Hoop Dreams - QPR FC

Everyone knows that Swansea have become very hard to beat under Paulo Sousa. What QPR showed today however, is that they are an equally tough prospect under Neil Warnock. Trailing to a slightly fortuitous Nathan Dyer goal, they called on substitute Antonio German to level what was a surprisingly entertaining game.

The Hoops were forced into a further change than was predicted prior to this game as Jay Simpson was absent (still not clear why but I suspect he must be injured as he wasn't even on the bench). Therefore, Adel Taarabt was placed up front with Tamas Priskin with Akos Buzsaky coming in on the right wing. As predicted, Matt Connolly shifted to centre-back to make up for Damion Stewart's absence and Peter Ramage came in at right-back.

Most of the opening half was fairly static with both teams loathe to commit themselves too early. There was nothing gung-ho about Rangers' attacking play, they were content to take their time in picking out a pass (particularly Adel Taarabt who will hold onto the ball for as long as humanly possible before deciding what to do with it) and unsurprisingly, Swansea's main attacking outlet was on the break, with Nathan Dyer using his pace to cause Rangers a few nervous moments in the opening 45 minutes.

On eleven minutes he hit the post, getting the merest of touches to direct the ball past Carl Ikeme only to see the ball agonizingly trail along the line. Within minutes he almost forced a bizaare own goal as well, deftly controlling the ball in the area only to see QPR's Matt Hill, who was desperately tracking back, nearly divert the ball into his own net.

Apart from that, goal-scoring chances were few and far between which began to frustrate the home crowd who were particularly unsympathetic towards two Hoops players - Peter Ramage and Tamas Priskin. It is certainly true that certain players attract more criticism than their performances merit whilst others seem immune from the crowd's ire regardless of how they play and Ramage certainly fits this category. Despite his at times woeful distribution of the ball, he rarely makes the clangers which other QPR defenders have made this season.

Priskin does himself little favours with his ostentatious yellow boots and relaxed attitude to tracking back. He also seems to suffer when it comes to the physical aspects of the game as well and he was all too often brushed off with ease by the domineering pairing of Alan Tate and Ashley Williams. At the same time, it was surprising to see how quickly sections of the crowd got on his back. Though he has played enough games to be able to deal with it, he looked slightly dazed for the first 45 minutes.

The Hoops rallied well though as the end of the half approached and Hogan Ephraim had the ball in the net but was judged offside, which looked the right decision. Then Akos Buzsaky picked the ball up on the right wing in the kind of area he's previously worked wonders, but his curled effort to the far post was comfortable for Dorus De Vries. Whilst all this was going on, Neil Warnock appeared completely unconcerned with Paulo Sousa's comments in midweek and spent much of the half berating the ref.

Swansea looked the far fresher team after the break though with Guillem Bauza enjoying the run of the midfield and Dyer continuing to give Hill a torrid afternoon. All three combined to open the scoring for Swansea. Bauza stabbed the ball forward in search of Dyer and had well over-hit it, but it took a knock off Hill and landed luckily at the winger's feet on the edge of the area. From there, he could calmly pass the ball into the net.

Warnock gambled straight away as it was clear the game was slipping from QPR's grasp and it more than paid off. Buzsaky and Priskin were both brought immediately off on 57 minutes, the latter substituion meeting with such an exaggerated level of applause from some quarters that it bordered on the sadistic. That said, the manager was right to make the changes and Rowan Vine joined them soon after, replacing Ephraim.

Cook and German were bundles of energy compared to the unnoticeable performance from Buzsaky and the limpness of Priskin, but it was Vine's quick-thinking in the box following a corner which guided the ball into the six-yard box and the feet of German. For one so young, he appears to live to score goals and if any player was going to get on the end of the speculative pass, it was German. He poked it across the line and then teared away towards the home fans to celebrate.

WIth fifteen minutes left, Rangers were in the ascendancy with Cook in particular staking a claim for a starting place against Derby on Tuesday. For his dead-ball delivery alone he adds another element to the Hoops' attacking play and seems more naturally suited to running the line than Buzsaky. It was a Taarabt free-kick which came close to winning the game for Rangers though with five minutes remaining. From the edge of the area, the ball clipped off the Swansea wall and looped down to Matt Connolly, who headed in only to be adjudged offside.

It was the closest either side game to ending the stalemate, but this was far from the dull draw which it could have been.