A Cup Shock and Other News...
Exeter 0-2 QPR
QPR caused a major cup upset last night with a comfortable, 2-0 victory over Exeter, to make it 2 wins out of 2 for the season so far to set up a 2nd Round showdown with Swindon Town at Loftus Road..
I must say, it was a late decision from myself to do this one, what with it being midweek, almost 200 miles away and all - and myself, Jenson and Smithy picked up tickets last Saturday. Lee, Jess, Sam, Luke and PK will all be in attendance for Huddersfield on Saturday, as far as I know. It was an eventful enough start, with myself picking up Smithy before getting completely lost in Maidenhead, before joining Jenson, his friend and son and setting sail for Sunny Devon at 2.30pm. Surprisingly with the M4 and M5, the journey was an absolute breeze and we arrived nice and early at around 5.30pm, via a stop at the services where a broken coffee machine led me to purchase a, lets just say, very nice but very suspect looking pink drink from Starbucks.
We then landed on the excellent and highly recommended for away fans, Wells Tavern to enjoy a pre match drink or two. Smithy liked it that much, he returned there at half time, despite the R's winning...
Onto the match and we were very pleased to see it was a very strong R's line up that took the field and it took just 99 seconds for the first goal - Barton's corner was half cleared to Jenas, whose volley was deflected into the net by debutant, Charlie Austin. The away support were over the moon once it was announced over the tannoy as the view from the shallow terrace made it very difficult to pinpoint who the scorer was. The rest of the half was enjoyable from an R's point of view as we looked very comfortable, Clint Hill nearly extended the lead but his header was well saved and Hoilett was running the home defence ragged.
Onto the second half and the game was made safe on 50 minutes - a nice passing move ended as Johnson fed the onrushing Simpson, who took a touch before hitting the back of the net with a low drive. It was very pleasing on the eye once again with the whole outfield joining Simpson in his celebrations. Where was this team spirit last season?
The 2nd goal saw Exeter come at us a bit more with nothing to lose and had a decent 10 minutes spell where they managed to rattle the Rangers cross bar, but if honest, Rangers were extremely professional with this one and with respect, never looked like they got out of 2nd gear. Shaun Wright-Phillips deserved much better when a fine run saw him also smack the crossbar late on, but there was to be no further score.
We then landed on the excellent and highly recommended for away fans, Wells Tavern to enjoy a pre match drink or two. Smithy liked it that much, he returned there at half time, despite the R's winning...
Onto the match and we were very pleased to see it was a very strong R's line up that took the field and it took just 99 seconds for the first goal - Barton's corner was half cleared to Jenas, whose volley was deflected into the net by debutant, Charlie Austin. The away support were over the moon once it was announced over the tannoy as the view from the shallow terrace made it very difficult to pinpoint who the scorer was. The rest of the half was enjoyable from an R's point of view as we looked very comfortable, Clint Hill nearly extended the lead but his header was well saved and Hoilett was running the home defence ragged.
Onto the second half and the game was made safe on 50 minutes - a nice passing move ended as Johnson fed the onrushing Simpson, who took a touch before hitting the back of the net with a low drive. It was very pleasing on the eye once again with the whole outfield joining Simpson in his celebrations. Where was this team spirit last season?
The 2nd goal saw Exeter come at us a bit more with nothing to lose and had a decent 10 minutes spell where they managed to rattle the Rangers cross bar, but if honest, Rangers were extremely professional with this one and with respect, never looked like they got out of 2nd gear. Shaun Wright-Phillips deserved much better when a fine run saw him also smack the crossbar late on, but there was to be no further score.
Queens Park Rangers
- 26 Murphy
- 02 Simpson
- 05 Dunne
- 06 Hill
- 13 Suk-Young Yun (Wright-Phillips - 74' )
- 16 Jenas
- 17 Barton
- 23 Hoilett
- 32 Faurlin (Derry - 63' )
- 09 Austin
- 25 Zamora (Johnson - 46' )
Substitutes
- 01 Green
- 15 Onuoha
- 28 Ehmer
- 04 Derry
- 11 Wright-Phillips
- 20 Henry
- 08 Johnson
Man of the Match -
Just the two votes as Smithy, with the back seat to himself on the way home, completely crashed, myself and Jenson both agreed on Junior Hoilett
Awayday Pie Rating
Well, you can't come to this part of the world without having a Pasty if on offer and it didn't disappoint - nice thin pastry and packed with filling, the only thing with a pasty is that the pastry can be quite dry, but impressive all the same - 8/10
In Other News
Well QPR have been very busy since the whistle blew in Exeter, bringing in Gary O'Neill on a free transfer. The 30 year old midfielder has signed a one year deal and reunites once again with Manager, Harry Redknapp.
Welcome and Good Luck, Gary!!
Also, there has been a further two departures, with Adel Taarabt joining neighbours Fulham on a season long loan and Park Ji-Sung joining PSV, again on a season long loan. I must say I was sad to see Adel go, but it was becoming inevitable following events of pre season and of course, his desire to remain in the Premier League. I shall watch his progress with interest and see how another club handles Adel Taarabt and all that comes with his talent....
As mentioned, LH will be well represented in Huddersfield on Saturday, I will return over the weekend with the report on the days events...
Come on You R'ssssssss!!!
posted by LOFTY @ 8/08/2013
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