Waddock: "Great resilience and character"...Sturrock Praises Paul Jones "exasperating"

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GREAT CHARACTER
Gary Waddock praised the character and resilience of his side after the 1-1 draw with Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.The Hoops Caretaker Manager had seen his side come from a goal down to claim a priceless point in the Steel City."We fought with our lives. They threw everything at us, but we didn't cave in.
"We showed great character to come from a goal down and it's a very good point in the end.
"Credit has to go to the players. They've been great and they deserve all the praise that comes their way.''
Deon Burton had given the Owls an early lead, only for Marc Bircham to draw Rangers level on the stroke of half time with a fine stooping header.
"They stuck together today and never gave up throughout the 90 minutes.
"It was a great goal from Birch and the timing was fantastic. It changed the team-talk somewhat and although we had to defend with our lives in the second half, we did so superbly.
"We made a point of the pitch and the conditions in our team-talk. We knew it wasn't going to be pretty but we dug in and got a creditable point.''
Waddock also paid tribute to Paul Jones, who again shone with a series of outstanding saves.
"Jonah (Paul Jones) made another number of fantastic saves and the back four in front of him defended superbly. It was wave after wave of attack at times, but we coped and that shows great resilience and character.'' http://www.qpr.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Match/ManagersComments/0,,10373~800819,00.html


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Sturrock: "Exasperating"
Wednesday manager Paul Sturrock put the Owls' 1-1 draw with Queens Park Rangers down to a fine display of goalkeeping by Rs veteran Paul Jones, as the hosts failed to make the most of their opportunities in a game they had the better of.
The boss said most of Wednesday's better opportunities were on target only to find a keeper in inspired form - just as Cardiff's Neil Alexander was last week:
"It's exasperating because we've now had two keepers produce 'worldy' saves from us in successive weeks to thwart us," said Sturrock. "To be fair, they weren't what you would call criminal misses; people were hitting the target and forced some unbelievable saves.
"I can't ask for any more from the players. I've called upon them for the last two weeks to give me everything they've got. They've done that and we've only got one point to show for it."
Sturrock admitted that Rangers' equaliser was a bad goal to concede but preferred to focus on the impressive displays shown by the likes of Yoann Folly and Burton O'Brien. He was also pleased with the performances of new boys Scott Carson and Mikkel Bischoff:
"Carson is a quality goalkeeper. He had an offer of five clubs to go to but chose us and I'm delighted about that. His kicking was excellent, he talked and organised and swept up behind the back three."
The Scot added: "Mikkel played on Thursday for 90 minutes and was cramping throughout the second half but he got on with it until we had to take it off. He showed he's got a lot of promise. He's quick, good in the air and he read things."
Sturrock was also relieved to see Deon Burton finally on the target with his first goal for the Owls: "That was long overdue," he said. "There's been tension in his play because of the lack of goals but in the last two games he's been outstanding in running the line and his hold-up play."
With Derby and Leicester winning, Wednesday are now firmly embroiled in a battle with Millwall, Brighton and Crewe, with only one team set to seal Championship survival.
Sturrock concluded: "We're disappointed but we've got to keep our heads up. It's turned into a four-horse race now. We have to move onwards and upwards
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