Compilation of Match Reports and Post-Match Comments from Manchester United vs QPR

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- Brief Video from Man Ut vs QPR

- Photos from the Night.....Further Photos from the game......Ainsworth and Flowers


QPR Official Site - Gareth Ainsworth SO PROUD
Caretaker Manager Gareth Ainsworth was quick to praise his players after a narrow 1-0 defeat to Manchester United in the Carling Cup.
Carlos Tevez's late, late penalty clinched it for United, but Ainsworth could not fault his side's efforts.
"I was so proud of the boys tonight, as I always am," Ainsworth told www.qpr.co.uk.
"The passion was there - they did what we wanted them to do. We gave a good account of ourselves and we didn't get completely turned over."
Ainsworth conceded that his R's side were not as creative as their hosts, but felt, with a bit more luck, there could've been a touch of drama in the closing stages.
"We maybe could've nicked a draw at the end but Emmanuel (Ledesma) has been unfortunate and missed the target.
"I can't fault him though and that goes for all the players."
The undoubted star of the show was Radek Cerny and the gaffer was quick to praise his Czech keeper.
"Radek kept us in it at times, making some fantastic saves, but the back four, the midfield, everyone has defended like Trojans tonight.
"If we continue in that vain, we won't be too far short this season."
Ainsworth saved the last word for the travelling R's faithful, commenting: "What can I say?
"They were amazing. They sang their hearts out and I'm just sorry we couldn't reward their efforts with a victory.
"Having said that, I don't think they'll have any complaints with how we performed tonight. QPR


Manchester United Official Site - Alex Ferguson Comments - Bosss alutes patient display
Sir Alex Ferguson was delighted to see his young charges overcome a battling Queens Park Rangers side and book their place in the Carling Cup quarter-finals.
Carlos Tevez's 75th-minute penalty was the difference between the two teams, although the visitors had goalkeeper Radek Cerny to thank on numerous occasions in the second half as he beat away efforts from Tevez, Nani and Anderson.
Sir Alex felt the victory was fully deserved and praised his side's attitude throughout a rain-sodden 90 minutes.
"The conditions made things a bit difficult in terms of the ball coming off the surface quickly, but I think we controlled that part well," he told MUTV.
"We played with good patience and good speed and stretched them really well.
"QPR haven't lost a lot of goals recently and they defended very well as we expected. So it was always going to be tough.
"But overall I'm very pleased by the attitude of the players, they worked very hard and we're all delighted to get through."
The Reds were again guilty of not converting their chances, but Sir Alex is confident it won't be long before the tide turns in United's favour.
"We're used to teams coming here and defending. But what we did well was making sure we had them on the edge of their box for most of the game," he said. "It was just a matter of opening up and getting the first chance which proved difficult to begin with.
"We ended up creating a lot in the end, but at this moment they're just not going in for us. But it'll come." Manchester United


SPORTING LIFE/Simon Stone - AINSWORTH EYES PROMISED LAND
- QPR caretaker-boss Gareth Ainsworth believes a night out at Old Trafford can provide the impetus for the Londoners to finally get back among the Premier League's big boys.
- Rangers have been in the Championship for 12 seasons now and Iain Dowie's recent dismissal confirmed expectations are still not being met despite an influx of cash from a wealthy consortium that includes Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone.
- However, Tuesday's1-0 Carling Cup defeat at Manchester United marked a brief return to football's top table.
- And though Carlos Tevez's late penalty ensured Rangers will make no further progress in the competition, Ainsworth feels they will only benefit from the experience.
- "Games like this can push us on as a club," said Ainsworth.
- "Probably not many people do remember where we were.
- "It has been so long since we came to places like this.
- But we are ambitious and we want to be back here on a regular basis. That means Premier League status.
- "This has been a great taste. I brought a lot of players with me to show them what we could have and if we play like we did tonight we will not go far wrong in the Championship."
- Ainsworth is yet to find out whether he will replace Dowie on a full-time basis.
- However, he is certainly thinking long-term and feels it will not be long before Rangers are back at Old Trafford again as equals.
- "The desire is there," he said.
- "The aim is to be back here for a league fixture in a year or two's time."
- Ainsworth must get his side ready for the more mundane trip to Burnley, where they will be backed by only a fraction of the 7,000 supporters who made the trip north.
- The visitors' limited ambition meant it was never likely to be a classic and while United's second string had plenty of possession, clear-cut chances were at a premium.
- Nani and Anderson had their moments but the breakthrough did not come until Peter Ramage sliced down substitute Danny Welbeck 14 minutes from time, allowing Tevez to ease United into the last eight.
- "We deserved it," said Ferguson.
- "We played with great energy and speed. It was always going to be tough to get that first goal because QPR's defensive record is good but overall I am pretty pleased. Sporting Life


Sporting Life/Simon Stone - COMMENTS - FERGUSON STICKS TO YOUTH POLICY
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has pledged not to abandon his policy of giving young players a chance in the Carling Cup this season.
The Red Devils booked their quarter-final place with a narrow win over QPR at Old Trafford with Carlos Tevez slotting home a penalty 14 minutes from time.
It leaves United still on course for Wembley but with Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool among the potential last-eight opponents, Ferguson could be tempted to pick a stronger side for the next round, to be played at the beginning of next month.
But the Scot is adamant he will stick with youngsters such as England Under-19 forward Daniel Welbeck, who was brought down by Peter Ramage for the vital spot-kick.
"I won't be changing," he said.
"I will definitely give players who need games a chance in the next round."
No-one could deny United deserved their success even though they wasted a succession of half-chances and were not as clinical as they might have been given their dominance of possession.
"We deserved it," said Ferguson.
"We played with great energy and speed. It was always going to be tough to get that first goal because QPR's defensive record is good but overall I am pretty pleased."
Tevez will be delighted to get his name on the scoresheet as he aims to prove he is worthy of ousting Dimitar Berbatov or Wayne Rooney from the front-line striking spots.
Welbeck is some way behind in the pecking order but Ferguson feels the youngster is showing real promise.
"Danny is an exceptionally talented young lad," he said.
"He has been troubled by a groin injury recently and only played his first game back at Celtic in a reserve game last week.
"He is probably a bit short in fitness terms but he made a difference when he came on."
For QPR it was a case of what might have been.
Once they went behind they threw caution to the wind and it might have brought them an equaliser, although temporary boss Gareth Ainsworth insisted he had got his tactics right.
"We were a bit cavalier towards the end and might have got a breakthrough, which would have been a fairytale," he said.
"But we got the tactics right.
"Once we pushed three players up front, Manchester United started to create chances. We would not have survived if we had done that all night."
Ainsworth must now get his side ready for Saturday's encounter with Burnley, although he must do so without Gavin Mahon and Lee Cook, who have both suffered knee problems and Daniel Parejo, who was forced off with a back injury.
"They are problems we could do without," said Ainsworth.
"I will be making changes that's for sure.
"We have given a good account of ourselves and this is a fairytale for me.
"But we are back down to earth at Burnley on Saturday.
"The Championship is important for us. We have massive ambition and we want to get out of it." Sporting Life


OTHER REPORTS

GUARDIAN/Daniel Taylor -United's fringe benefit from Tevez penalty to see off QPR
- On a night when most of Sir Alex Ferguson's A-list footballers were watching from the stands, Carlos Tevez could be forgiven if he had mixed feelings about turning out in the Carling Cup, against strange opposition, in a typically Mancunian downpour, but the Argentinian can at least reflect on a decisive contribution, with the goal that sent Manchester United into the quarter-finals.
- It came from the penalty spot, 14 minutes from the end of an otherwise soporific match in which Queens Park Rangers seemed so intent on keeping out their opponents they seemed to forget that opposition teams are allowed to attack United, too. It was a pity they were so defensive because, with a touch more imagination, they could have troubled this youthful, experimental side.
As it was, Aston Villa's conquerors in the last round barely ventured out of their own half until they had gone behind and, lo and behold, they immediately started to find gaps in United's defence.
- The Championship's seventh-placed team thought they had equalised but Samuel Di Carmine's 82nd-minute header was ruled out for offside, denying Gareth Ainsworth's team the chance to take the tie into extra-time.
- "We knew they would defend very well," Ferguson said. "We expected that because they haven't been letting in many goals. But we deserved it. We had them on the edge of their box all the time and it was just a matter of opening them up."
- Ferguson said he would continue to put out a younger side in this competition. "I won't be changing [my approach]," the United manager said. "I will definitely give players who need games a chance in the next round."
- The large and boisterous contingent of supporters from west London seemed happy enough, loudly declaring their pride in the underdogs, but it made for a dreary spectacle, far removed from the entertainment that is usually served up inside this stadium. Ainsworth's players were quick to the ball and strong in the challenge but it was easy to understand why they have scored only twice in their eight league fixtures away from Loftus Road this season, the lowest total of any club in England's top four divisions. United were unusually short of invention themselves, despite the best efforts of the cultured Rodrigo Possebon, and, although it was mostly one-way traffic, their attacks lacked penetration.
- Discounting the moment when the fourth official, Colin Webster, rescued a mouse from the side of the pitch, it was not until the hour-mark before the first genuine moment of excitement, Park Ji-Sung striking Radek Cerny's right-hand post. That lifted the crowd and, when Nani slipped a pass through for the substitute Danny Welbeck, it created enough panic in the visitors' defence for Peter Ramage to bring down the 17-year-old striker. If Tevez's confidence has been knocked recently, he hid it well as he stepped up to score only his second goal of a difficult season.
Guardian


THE TIMES/James Ducker - Penalty from Carlos Tevez sees Manchester United into last eight
-The relief on Carlos Tévez’s face said it all, a first goal for almost two months lifting a weight off his shoulders and securing Manchester United a place in the Carling Cup quarter-finals last night, but that elation may quickly have given way to a familiar sinking feeling.
- This might have represented a return to form of sorts for Tévez, but the Argentina striker’s reward for eventually seeing off an obdurate Queens Park Rangers team is likely to be a place back on the substitutes’ bench at home to Stoke City in the Barclays Premier League on Saturday.
- It must be a dispiriting thought, but Tévez will at least take some comfort from only his second goal of the season, even if it was in keeping with the Argentinian’s troubles that it took another striker to turn this tie in United’s favour.
- QPR were hanging on for dear life by the time Danny Welbeck was brought on in the 72nd minute, but having withstood a siege, thanks mainly to Radek Cerny, their goalkeeper, the Coca-Cola Championship team looked as though they were going to take a one-sided contest into extra time.
- Welbeck, though, had other ideas. The 17-year-old forward, making his second competitive appearance for United, had been on the pitch only four minutes when he won the penalty, after being tripped by Peter Ramage, from which Tévez calmly claimed the decisive goal.
- “Danny is an exceptionally talented lad and he came on and made a difference,” Sir Alex Ferguson, the United manager, said.
- How QPR had survived that long is anyone’s guess, even if Cerny looked far better than he ever did for Tottenham Hotspur. It was only when a goal down that the visiting team found the confidence to venture out of their own half and start asking United a few questions, so much so that Ferguson had to throw on Nemanja Vidic to shore things up.
- Emmanuel Jorge Ledesma squandered a great chance to take the game into extra time when he snatched at a shot from ten yards and QPR also had a goal disallowed for offside, but otherwise they were non-existent as an attacking force.
- United missed a hatful of chances, Tévez forcing a fine reflex save from Cerny and Park Ji Sung crashing a blistering 20-yard drive against the inside of a post in the second half, with Ferguson again left to bemoan a wastefulness that is fast becoming a fixture of their campaign. “We had a lot of chances in the game but at this moment they are not going in for us, but they will come all right,” he said.
- Ferguson made eight changes to the team that lost 2-1 to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium three days earlier, once again electing to give youth its chance in the competition, but it says everything about the gulf between the Premier League and the Championship that a team placed seventh in the second tier should be run ragged by a bunch of kids, albeit very talented ones.
- It is to be expected that teams approach matches against United at Old Trafford with a degree of caution, but QPR sat back so deep that by midway through the second half they were inviting wave after wave of attacks.
- United’s best chance came just before the hour. Rafael Da Silva appeared to be going nowhere when he was sandwiched on the touchline by two QPR defenders, only for the Brazilian to dart between his markers and slip the ball to Park, whose shot cannoned off the far post.
- Cerny then reacted superbly to tip over a venomous close-range effort from Tévez, who, for all his running, lacked the cunning that he needs to rediscover if he is to usurp Dimitar Berbatov or Wayne Rooney from the first team.
- Tévez did exchange a lovely one-two with Anderson in the first half that almost brought a goal for the Brazilian, excelling in an advanced midfield position, but Tévez’s evening was characterised more by endeavour than anything else. Chances were plentiful; Anderson, who, for all his talent, has now gone 51 matches without a goal for United, twice testing Cerny.
- Never mind who wears the United shirt at the moment, goals are proving more difficult to come by than Ferguson would like. Just ask Tévez. The Times


INDEPENDENT/Ian Herbert - Hargreaves blow mars United win
- These are supposed to be occasions for those of advanced years to settle back and admire the players of the future but Sir Alex Ferguson's mind was focused on clear and present dangers last night. After revealing that Owen Hargreaves, the man he signed as United's defensive shield, is to miss the rest of the season recovering from surgery for a tendinitis condition which is beginning to look career threatening, he had to look long and hard for a clear case that Carlos Tevez is worth the £32m his club want to lay out to make his loan deal permanent.
- Tevez whistled around the edge of the QPR box like a tornado for an hour but there was good reason for his anxious glance towards the touchline when the young striker Danny Welbeck jumped up from the bench. He stayed on, converting a 75th-minute penalty to end his 11-game, two-month goal drought. The size of the Argentine's goal celebration said everything. "We had a lot of chances and they are not going in for us," Ferguson said last night. "But it'll come. It'll come."....
- It took time for the United manager to find much comfort in last night's teeming Old Trafford rain. There was a mouse running up the touchline in the second half, which fourth official Colin Webster fielded well with both hands, and Ferguson's best laid plans also took time to reach some resolution. Anderson, the man he is looking to with Hargreaves and Scholes missing, assumed a more advanced role than usual but there was not much evidence that he is either playmaker or a man about to break his United scoring duck. Taking a return pass from Tevez into the box, as the half wore on, he lost control. Tevez's output was much the same, for all his effort.
- The emerging player with most promise is Anderson's compatriot Rafael who, nearly an hour into the game, produced the first of United's few moments of brilliance. His flick on the right touchline beat two challengers and let him lay a ball into the path of Park Ji-Sung who, running into the box, thumped a right-foot shot off the inside of Radek Cerny's right hand post. An identical link-up between the two created another chance, two minutes from time. It took Ferguson's intervention to change things. Four minutes after sending Welbeck on, the lively young striker was felled by Peter Ramage as he ran on to Nani's ball and after a theatrical run-up Tevez deposited the penalty low to Cerny's right.
- Thereon in, United almost conspired to take things to extra time, Emmanuel Jorge Ledesma firing wide four minutes into injury time, though Rangers had not fashioned an effort of any description until 73 minutes. Nani had a strong 20-yard shot parried away but Ferguson's night was capped by the sight of Gary Neville, just starting to reassert his own place again, hobbling off to the dressing room just before the end. Independent


Telegraph/Mark Ogden - Manchester United grateful for Carlos Tevez and Danny Welbeck as QPR put up fight
-Carlos Tevez scored his first goal for two months to secure Manchester United's passage into the Carling Cup quarter-finals, but it required the crucial intervention of teenage substitute Danny Welbeck to prevent Queens Park Rangers from taking Sir Alex Ferguson's team into extra-time at Old Trafford.
- Despite dominating their Championship opponents throughout, United had failed to convert any of their earlier chances before Welbeck, a 72nd minute replacement for Rodrigo Possebon, won a penalty for the home side after being felled by QPR full-back Peter Ramage.
- Welbeck, a 17-year-old Mancunian, had only been on the pitch for three minutes prior to his involvement in the penalty incident, but it proved a turning point on a frustrating evening for the Premier League champions with Tevez capitalising on the opportunity by sending goalkeeper Radek Cerny the wrong way from the spot to claim only his second goal of the season.
Since lifting the Carling Cup in 2005, United have endured a miserable time in this competition, particularly against opponents from the Championship.
As holders, United were humbled by Southend United at Roots Hall two years ago and last season's brief association with the League Cup was ended in humiliating fashion as Coventry City triumphed 2-0 at Old Trafford thanks to two goals from Michael Mifsud.
On that occasion, Sir Alex Ferguson paid a heavy price for trusting his untried youngsters to deliver a result against a team of seasoned professionals, so he was wary of repeating that experiment against a QPR team sitting comfortably in seventh spot in the Championship.
But although Ferguson chose to make eight changes from the team defeated at Arsenal on Saturday, the incoming names still including the likes of Carlos Tevez, Nani, John O'Shea and goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak -- each of them with real-time experience on the more demanding stages of the Premier League and Champions League.
There was a distinct feel of second-string about United, however, despite the glittering names amongst the lesser lights, and it showed as Ferguson's team struggled to make headway against the visitors in the first-half.
United had to wait until the fifteenth minute before QPR goalkeeper Radek Cerny was forced into action when he did well to keep out Tevez's dipping strike from 20 yards.
But the Argentinian's effort hardly signalled an onslaught by United and Cerny only had to remain alert for sporadic forays into his penalty area by the European champions. Aside from a couple of near misses from Anderson and Tevez, the former Spurs goalkeeper had little to worry about before half-time.
With only the untried Angolan forward Manucho on the substitutes' bench, Ferguson had few options to consider at half-time as he attempted to increase his team's attacking threat and the second-half began in a similar fashion to the first-half, with United dominating possession but doing nothing with it.
Park Ji-Sung sparked United into life on fifty-seven minutes, though, when he struck the far post from inside the penalty area after being teed up by Brazilian full-back Rafael da Silva.
Cerny was beaten, but the woodwork kept his goal intact, yet the goalkeeper did produce a crucial save four minutes later when he tipped another Tevez strike over the crossbar.
Having spent virtually the whole game camped inside their own half, QPR finally realised the need to test Kuszczak in the United goal and the Polish goalkeeper endured a nervous final ten minutes as Gareth Ainsworth's team aimed a series of crosses into the penalty area.
But the gaps created at the back left QPR vulnerable to conceding a second goal and Cerny was forced into another fine save to deny Nani in stoppage time. Telegraph


Mirror - Manchester United 1-0 QPR: Late Carlos Tevez penalty earns Carling Cup win
- Carlos Tevez's late penalty saw off QPR as Manchester United advanced to the Carling Cup quarter-finals at Old Trafford.
- Few would begrudge United their success but their Championship opponents would have taken the tie to extra-time had it not been for Peter Ramage's rash tackle on England Under-19 striker Daniel Welbeck.
- Tevez was not about to pass up the opportunity and confidently beat an otherwise faultless Radek Cerny to steer United through.
With 10,000 empty seats, an unfamiliar side and teeming rain beginning to fall at kick-off, it was hard to escape the feeling a match was taking place United would have preferred did not exist.
Yet for some, it was a hugely important contest.
Darron Gibson cannot have too many more opportunities to impress, Rafael and Rodrigo Possebon needed to build on impressive starts to United careers, Gary Neville had to prove his dismal display at Arsenal on Saturday did not deserve obituaries being penned on his career, and for Tevez, it was an opportunity to prove he is capable of splitting Dimitar Berbatov's strike partnership with Wayne Rooney.
As every game goes by which Tevez does not start, more speculation surfaces over the likelihood of the South American completing a permanent £32million transfer once his two-year loan concludes at the end of the season.
- Tevez's scurrying style at least ensured he was one man who looked as though he cared.
- After collecting John O'Shea's square pass, he advanced towards the QPR penalty area before taking aim with a shot that dipped just in front of Cerny but the visiting keeper managed to stop anyway.
- O'Shea could also claim the assist when he found himself alone on the by-line and delivered a low cross to Tevez which the striker just failed to turn into the net from close range.
- As the second of those opportunities arrived in first-half stoppage time, it was a damning verdict on United's performance.
- Only Anderson matched Tevez's industry as too many passes went astray and those brave enough to support their teams on a foul night were seeking refuge long before the interval whistle blew. Mirror

Mirror Stats
MAN UTD QPR
BALL POSSESSION 65% 35%
FACE TO FACE 15 Corners 3
1 Offside 1
8 Fouls 9
0 Cards 0
SHOTS
11 off target 2
12 on target 0
MAN OF THE MATCH 7 Carlos Tevez (MAN UTD) Cool under pressurer to score from the spot. His first in two months
VILLAIN OF THE MATCH Peter Ramage (QPR) Desperate lunge gave away the decisive spot kick ..."Mirror


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