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QPR Official Site - FAURLIN EARNS PRAISE
- Jim Magilton praised the performance of debutant Alejandro Faurlin against NK Celje last night.
- Faurlin - who only received international clearance on Tuesday to play against the PrvaLiga Telekom Slovenije League side - lasted an hour in his first outing in the Blue and White Hoops, and made some impression,
- "He hasn't played for a while, so I was delighted with his display," Magilton told www.qpr.co.uk.
- "Of course he was always likely to tire towards the end of the game, because he hasn't played for a while, but overall I was really impressed.
- "He passed the ball really well and kept possession, so I'm delighted."
- Assistant Manager John Gorman added: "You can see the kid's a very good player.
- "He worked his socks off and played a very positive role in a very strong opening 40 minutes." QPR
QPR OFFICIAL SITE: Gaffer: A Great Workout
- Jim Magilton praised the efforts of his players following the 2-2 draw against NK Celje in Slovenia on Wednesday night.
- A brilliant brace from Angelo Balanta was arguably the biggest talking point on a sweltering evening at the Arena Petrol Stadium, but Magilton chose to praise his entire squad at full-time.
- "I thought the lads were excellent tonight," he told www.qpr.co.uk.
"Each and every one of them worked their socks off in boiling hot temperatures, and I can't praise them highly enough."
Magilton continued: "We scored two excellent goals and conceded two sloppy goals, but overall I'm really pleased with the work-out.
"I thought the first half display was fantastic in spells. We passed the ball well and moved it in the right areas.
"Some of our attacking player was right up there and the players are really beginning to profit from the work we're doing on the training ground."
- Whilst Rangers are just two weeks into their pre-season campaign, the hosts begin their new season on Saturday - a factor Magilton was keen to point towards at the full-time whistle.
- "We're just a couple of weeks in to our training schedule and they've been back five or six weeks, so it shows how well we've competed tonight," he said.
"The lads are looking sharp already and I'm really pleased with their efforts.
QPR
http://www.qpr.co.uk/page/TheGaffer/0,,10373~1723777,00.html
QPR Official Site: Match Report NK CELJE 2, QPR 2
Angelo Balanta capped a fine individual performance with a deadly double, as the R's shared the spoils with NK Celje in Slovenia tonight (Wednesday).
- Balanta bagged a goal in each half, as Jim Magilton's men continued their pre-season build-up with an efficient - and at times incredibly free-flowing - display in humid conditions.
- Balanta gave Rangers a deserved lead on 22 minutes, curling a delightful effort in to the back of the net from 12-yards.
- But Celje responded with the final kick of the first half, as Dario Biscan slotted into a vacant net, after Uros Korun's initial effort bounced back off the post.
And they took the lead 60 seconds into the second half, as Dejan Krljanovic fired home at the back post past a startled Radek Cerny.
But it was Balanta's evening and he made it all square again moments later, smashing the ball home from an acute angle.
R's new signing Alejandro Faurlin made his full QPR debut against the PrvaLiga Telekom Slovenije League side.
Faurlin partnered skipper Mikele Leigertwood in the heart of the R's midfield, as Magilton's men began their pre-season tour in stifling conditions at the Arena Petrol Stadium.
Cerny started in goal for Rangers, behind a back four consisting of Peter Ramage, Kaspars Gorkss, Matt Connolly and trialist Ivan Gvozdenovic.
Balanta and Wayne Routledge occupied the wide midfield berths, with Patrick Agyemang partnering Heidar Helguson in attack.
Faurlin's first touch in a Blue and White hooped shirt was exquisite, playing a delightful crossfield pass into the path of Balanta, whose foray on goal was blocked on the edge of the six-yard box.
Inevitably, it was Balanta who had the R's first effort in the fifth minute, arriving on to Routledge's back post cross, only to head high and wide from the edge of the six-yard box.
Helguson was the next R's player to try his luck three minutes later, firing wide from an acute angle following a deft Balanta through ball.
Rangers were quietly asserting their dominance on proceedings and on the quarter hour, Connolly fired a Faurlin corner towards goal, only to see his effort blocked by a stray Celje leg.
Celje keeper Aleksander Seliga was the most overworked player on the pitch in the opening stanza, called upon again to deny Helguson in the 19th minute.
But there was nothing he could to prevent Rangers taking a deserved lead midway through the half.
Having left his marker trailing in his wake, Balanta played a neat one-two with Leigertwood before curling a sublime right footed strike into the roof of the net from 12-yards.
It was a textbook finish from the young Colombian - and Rangers' just reward for a dominant opening.
To their credit, the hosts refused to lie down and Biscan's audacious 40-yard free-kick flew a yard or so wide of Cerny's right hand post.
But it was Rangers who continued to push forward in numbers, with Routledge bringing the very best out of Seliga on the stroke of half-time with a crafty effort, with the outside of his right boot.
As such, it came as something of a bolt from the blue when Celje equalised in the 45th and final minute of the first period.
Korun's shot bounced back off the post and Biscan was first to react to the loose ball, slotting home into a gaping goal from 12-yards.
Buoyed by their goal, Celje bagged a shock second moments in to the second period, as substitute Krljanovic thrashed home a fearsome volley at the back post.
Rangers very nearly responded in kind a minute later, with Balanta firing inches wide following a sublime Agyemang pass.
Undeterred, the Colombian made no mistake with his next effort, thrashing an unstoppable strike across replacement keeper Amel Mujcinovic, that left the Celje number one clutching at thin air.
Magilton was good to his word in terms of ringing the changes around the hour mark, with the entire R's bench - with the exception of Gavin Mahon who replaced the ill Leigertwood on 37 minutes - entering the fray.
One of those replacements, keeper Elvijs Putnins, went down low to his left deny Slavisa Dvorancic from close range 15 minutes from time, whilst at the other end, Mahon's flying header flew wide of the right hand upright.
As was the case throughout the majority of the 90 minutes, it was Rangers who posed the greater attacking threat as the clock ticked down, with Helguson firing a fearsome half-volley off the face of the crossbar following yet more efficient wide play from livewire Routledge.
Remarkably, there was still time for the R's to have a goal chalked out for a foul on keeper Mujcinovic, as Gareth Ainsworth stooped to head home.
- The decision seemed harsh, but as always in pre-season - it's fitness and match practice, as opposed to results - that matter most.
= NK Celje: Seliga, Bakaric, Oparenovic, Bjelkanovic, Centrih, Straus, Korun, Saric, Mocic, Sacripanti, Biscan.
Subs (used): Mujcinovic, Kacicnik, Romih, Mijatovic, Kovac, Popovic, Horvat, Urbanc, Krljanovic, Dvorancic, Kuljanac, Mocivnik, Kraljic.
Goals: Biscan (45), Krljanovic (46)
Bookings: Kovac (80)
QPR: Cerny (Putnins 61), Ramage (Brown 63), Gvozdenovic (Ainsworth 60), Connolly, Gorkss (Oastler 63), Leigertwood (Mahon 37), Routledge, Balanta, Helguson, Faurlin (Alberti 57), Agyemang (Borrowdale 61).
Goals: Balanta (21 & 54)
Bookings: Routledge (57), Ainsworth (65), Alberti (70)
QPR
