QPR 1 Burnley 1

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BBC -
"... shared the spoils at Loftus Road as Gareth Ainsworth's equaliser earned the hosts a point.
Ainsworth should have given his side an early lead, heading over from Richard Langley's free-kick. Burnley did take the lead when Chris McCann curled home a lovely left-foot shot and John McGreal headed over when he should have doubled the advantage. Ainsworth levelled when he nodded in a long ball from Dan Shittu and Paul Furlong wasted two chances to win it. "
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/4560268.stm


SPORTING LIFE
Gareth Ainsworth's equaliser in first-half stoppage time earned a point for QPR after 18-year-old Irish midfielder Chris McCann had given Burnley a 10th-minute lead.
Burnley were the better side overall, especially before the interval, but all their good work was undone when Ainsworth headed home a long ball from Dan Shittu.
QPR made the brighter start and had three attempts at goal within the opening six minutes, the best chance falling to Ainsworth who headed over the bar from a Richard Langley free-kick.
But the early promise counted for nothing as McCann curled home a lovely left-foot shot to give the Clarets the lead against the run of play.
After 12 minutes, Rangers manager Ian Holloway's plans were disrupted further when Marc Nygaard's injury jinx struck again.
The big Danish striker has struggled with hamstring and calf problems since joining from Brescia last summer and had to make way for veteran Paul Furlong.
Burnley nearly doubled their lead when defender John McGreal connected with a Wade Elliott corner only for his header to go over.
McCann was proving to be Burnley's most dangerous player and had a header saved by Simon Royce in the 38th minute, while 14-goal top scorer Ade Akinbiyi finally made his presence felt when he forced the goalkeeper to parry his close-range shot.
Royce also denied James O'Connor as Steve Cotterill's side looked like ending the first half well on top until Ainsworth's late intervention.
Akinbiyi took only 30 seconds of the second period to show his quality again as he volleyed just over - and Furlong had QPR's best opportunity since the opening moments only to head wide.
The 37-year-old did better, however, in the 51st minute when goalkeeper Brian Jensen had to tip his header over the bar. But he wasted a fine opening soon afterwards by drilling the ball wide.
Cotterill sent on Graham Branch in place of Garreth O'Connor midway through the second half - and the change nearly reaped a quick dividend, the substitute drawing a fine save from Royce with a long-range strike.
The match then petered out disappointingly, the exertions of four matches in eight days for both teams possibly responsible for the lacklustre closing stages
http://www.sportinglife.com/football/live/reports/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/06/01/02/SOCCER_QPR.html


QPR OFFICIAL SITE
Rangers earned a draw after Gareth Ainsworth's first half header prevented a Burnley victory at Loftus Road. The winger's header on the stroke of half-time handed the Hoops a deserved share of the spoils, on an afternoon when Simon Royce excelled with a series of stunning saves during a largely scrappy first half.Chris McCann's moment of brilliance was the only highlight of a tepid opening, in which the Hoops struggled to string together any worthy chances of note.The Burnley midfielder struck early on and since then chances at either end were at a premium, until Ainsworth leapt to head home Dan Shittu's speculative long ball in the last seconds of the half.The brief appearance of Scott Donnelly, making his home debut, was the one bright note in an otherwise disappointing second half. Marc Bircham missed out for Rangers with the hamstring injury that ended his afternoon prematurely against Crewe on New Years Eve.Gareth Ainsworth deputised in midfield, while Mauro Milanese returned to the starting line-up at the expense of Georges Santos.Milanese started at left back, with Matthew Rose occupying the second centre half berth alongside Dan Shittu.Martin Rowlands was the first to test Brian Jensen as early as the second minute. But the Burnley stopper got down low to gather the midfielders scuffed shot with ease.Shittu warmed the hearts of the home crowd with a marauding 40 yard run from deep inside his own half, before Shabazz Baidoo won a free kick out wide and Ainsworth headed over Richard Langley's trademark front post delivery.Baidoo continued to cause the experienced Frank Sinclair problems, with the former Chelsea man forced to bring the young striker tumbling to ground for a free kick 25 yards from goal in the seventh minute. Lee Cook's left footed effort lacked direction though and the chance was gone.However, against the run of play Burnley took the lead on nine minutes. Making only his second start of the league season, Chris McCann evaded two half-hearted challenges on the edge of the box before curling a delightful left foot shot into the far corner, giving Simon Royce absolutely no chance.Rangers suffered a further blow two minutes later when Marc Nygaard left the field to be replaced by Paul Furlong.Burnley were soon on the front foot again, with John McGreal heading over from 12 yards.Buoyed by only his second goal in Burnley colours, McCann tried another speculative effort on 23 minutes, but this time Royce was equal to it, easily gathering the ball at chest height.It could have been far worse for Rangers on 37 minutes, but McCann's header from Wade Elliott's right wing cross was well held by Royce.And it should definitely have been 2-0 to the visitors on 42 minutes, only for Royce to produce an absolute wonder save to deny Ade Akinbiyi.After Langley conceded possession cheaply, Elliott's inch-perfect cross found Akinbiyi, but his four yard effort was scrambled to safety by the inspired Rangers custodian.Royce had to be at his agile best again on 44 minutes, this time producing a splendid diving save to keep out Garreth O'Connor's back post header.His heroics proved vital and on 45 minutes Rangers were on terms when Shittu's hopeful punt was misjudged by the Burnley back four and Ainsworth's looping header totally deceived Jensen and floated into the back of the net.
Akinbiyi continued where he left off on the resumption, getting goal-side of Shittu before firing over from 15 yards.
Paul Furlong's header nearly made it a dream start to the second half for Rangers on 51 minutes, but Jensen flung himself to his right to produce a stunning tip over from Cook's set-piece.The Burnley keeper saved well again from Furlong four minutes later, getting down well to his left this time keep out the Rangers' front-man's left footed free kick.
The Hoops continued to make all the running as the clock ticked past the hour mark, with a flurry of corners forcing Burnley onto the back foot.Baidoo was proving a constant thorn in the Clarets back four and when he released Furlong, the powerful striker should've tested the keeper, only to shoot high and wide from an acute angle.Royce's fine form continued on 73 minutes, as the Rangers keeper dived to his right to save well from Burnley substitute Graham Branch.Holloway introduced fresh legs in the shape of Georges Santos and Scott Donnelly on 74 minutes - the latter making his much awaited home debut.Donnelly almost made an immediate impact, but like Cook in the first half, his curling free kick lacked direction and flew wide.
Rowlands almost stole maximum points for the Hoops in stoppage time, but the crossbar came the the visitors rescue after his looping header had Jensen beaten.QPR: Royce, Bignot, Milanese, Shittu, Rose (Santos 74), Ainsworth, Rowlands, Cook, Baidoo, Nygaard (Furlong 12), Langley (Donnelly 74).Subs: Cole, Moore.
Scorer: Ainsworth 45Bookings: Burnley: Jensen, McGreal, Sinclair, Duff, James O'Connor, Hyde, Akinbiyi, Elliott (Thomas 80), Garreth O'Connor (Branch 66), McCann, Harley.Subs: Grant, Karbassiyoon, Spicer.
Scorer: McCann 7Bookings: Sinclair 50, McGreal 77Attendance: 12565Referee: K Stroud
http://www.qpr.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Match/MatchReport/0,,10373~30789,00.html


BURNLEY OFFICIAL SITE
Burnley had to settle for a point out of their first game in 2006, when Queens Park Rangers held the Clarets to a 1-1 draw at Loftus Road.
It was a game that Burnley enjoyed the better of, certainly dominating the first half of the match, before Rangers levelled with a fortuitous goal in added time ahead of the break.
The home side came back into it in the second half, but Burnley were never overly stretched by their hosts as they finished the festive period with four points out of 12.
Burnley started the better of the two teams and took the lead with an early goal within 10 minutes. A sweeping move began and ended with Chris McCann, who eventually picked the ball up on the right channel in his first start since the Carling Cup tie at Aston Villa in October. He cut inside onto his left foot and after surveying his options, stroked a wonderful curling shot with his left foot beyond the reach of Simon Royce and into the back of the net.
McCann went looking for a second goal in the 24th minute, when he saw the opportunity to hit a half volley from 25 yards. He struck the ball well and on target but Royce was well positioned on his line to make a save.
The home supporters were growing increasingly frustrated at their team, who were struggling to really mount any sort of pressure on the Clarets whilst surrendering possession on a regular basis too.
They always looked dangerous from set pieces though and had a few chances to make amends in shooting positions but Lee Cook, Richard Langley and Danny Shittu all saw their efforts miss the target on separate occasions.
With 37 minutes on the clock McCann tested Royce again from inside the box, this time when he headed Wade Elliott's right wing cross at goal only to find the Rangers goalkeeper in the right place at the right time again.
Rangers' best outlet looked to be through rookie striker Shabazz Baidoo, whose pace was causing problems for the Clarets defence when he had chance to run at them. When he did finally manage to get in behind Burnley though, Frank Sinclair was there to comfortably stop his cross from reaching substitute Paul Furlong.
With only three minutes to go before the half time whistle, Burnley were denied a second goal by a fantastic save from Royce. The move started when Micah Hyde played a lovely pass forward to Elliott on the right and his centre picked out Akinbiyi at the far post. He looked odds on to make it 2-0, but Royce somehow reacted to block his close range shot on the goal-line.
Royce was again in good form in the 44th minute, when Michael Duff's cross from the right picked out James O'Connor in space. He directed a header at goal, but again the Rangers keeper was on hand to save.
However, with half time just seconds away Rangers found themselves level when a long, deep ball from Shittu on the half way line picked out Gareth Ainsworth on the right of the area. He rose above Jon Harley to loop a header over Brian Jensen and into the back of the net to give the Londoners an undeserved goal which had certainly caught the Clarets out at the back.
The second half began and Rangers looked to have a renewed vigour about them, but they were almost caught out immediately when Akinbiyi picked up a pass in the area and could only shoot over the bar at full stretch.
Jensen was forced into a good save in the 51st minute, when Cook's free kick from the left was met by Furlong and his header looked to be heading in until the Dane managed to tip it over the bar.
Rangers continued to have their best spell of the game, forcing a number of corners and throwing crosses into the box whilst the Clarets were left to try and hit their hosts on the counter attack.
Furlong had another chance when he latched upon a mix-up between McGreal and Hyde and after riding a challenge from Sinclair, he shot well over the bar from a tight angle.
A Burnley break saw McCann send substitute Graham Branch clear on the left and when he brought the ball inside, beating two men in the process, he was able to strike a right footer at goal. His shot went through a crowd of players but Royce was still able to make a good save, first parrying the strike and then smothering it at the second attempt.
The later stages saw a brief flurry from Rangers and Georges Santos saw his header bounce back off the post but the most eventful incident involved a pair of streakers invading the pitch before they were eventually crowded out by stewards and carried away.
The year began with a point though and the Clarets will be pleased to have got the Sheffield Wednesday defeat out of their system as soon as possible.
http://www.burnleyfootballclub.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Match/MatchReport/0,,10413~30789,00.html?ptvParm=