My match previews and reports are also available at www.wearetherangersboys.com

Tuesday 17th March 2009
Loftus Road Stadium
Referee: G D Horwood
Attendance: 12288
Queens Park Rangers 1-0 Swansea City
By thegodfather

Queens Park Rangers starting line-up: Cerny, Hall, Leigertwood, Gorkss, Ramage, Connolly, Lopez, Alberti, Di Carmine, Ephraim, Taraabt.

Swansea City starting line-up: De Vries, Williams, Pratley, Gomez, Monk, Pintado, Rangel, Bauza, Allen, Serran, Butler.

Queens Park Rangers finally ended their winless run by beating Swansea City in an entertaining encounter at Loftus Road. The game was played in a ‘continental’ style with both sides passing the ball on the ground in intricate patterns. The Rs displayed a much-improved performance from the previous few home matches and thoroughly deserved their victory. There were few clear-cut chances, but some skilful play from both teams made for an enjoyable evening.

To my delight, Rowan Vine was named on the substitutes’ bench after breaking his leg last year. I watched him during the pre-match training and he looked sharp and ready to go. It was interesting to see that during the shooting practice, he was the only one to score with all of his attempts, slotting the ball home with ease each time. Hopefully we will see Vine back in first-team action very soon.

Although this was a promising performance from QPR, the team still lacks a cutting edge up front. I never really felt that the Hoops would score in open play and sure enough, the goal came from a set-piece. The team misses a really strong, physical goal-machine up front and this is something that definitely needs looking at during the summer.

Paulo Sousa opted for a 4-5-1 formation, with Samuel Di Carmine on his own up front and with Hogan Ephraim, Mikele Leigertwood and Jordi Lopez in central midfield. Debutant, Adel Taraabt, started on the left wing while Matteo Alberti took up position on the right flank. Fitz Hall replaced Damion Stewart in the heart of defence. Matt Connolly, Peter Ramage and Kaspars Gorkss all retained their places. Wayne Routledge and Dexter Blackstock missed out through injuries.

The game started with some good passing play from both sides. This looked impressive but achieved little. As a result, the ball was stuck in the middle of the park for the first 15 minutes with neither team able to make a breakthrough.

The first real opportunity fell to Swansea in the 16th minute. An audacious effort from Gomez caused Cerny some problems, forcing him into dropping the ball. Fortunately, with no Swans players ready to pounce, the QPR goalkeeper managed to recover and smother it.

In the 18th minute, QPR fans were treated to their first show of wonderful skill by new loan signing, Adel Taraabt, when he darted between two Swansea defenders. Only a last-ditch tackle prevented him from smashing the ball into the back of the net.

Queens Park Rangers took the lead in the 29th minute. A Jordi Lopez free-kick found Mikele Leigertwood in the box who sent his header flying into the top corner. It was so refreshing to see the Hoops score at Loftus Road after what has seemed like an eternity.

The final 15 minutes of the half produced nothing of note and referee, Mr Horwood, blew the half-time whistle, bringing applause from the QPR faithful.

Half-time: Queens Park Rangers 1-0 Swansea City

Worryingly, Swansea started the second-half brightly and were unlucky not to be on level terms just after the break. Gorka Pintado made progress down the left-flank, cut inside and unleashed a powerful shot. Fortunately, Radek Cerny was on hand to deny the Spaniard with a superb save at his near-post.

However, Rangers hit back in the 56th minute. Adel Taraabt received the ball on the left-hand side and bamboozled two Swansea defenders with a series of sublime step-overs. I haven’t seen skill like this at Loftus Road for years. The loanee then found Hogan Ephraim on the edge of the box, whose weak effort was gathered by De Vries.

Roberto Martinez responded by bringing on Nathan Dyer at the expense of Gomez. Dyer certainly wasn’t the QPR crowd’s most popular player and I started to worry that the Swans winger would silence the fans with a goal. My fears almost came true in the 66th minute when a poor pass from Matthew Connolly gifted him the chance to shoot on goal. Luckily, he directed his effort straight at Cerny.

Paulo Sousa made his first substitution of the match in the 73rd minute, replacing the tiring Di Carmine for Heidar Helguson. Meanwhile, Jason Scotland was brought on for Pintado.

Scotland almost made an immediate impact when Bauza played him through on goal. Only an important intervention from Kaspars Gorkss prevented him from levelling the scoreline.

In the 77th minute, QPR almost doubled their advantage with a superb counter-attacking move. The skilful Taraabt released Ephraim on the right-hand side. Hogan’s ball fizzed across the area, forcing Monk into smashing the ball out of play, almost hitting his own net.

After Fitz Hall had been taken off for Damien Delaney, Heidar Helguson had a fantastic chance to seal the Rs’ victory in the 83rd minute. Another sublime piece of play from Taraabt allowed Helguson to move into the penalty area. With two Swansea defenders bearing down on him, to my despair, the Icelandic striker sliced his shot well over the bar.

After three tense minutes of stoppage time, the referee finally blew the full-time whistle. QPR’s terrible run of form had come to an end!

Full-time: Queens Park Rangers 1-0 Swansea City

What the managers said….

QPR Manager, Paulo Sousa: "We have had a lot of critics from outside and a lot of adversities but we are a team with a lot of unity, who were trying to get three points against the best football team. They are not easy to beat - you have to be very good to beat a team like Swansea. We have nine or 10 players injured, but I keep believing in what we can achieve with hard work."

Swansea Manager, Roberto Martinez: "It was disappointing not to get the result we were looking for. We lost to a soft goal from a set-piece, and to lose in that way hurts. The boys showed the right reaction in the second half, and we deserved to get something out of the game. Overall, I don't think anyone deserved to win the game. A draw would have been a fair result, but Rangers took advantage of one set-piece."

Conclusion

I am cautiously optimistic about the rest of the season after Tuesday night’s performance. There were certainly plenty of positives to take from the match. Adel Taraabt displayed some very skilful touches and passes. It looks like he could be a real asset to the squad during the final few weeks of the season. Jordi Lopez ran the show in midfield, whilst Hogan Ephraim and Matteo Alberti also had decent games. The defence was very solid and I was pleased to see Peter Ramage having an excellent game after an indifferent start to his QPR career.

I just hope that this isn’t a ‘one-off’. In Swansea, the Rs weren’t up against a typical Championship side – they were up against a team that likes to play in a continental style. Will Rangers be as successful against a very physical Bristol City side on Saturday? I really do hope so.

Man of the match: Adel Taraabt. There were several contenders for this award but I simply have to give it to our new signing. Some of the skill he displayed was simply fantastic. I was also impressed by the way he passed the ball with the outside of his right boot – they were always very accurate and quick. I’m really looking forward to seeing him again on Saturday against Bristol City.