped past him on the left.

Lee Bullen went down injured as the clock ticked on, the ball hammering off what could be described as his lower midriff. The game was all but over at this stage and Falkirk simply played out time to record a fine win over their rather lacklustre opponents.

Full -time : FALKIRK 2 QPR 0
Teams:
FALKIRK : Olejnik; McNamara, Barr, Bullen, Aafjes, Cregg (McBride 83), Arfield (Murdoch 83), McCann, Barrett (Moffat 84), Stewart (J) (Latapy 74) Higdon. Subs not used Barclay (GK), McCaffrey, Robertson, Staunton,.
QPR : Camp, Connolly (Ramage 56), Delaney, Mahon (Walton 15), Hall, Stewart, Ledesma (Ainsworth 68), Rowlands (Bolder 62), Blackstock, Agyemang (Balanta 77), Ephraim. Subs. not used : Crowther, Alberti, Rehman, Rose.
Ref. : Mike McCurry
Att. 1308.
Image *Darren Barr breaks up a QPR attack
Image *A picture of concentration from McNamara, McCann and Higdon
Image *GOAL ! Heartbreak for Damion Stewart as his attempted clearance flies into the net
Image *Gerard Aafjes takes the plaudits
Image *GOAL ! John Stewart rams home
Image * John aknowledges the fans
Image *Down goes John Stewart under a challenge
Image *Aafjes looks for another ! Falkirk


Sporting Life "Falkirk 2 QPR 0
John Stewart boosted his bid to rescue his Falkirk career by volleying home as the Bairns saw off their Coca-Cola Championship visitors.
The striker, who spent last season on loan to St Johnstone and Queen of the South, converted Neil McCann's corner a minute after Damion Stewart had turned a Gerard Aafjes cross into his own net.
Falkirk could not add to their early goals despite dominating first-half possession but QPR improved after the break.
However, the west London side suffered a major fitness concern when Matt Connolly was carried off with a suspected ankle injury. Sporting Life


QPR Official Site - FALKIRK 2-0 QPR

Iain Dowie suffered his first defeat as R's manager this afternoon, as he saw his side lose 2-0 at Scottish Premier League outfit Falkirk.

Two goals in as many minutes mid-way through the first half ultimately decided this contest, but what will be of greater concern to the QPR First Team Coach was the injury sustained by Matt Connolly in the second half, which resulted in him being stretchered off.

Damion Stewart netted an unfortunate own goal before Falkirk forward John Stewart volleyed home a second, just seconds later. In the end it proved to big a mountain to climb for the R's.

Dowie named a strong starting line-up for the game, and it seems quite clear which players he is intending to start with against Barnsley in a fortnight, based on the amount of match time certain players have had during the pre-season campaign so far.

With Lee Camp in goal, Dowie kept with the same back four that started against Northampton on Wednesday, meaning Peter Ramage - who sat out the fixture at Sixfields with a hamstring injury - had to make do with a place on the bench.

The only change to the midfield quartet was the introduction of Hogan Ephraim, at the expense of Matteo Alberti. Dowie gave Emmanuel Ledesma the opportunity to play on the right, his favoured position, while Martin Rowlands and Gavin Mahon continued in the centre.

Dexter Blackstock once again partnered Patrick Agyemang in attack, as they lined up against a strong Falkirk side which included three summer signings Jackie McNamara, Lee Bullen and Neil McCann.

After a tight opening ten minutes, it was QPR who created the first opportunity.

Following an excellent passing move involving Rowlands, Damien Delaney and Dexter Blackstock, the latter set-up Ledesma but his shot from the edge of the box flew high and wide.

But five minutes later it was Falkirk who drew first blood as they took the lead thanks to an unfortunate Stewart own goal.

Neil McCann picked the ball up in the middle of the park and played a delightful through-ball for left winger Gerard Aafjes to race onto, and his low-driven cross was met by Stewart who, in trying to cut out the delivery, smashed the ball beyond Camp at the near post.

Things got worse for the R's two minutes later when the hosts doubled their advantage after McCann's corner from the left was volleyed home by John Stewart from ten yards out.

The visitors had to cope with a period of sustained Falkirk possession following the quick-fire goals, but to their credit, the R's restricted their Scottish opponents.

And Dowie's men almost reduced the deficit on 25 minutes when, after a goal-mouth scramble, the ball fell to Damien Delaney, but his snap-shot from 12 yards flew wide of the near post.

Ledesma saw another shot fly a yard over, but just before the break, Hogan Ephraim forced Robert Olejnik into his first save of the game.

Gavin Mahon had picked out Ledesma with a neat through ball, and the latter fed Ephraim, who had switched momentarily to the right.

His cross/shot was tipped around the post by the Falkirk stopper, and that in fact was the first save either keeper had to make in the opening 45 minutes.

The 2-0 half-time scoreline certainly wasn't a fair reflection on the match, but the R's knew they would need to up the ante in the second period if they were to get themselves back into this game.

Matteo Alberti was brought on at the break for Hogan Ephraim. And it seemed whatever Dowie said during the interval had its desired effect, as the tempo was upped by the R's immediately, summed up with Mahon's hard-hitting tackle in the opening seconds of the half.

Moments later, a sweeping passing move involving Mahon and Agyemang saw the former break into the Falkirk box, but his shot was blocked and the danger was cleared.

Now in the ascendancy, Rowlands also went close with a powerful drive from 20 yards. Olejnik was flat-footed and could only watch as the ball whizzed a foot wide of his upright.

But on 55 minutes the R's suffered a huge blow when Connolly - who had once again been excellent, following a superb performance at Northampton - was stretchered off with what looked to be an ankle injury.

He was replaced by Peter Ramage, and Dowie will hope the injury sustained by the former Arsenal man isn't as serious as it initially appears.

Blackstock nearly broke beyond the Falkirk rearguard, but was denied by an excellent challenge from Darren Barr.

At the other end, John Stewart went close for the hosts, but was smothered out by a combination of his namesake Damion, and Camp.

The tempo of the game dropped off in the closing stages of the match, and Dowie will no doubt have left the Falkirk Stadium thinking more about Connolly's injury than about the 2-0 loss, although he will surely be after a better performance when his side travel to Kilmarnock on Tuesday evening.

Falkirk: Robert Olejnik, Jackie McNamara, Darren Barr, Lee Bullen, Gerard Aafjes, Patrick Cregg (Kevin McBride, 83), Scott Arfield (Stewart Murdoch, 83), Neil McCann, Graham Barrett (Kevin Moffat, 84), John Stewart (Russell Latapy, 76) Michael Higdon.

Subs: Jamie Barclay, Dermot McCaffrey, Dayne Robertson, Mark Staunton.

Goals: Damion Stewart OG (15), John Stewart (17),

QPR: Lee Camp, Damien Delaney, Damion Stewart, Fitz Hall, Matt Connolly (Peter Ramage, 55) Hogan Ephraim (Matteo Alberti, 46), Emmanuel Ledesma (Gareth Ainsworth, 68), Martin Rowlands (Adam Bolder, 61), Gavin Mahon, Patrick Agyemang (Angelo Balanta, 78), Dexter Blackstock.

Subs: Reece Crowther, Simon Walton, Zesh Rehman, Romone Rose.

Referee: Michael McCurry QPR


Also: Clive Whittingham/LoftforWords Match Report