Plymouth 1 QPR 1

Posted On 17/08/2009 at at 17:45 by Alistair Kleebauer  

Your outlook on QPR's start to the season will largely depend on whether you are a 'glass half full' or 'glass half empty' kind of person. If you're in the former group, you can point to the at times excellent football QPR played already this season, especially in their Carling Cup win, along with the fact that they are unbeaten in the league. If you're more of the latter persuasion, you might argue that QPR have played two of the weaker teams in this league and failed to win a game yet. I can't tell you what to think of course.


They went into their game against Plymouth with the knowledge of a dismal away record last season weighing on their shoulders. QPR hadn't won on the road since January 27th and it was clear that should they want to challenge for the play-off spots, that would have to change.

Therefore, their starting line-up and shape was disappointing. I mentioned in my preview a hope that Jim Magilton would not revert to playing a holding two of Gavin Mahon and Mikele Leigertwood, but that's exactly what he did. For me, it's a system borne of fear and a desire to ensure the opposition fail to score, instead of ensuring QPR do score. It would be wrong to advocate some kind of Ossie Ardiles system of five up front (though it would be a lot of fun to watch) but especially against weaker opposition, QPR need to show more courage on the road. Perhaps following the events of this game, Magilton might consider a touch more daring in future team selections.

The rest of the team was made up of Radek Cerny in goal with Fitz Hall returning to replace Damion Stewart at the back with Kaspars Gorkss as his defensive partner. Peter Ramage also returned to the side to replace Matthew Connolly and Gary Borrowdale kept his place at left-back. Mahon and Leigertwood sat back in the midfield, leaving the attacking impetus to fall to Wayne Routledge on the right and returning Plymouth hero Akos Buzsaky on the left. Up front, Magilton chose to start Adel Taarabt as a striker again, partnering him with Heidar Helguson.

By all accounts, the first half at Home Park was pretty scrappy with QPR shading it in the possession stakes and in chances created. Routledge continued his fine form since the start of the season as one of the main attacking threats for the Hoops and Taarabt was also a constant thorn in the side of the Plymouth defence. It was his hard work which broke the deadlock just before half-time.

After a powerful run down the left, he provided a cross/shot (its hard to tell with Taarabt because he does tend to shoot from any position within 40 yards of goal) which found its way to Helguson who placed a downward header into the net. I'm still not Helguson's biggest fan but he is developing a knack of feeding off half-chances in the box. It is outside the area or running through on goal where he seems to pose absolutely no danger to the opposition.

Into the second half, QPR's relatively conservative formation became even more uninspiring as Magilton shifted to 4-5-1 when he brought on Patrick Agyemang for Helguson on 60 minutes and pulled Taarabt back into the midfield to form an attacking trio with Routledge and Buzsaky. In that sense, the formation still offered enough creative options but it is a system that is relatively new to the Hoops and the team lost a lot of their shape in the final quarter of this game.

More importantly, by leaving on both Leigertwood and Mahon, who was struggling to retain possession, Magilton prioritised holding a 1-0 lead over searching for the second goal to kill this game. QPR struggle to find the net with two strikers up front; if you rely solely on the individual talents of Agyemang to get a goal, you are asking for trouble.

Hogan Ephraim came on for Buzsaky on 73 minutes and despite a rousing reception from all parts of the ground, the ex-Plymouth man had a quiet game. I clearly jinxed him by marking him out as the key difference between the two teams but he will be a match-winner for QPR this season no doubt. This game marked his third in a week for a player who hadn't played since November 2008 so perhaps it was unfair to expect so much from him so soon.

The final change was made with 13 minutes remaining when Taarabt made way for Rowan Vine and the new player was soon presented with a golden opportunity to increase QPR's lead and seal the three points. With five minutes to go, he was played through on goal but he could only direct his effort at Roman Larrieu in the Plymouth goal and he deal with it comfortably.

QPR now reverted to panic mode as their shape and composure began to mirror that of a Conference side. Plymouth needed a goal at all costs so their approach play was far from pretty, but after a series of warning shots, their dedication paid off in the third minute of injury time. A long throw into the melee of the QPR box found Rory Fallon towering above the QPR defence. He directed his header to the far post and Gorkss could only inadvertenty direct the ball into this own net. It was a crushing end for the R's but it was one which could have been predicted considering the defensive attitude they brought to the game, especially in the final ten minutes.
Magilton hinted after the match that the shocking record on the road last season could still be contributing to QPR's inability to see out a game such as this. He also insisted that he had set out an attacking formation with the intent of winning the game. To start two strikers up front for an away game is a positive development and one that QPR did not often deploy last season. But once QPR took the lead, the old tendency to consolidate rather than gamble on a second goal kicked in.

Magilton will point to the players he brought on (Agyemang, Vine and Ephraim) as all potential match winners but they entered the game at the expense of other attacking players and at the expense of the team's shape. That left Mahon and Leigertwood to cancel each other out in the middle of the park and invite Plymouth to get forward. By the end, QPR were reverting to ten men behind the ball and lumping balls forward to Agyemang when even a touch more composure would surely have guaranteed that all-important first away win.

How the team perform at Loftus Road will still be so vital to how their season pans out and in that sense, the opening day result was not a great omen. But the need to increase their points tally on the road is also now paramount. The next game against Bristol City will be a massive marker of how much Magilton can change the mentality of this side.

HIGHS: The form of Wayne Routledge; an improved performance from Adel Taarabt and another game which QPR largely dominated and showed a lot of attacking potential.

LOWS: An inability to see out a win away from home; the negative pairing of Mikele Leigertwood and Gavin Mahon in the middle of the park; further hints that the QPR strikers might struggle to find the net this season.


Plymouth - Larrieu, Timar, McNamee, Sawyer, Seip, Paterson (Duguid 86), Fletcher, Mackie, Judge (Noone 82), MacLean (Sheridan 46), Fallon.

Subs not used - Letheren (GK), Arnason, Summerfield, Johnson.
Goals - Gorkss (og) (90 + 3)

Bookings - Fletcher (90)

QPR - Cerny, Ramage, Hall, Gorkss, Borrowdale, Mahon, Leigertwood, Routledge, Buzsaky (Ephraim 72), Taarabt (Vine 76), Helguson (Agyemang 61)

Subs not used - Heaton (GK), Connolly, Stewart, Pellicori

Goals - Helguson (43)

Referee - Mr R East

Attendance - 11,558 (998 away)

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