File this one under lucky escape. QPR managed to steal three points at the Swansea.com Stadium with a smash-and-grab that delighted the 1000+ away fans in attendance. We had one decent chance in the second half compared to at least four for the hosts, but the difference is we took ours while they squandered theirs. The scorer, for the second time in two matches, was Steve Cook, who is rapidly establishing himself as the best striker in the box in QPR’s squad. After two back-to-back wins in three days we are now 16th in the table and six points above the drop zone. Another win against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday and safety should be assured.
Marti Cifuentes made five changes to the team that he fielded against Birmingham, replacing Kenneth Pall with Morgan Fox, Lucas Andersen with Joe Hodge, Chris Willock with Paul Smyth, Michi Frey with Lyndon Dykes and Isaac Hayden with Jack Colback.
That meant we lined up in a 4-2-3-1 as follows: Asmir Begovic in goal; Jimmy Dunne, Cook, Jake Clarke-Salter and Fox in the back-line; Sam Field and Colback in front of them; Smyth, Hodge and Ilias Chair as the attacking trio; and Dykes up front.
We began the game with real verve, with lots of aggressive tackling and venomous attacking play. We were the better team for the first 20 minutes or so, with Smyth stinging their keeper’s hands in the fifth minute and Hodge and Chair combining nicely in the ninth minute to set up a chance for the Moroccan international. Swansea’s first goal scoring opportunity didn’t come until the 18th minute when Jerry Yates got in behind and looked for all the world as if he was about to score. Happily, Fox, who was strong throughout, produced a brilliant tackle.
Gradually, the hosts began to find their feet and had the better of the last 20 minutes. Clarke-Salter intercepted a cross in the 25th minute, putting it just over our bar, and the Swans almost scored from the resulting corner, dragging the shot just wide from the edge of the area.
We seemed content to sit back and soak up the pressure, much as we’d done in our 1-2 victory against Leicester. It worked a few times, too, with Hodge, Smyth and Dykes all getting in behind at various different points, but only Smyth managing a shot on target. And it was straight at Carl Rushworth, their loanee keeper, who looked very capable. Can we get him next season please?
To be fair to our 36 year-old war horse, he had a decent game today, making two good saves towards the end of the first half that kept us in the game. The first of these was when we gave Jamal Lowe, formerly of this parish, too much space on the left and he put it on a plate for Ronald Pereira. He got off a decent shot but Bego managed to stick out his left leg to stop the ball crossing the line. The Bosnian was called into action again a couple of minutes later when he had to make a diving save to deny Josh Tymon.
Of the hosts six shots in the first half, those were the only two on target. We had seven shots, two of which were also on target, and there wasn’t much between the two clubs. Nil-nil at half time seemed like a fair result.
Our flagging team needed an energy boost in the second half and Cifuentes provided it. Off came Hodge, and on came Sinclair Armstrong. Then, in the 59th minute, Andersen and Hayden came on for Dykes and Colback. Unfortunately, we struggled to impose ourselves on the game in the second half in spite of the fresh legs.
Their xG over the 45 minutes was 0.97 to our 0.15 and they had nine shots, two of which were on target and two of which hit the woodwork. We only had three shots, two on target, but the difference is we managed to stick one of them in the back of the net.
Incredibly, our goal came from a corner. Andersen floated one in towards the back post which was met by Jimmy Dunne, who had another cracking game. He headed the ball back across goal, allowing an unmarked Cook to volley it into the bottom left-hand corner of the Swansea net. The QPR players celebrated in front of the ecstatic visiting fans.
Cook’s goal came in the 71st minute which meant there were another 25 for the Swans to get back into it. The closest they came was when an over-hit cross caught Begovic off-guard, with the ball looping over his outstretched hands and hitting the inside of the post. From where we were sitting behind the Swansea goal, it looked like it had gone in, but according to the referee it didn’t cross the line. A big let off!
Cifuentes helped us keep the score at 0-1 by bringing on Willock for Chair in the 74th minute and Frey for Smyth in the 81st. There were six minutes of added time, but by then the hosts had more or less given up and we managed to see the game out without too much difficulty. There was a memorable, extended series of passes on the edge of the Swansea area in the 93rd minute that had the away fans chanting “ole” every time the R’s completed a pass.
It’s worth noting that the referee, Samuel Allison, was superb, managing to maintain his authority without issuing a single yellow card. For my money, the best ref we’ve had all season.
Even though we probably didn’t deserve three points from this game, it caps a remarkable turnaround under our new manager. With Cifuentes at the helm, QPR have won 38 points in 26 league games -- twice as many as we’d won under Gareth Ainsworth (19 points in 27 league games in 2023). In the last 13 games, the Spaniard has only lost twice, with the hoops wining seven and drawing the other four. Now that the threat of relegation is receding, the only black spot on the horizon is the risk that another club will come for the gifted tactician in the summer. But the fact that QPR is, to all intents and purposes, on the auction block means the current owners will probably get out their chequebooks to induce him to stay. After all, with Cifuentes in charge and a bit of money to spend in the summer, we would have a decent chance of getting into the top six at the end of the next season. U R’s!
in Marti we trust