QPR's Northampton Victory - Reports and Comments

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Northampton 0 QPR 1 - Photos

NORTHAMPTON OFFICIAL SITE - IRST HALF GOAL SEES RANGERS HOME
NORTHAMPTON TOWN 0 QPR 1
Dexter BLACKSTOCK 25
Attendance: 2,562 (1,021 away fans)
Cobblers: Mark BUNN, Jason CROWE, Danny JACKMAN, Mark HUGHES, Gabor GYEPES (sub Ian HENDERSON 82), Liam DOLMAN, Giles COKE, Leon CONSTANTINE, Colin LARKIN (sub Ryan GILLIGAN 63), Kevin WATSON (sub Abdul OSMAN 46), Andy HOLT (sub Liam DAVIS 63)
Substitutes not used: Chris DUNN, Alex DYER, Greg TAYLOR, Ritchie JONES

QPR: Lee CAMP, Matthew CONNOLLY, Damien DELANEY (sub Zesh REHMAN 76), Damion STEWART, Fitz HALL (sub Simon WALTON 71), Martin ROWLANDS (sub Adam BOLDER 71), Matteo ALBERTI (sub Gareth AINSWORTH 65), Gavin MAHON, Dexter BLACKSTOCK (sub Samuel DI CARMINE 75), Patrick AGEYMANG (sub Angelo BALANTA 75), Emmanuel LEDESMA (sub Hogan EPHRAIM 76)
Substitutes not used: Reece CROWTHER, Ramone ROSE

Northampton Town welcomed Queens Park Rangers to Sixfields for their first home pre-season friendly.

On a warm July evening, neat build up play from Leon Constantine nearly created a 7th minute opening, but after Giles Coke had let the ball run, Jason Crowe's effort as he ran in from the right was blocked by the recovering Damien Delaney.

The visitors had the lead in the 26th minute, the first goal the Cobblers had conceded in open play during pre-season. Emmanuel Ledesma's corner was half cleared, and the corner taker returned the ball into the area for Dexter Blackstock to head home through a crowd of players at the near post.

Danny Jackman sent a right footed shot inches wide of the post at the other end on 32 minutes after Jason Crowe's cross had been headed away to the edge of the box, while for Rangers Patrick Ageymang latched on to a Ledesma through ball and sent in a low drive that Mark Bunn did well to turn around the post.

At half time Abdul Osman came on for trialist Kevin Watson.

Six minutes after the re-start the Cobblers produced their best move of the game so far. Osman broke up a Rangers attack and found Andy Holt. His ball forward was taken down well by Danny Jackman who released Colin Larkin down the left. Larkin returned the ball into the path of Jackman and his first time cross was met by the onrushing Giles Coke who could not quite connect with the volley as he would have liked from 12 yards and the ball went wide.

Stuart Gray made a double change on 63 minutes with Liam Davis replacing Andy Holt and Ryan Gilligan coming on for Colin Larkin. Rangers then made a swap with Gareth Ainsworth introduced at the expense of Matteo Alberti.

As the changes continued, Simon Walton and Adam Bolder came on for Fitz Hall and Martin Rowlands for Rangers.

Leon Constantine had a shot blocked at the end of a Cobblers spell of pressure on 74 minutes, before Iain Dowie brought on Samuel Di Carmine for goalscorer Blackstock and Angelo Balanta for Blackstock's strike partner Ageymang. Zesh Rehman then came on for Damien Delaney and Hogan Ephrain replaced Emmanuel Ledesman.

Constantine was within an inch of scoring on 77 minutes. Liam Davis fed a delightful ball in from the left that the former Leeds striker volleyed towards goal. His effort beat Lee Camp but was agonisingly a fraction too high.

Ian Henderson came on for Gabor Gyepes for the Cobblers, before Bunn made a good save, going down low to deny Balanta's drive.

That was the final action of note in what was an enjoyable and entertaining pre-season work out.

COBBLERS MATCH STATS (first half in brackets, match total out of brackets)
SHOTS ON TARGET: (1) 2
SOTS OFF TARGET: (1) 4
CORNERS: (2) 3
FOULS: (4) 9
CAUGHT OFFSIDE: (0) 0

QPR MATCH STATS (first half in brackets, match total out of brackets)
SHOTS ON TARGET: (3) 4
SHOTS OFF TARGET: (4) 5
CORNERS: (2) 4
FOULS: (5) 9
CAUGHT OFFSIDE: (3) 4 Northampton


QPR Official Site - NORTHAMPTON 0-1 QPR

Iain Dowie maintained his perfect start as QPR manager as the R's beat Northampton Town 1-0 at the Sixfields Stadium on Wednesday night.

Following their 3-1 victory at Stevenage four days' earlier, Dexter Blackstock's first-half header proved to be the difference between the two sides in what was a decent test for the Hoops at this stage of their pre-season.

New signing Emmanuel Ledesma added to his quickly-growing reputation with an excellent display on the left of midfield, while Matteo Alberti also impressed on the right.

Dowie named a strong side for the visit to Northampton, with Fitz Hall playing alongside Damion Stewart at the heart of the defence, while Damien Delaney and Matt Connolly operated at left and right back respectively.

Gavin Mahon and Captain Martin Rowlands began in the centre of the park, Emmanuel Ledesma - who made an immediate impression at Stevenage on Saturday - on the left wing and Alberti on the right, despite the teamsheet suggesting Hogan Ephraim would be starting.

Patrick Agyemang partnered Blackstock in attack, and it was the former who had the first chance of the evening, but his shot from the edge of the box was well wide, after good work from Ledesma.

At the other end, Jason Crowe went close for the hosts, but his shot was brilliantly blocked by Republic of Ireland international Delaney.

In front of the watching Flavio Briatore, on 21 minutes it was that man Ledesma again causing problems, as he fired a 25-yard effort wide of Cobblers' keeper Mark Bunn's left-hand post.

And four minutes later the R's midfielder more than played his part in the opening goal of the game, as Blackstock gave Dowie's men the lead.

Picking the ball up from Alberti on the right, Ledesma curled in a vicious cross to the near post, which Blackstock reacted to first, heading beyond the hapless Bunn.

Buoyed by that, Rangers took control of proceedings, and played some lovely passing football -with Mahon at the centre of it - leaving the hosts chasing shadows all over the park.

On the half-hour mark, Alberti swung a left-footed cross into the Northampton penalty area, and Agyemang rose highest but his header looped wide.

And four minutes later, the R's had strong appeals for a penalty dismissed by referee Richard Beeby when Ledesma appeared to be shoved off the ball following another great delivery from the right by Alberti.

And the hosts had goalkeeper Bunn to thank for keeping the score at 1-0 just before the break when, you've guessed it, Ledesma got on the ball and picked out Agyemang's run with a perfectly-weighted pass.

After using his pace to great effect to get goal-side of the Cobblers' defence, however, his shot from a tight angle was pushed wide by the Northampton custodian.

In the second period it was the hosts who created the first clear chance when, following a quick break, Danny Jackman's left-wing cross provided Giles Coke with a great chance to level matters, but he somehow mis-cued his shot from six yards, with the goal at his mercy.

There were few opportunities at either end following that early scare, and Northampton enjoyed a greater share of possession than they had in the opening half, but the R's defence was solid and easily coped with whatever the hosts threw at them.

Mid-way through the half, Dowie made a number of changes to the side, as he looked to give match-time to a host of his squad.

Following the mass substitutions, the R's were nearly caught out when a hopeful knock forward from Liam Davis caught out the visiting backline, leaving Leon Constantine through on goal.

With Lee Camp racing off his line, the Cobblers striker lifted the ball over the R's keeper, but his delicate chip went narrowly beyond the QPR goal.

Ten minutes before the end, Adam Bolder nearly scored with a spectacular volley from close range, following excellent work on the right by fellow-substitute Samuel Di Carmine.

Bolder's effort was deflected wide, however, as the Rangers fans behind the goal hoped to see the net bustle.

Five minutes later, Angelo Balanta twisted and turned in the penalty box before seeing his effort well saved from 14 yards as the R's finished strongly, showing the sort of fitness levels that Dowie will no doubt demand come the opening day of the campaign against Barnsley.

The final whistle was greeted with applause by the travelling R's fans as they acknowledged a job well done by Dowie's hard-working squad.

NORTHAMPTON TOWN: Mark Bunn, Jason Crowe, Danny Jackman, Mark Hughes, Gabor Gyepes (Ian Henderson, 82), Liam Dolman, Giles Coke, Leon Constantine, Colin Larkin (Ryan Gilligan, 65), Kevin Watson (Abdul Osman, 46), Andy Holt (Liam Davis, 65).
Subs: Chris Dunn, Alex Dyer, Greg Taylor, Ritchie Jones.

QPR: Lee Camp, Matthew Connolly, Damien Delaney (Zesh Rehman, 76), Damion Stewart, Fitz Hall (Simon Walton, 71), Martin Rowlands (Adam Bolder, 71), Matteo Alberti (Gareth Ainsworth, 65), Gavin Mahon, Dexter Blackstock (Samuel Di Carmine, 75) Patrick Agyemang (Angelo Balanta, 75), Emmanuel Ledesma (Hogan Ephraim, 76).
Subs: Reece Crowther, Romone Rose.

Goals: Blackstock (25),

Referee: Mr R Beeby

Attendance: 2,562 (QPR fans: 1,021) QPR

QPR Official Site - MAKING PROGRESS

Iain Dowie was full of praise for his players following this evening's 1-0 win at Northampton Town.

Dexter Blackstock scored the all-important goal in the first half with a powerful header, and Dowie told www.qpr.co.uk: "I'm really pleased with how we played tonight.

"Northampton are a good side, but we restricted them well and got the ball down and played some good, passing football.

"That's exactly what I asked the boys to do, and they did it.

"I was delighted with how Emmanuel Ledesma and Matteo Alberti played. Ledesma caused them a number of problems, and he is a great crosser of the ball.

"You could tell by his delivery for Dexter's goal that he knows just where to put it."

Dowie named a strong starting XI for the fixture at Sixfields, and he admitted: "My starting team for the first match of the season against Barnsley will be no secret.

"For our friendly against Chievo it is highly possible I will start with the players I expect to name against Barnsley seven days later.

"It is important that we use these matches at the moment to gradually build up the minutes the players are getting out there.

"They are all working extremely hard in training, and I have to say their attitude has been spot on." QPR


GRAY CONFIRMS END OF WATSON TRIAL
Posted on: Wed 23 Jul 2008

Stuart Gray has confirmed that trialist midfielder Kevin Watson has been released.

"We won't be taking the trial any further," he said "I thanked Kevin for coming but at this moment in time Kevin is probably not for us. Abdul Osman came on in midfield after half time and his performance impressed me. He was full of energy and broke thins up well.

"I enjoyed the second half performance against QPR. I thought we were at it and more like us. In the first half we showed them too much respect and did not work hard enough. After half time we made a better game of it and we were more like our old selves.

"I felt we deserved a goal in the second half but although we created a couple of good chances we couldn't quite take one of them.

"It was sloppy play from us for their goal. We gave the ball away, they won a corner and soon after that it was in the back of our net. We have a few things to iron out ahead of Cheltenham but I am satisfied with our progress.

"Bayo has a small bursar on his calf which will be drained off by a specialist and that will put him back 4 or 5 days but I am sure he will be fine for Cheltenham." Northampton

See also: LoftforWords/Clive Whittingham Match Report
- QPR/Vital Football Report

Northampton Chronicle - Cobblers lose first pre-season friendly to QPR
Dexter Blackstock scored the only goal of the game as the Cobblers succumbed to defeat in their first pre-season friendly at Sixfields.
Blackstock glanced in a left-footed cross from Emmanuel Ledesma at the second phase of a corner with the game 25 minutes old to secure a 1-0 win for the Rs.

Leon Constantine made his home debut for Town, while trialist Kevin Watson was given the chance to impress as the anchor of a three-man midfield.

The hosts performed well in the opening exchanges, with Jason Crowe seeing a shot blocked at the back post by Damien Delaney after some good hold-up play by Constantine.

With under 10 minutes of the first half remaining, Mark Bunn was called upon to make a fingertip save from Patrick Agyemang as the teams went in with the score at 1-0 to Rangers.

Watson was withdrawn at half-time, though thankfully the substitutions – from the home side at least – were kept to a minimum.

One of those introduced was Liam Davis, who put in some superb crosses with either foot. One left-footed first-time pass found Constantine, but the former Leeds man's finish was lacking as he sidefooted over the target with Rs keeper Lee Camp stranded.

The Cobblers continued to work hard but – Constantine's effort apart – never really looked like scoring, although the visitors, favourites to win their division, were not exactly inundated with chances either.

Cobblers: Bunn; Dolman, Hughes, Gyepes (Henderson 82); Crowe, Watson (Osman 46), Jackman, Coke, Holt (Davis 63); Constantine, Larkin (Gilligan 63). Subs not used: Dunn, Dyer, Taylor, Jones.

QPR: Camp, Connolly, Delaney (Rehman 76), Stewart, Hall (Walton 68), Rowlands, Ephraim (Ainsworth 64), Mahon, Blackstock (Di Carmine 75), Agyemang (Balanta 75), Ledesma (Alberti 76). Subs not used: Crowther, Rose.

Attendance: 2,562 Away fans: 1,021 - Northampton Chronicle