Stoke 1 Vs 2 QPR : Match Report & Player Ratings
Aug 3, 2019 21:50:07 GMT
Post by northwesthoop on Aug 3, 2019 21:50:07 GMT
Stoke 1 v 2 QPR
Well that was bloody good wasn’t it?
QPR ran out deserved 2-1 winners against Stoke at the Bet365 Stadium to start the 2019/20 season in a very positive fashion.
The R’s lined up with Lumley in goal behind a back 4 of Rangel, Hall, Barbet and Manning. Cameron and Amos sat in front of them with Scowen pushed further forward. Osayi-Samuel was on the right, Eze on the left with Hugill up front. Dominic Ball missed out owing to a previous suspension so, despite all the summer signings, there were only 3 players making a debut from the start in Barbet, Amos and Hugill. That said, despite there still being a lot of familiar faces, the performance couldn’t have been more different to what we were used to last season.
From the off it was clear that every QPR player was well drilled and knew their precise role. There was no panic on the ball for the most part and honestly I am so impressed with what the club have achieved in 5/6 weeks of pre-season training. To bed in this many new players, whilst implementing a new style of play, is far from easy.
Within 8 minutes of the new season starting we were ahead and off to a flyer as Osayi-Samuel tracked down the ball as Stoke goalkeeper Butland came rushing out of his area out wide, Butland perhaps underestimating the speed of Osayi-Samuel who was able to get to the ball first, crossing it into the goal mouth for Hugill to score with one of his first touches in a hooped shirt. It was just the starting point in a tireless display from Osayi-Samuel whilst Hugill kept calm to finish his chance and celebrated like a man with a weight lifted from his shoulders.
There was a nervous moment at the back for QPR when a weak back pass had Lumley rushing from his line and he had to time his sliding tackle brilliantly outside the box to avert the danger. Stoke also had a glancing header from a free kick that went just wide but that was their only real threat in the first half. We were the better side, pressing all over the pitch. The team was also a lot higher up the pitch than we are used to which was good to see.
Cameron especially was putting in a towering performance, especially in the opening half hour. Scowen should have made it two nil with a header from close range that went wide and Eze had a strike from range well held by Butland, so chances weren't exactly flowing but we were by far the better team. We just knew what we were doing which was so refreshing to see. Stoke were only making progress once they knocked it long towards Afobe and and their odd diamond in midfield seemed to be doing them no favours. Joe Allen was getting pulled out wide where he isn’t effective, Vokes up front was anonymous and Powell was ineffective behind the front two.
Only 3 quick QPR bookings for Cameron, Scowen and Barbet were the slight blight on a superb first half performance. The referee had a habit of not booking Stoke players for similar misdemeanours, which was frustrating for the away fans but we saw the 1-0 lead out to half time. Even players that had started slower like Barbet grew in to the game and didn’t let the odd misplaced pass affect them too much.
A sign of how well the first half went for QPR and how poor Stoke were is that their fans were already leaving on 40 minutes, lines of fans were queuing as they made their way down to the concourses in each stand, whereas the QPR players got a standing ovation at half time from a packed away end. You don’t see that too often.
The second 45 saw us carry on where we left off. Osayi-Samuel was causing McClean constant headaches and he was straight at him again and we were unlucky that his cross never fell for Scowen as the ball was scrambled behind for what was given as a goal kick, it looked like a corner. Then in the same time it took in the first half we had another early goal to start the half and it was sensational stuff, a joy to watch. The ball was calmly worked back to Lumley then calmly back through the field from Barbet out to Rangel, forward to Cameron and over to Eze. Eze showed his true class, moving forwards and away from chasing midfielders then selling the defender a dummy moving the ball from his left foot to his right and slotting home, he was the calmest man in the stadium to slot it in the bottom corner. Genius. A brilliant – and very un-QPR like - goal. 2-0.
The real positive to mention here is that Eze and Hugill are both off the mark for the season on match day one. Eze was playing well anyway but for a 15 minute spell after his goal he was perpetual motion. Normally QPR loan somebody like Hugill and it takes them months to get firing. For him to score early it clearly gave him a boost and his overall performance was top notch, running himself in to the ground for the cause.
At 2-0 up were in total control. It was a cracking atmosphere in the away and it felt like there was nothing to worry about until Amos and Osayi-Samuel went off in quick succession. I am not sure why Amos was pulled but bringing on Pugh to play behind Hugill didn't really work, we lost momentum. Ince came on for Stoke around the same time and 10 minutes later we conceded a sloppy goal, giving them far too much time and a ball across the box seemed easy enough to deal with but it got flicked into the path of Clucas who had the easy task of smashing the ball home with Lumley helpless. It was undeserved and Stoke were back in the game thanks to what must have been their first and only shot on target. The substitutions just didn't help us and we were clearly flagging at the end. Shodipo had come on for Osayi-Samuel but once we conceded we brought on Leistner for the tiring Hugill and we then didn’t have the best shape and struggled to hold the ball up. Shodipo wasn’t able to keep breaking down the right flank like Osayi-Samuel because we stopped playing football, opting instead to try and hold firm for the points.
Stoke had a few crosses and whipped balls across the goalmouth without ever testing Lumley. However, in 5 minutes of added time Lumley flapped at a free kick right at the death and it looked from the far end like the ball just hit somebody and was going to bounce in to the net but it thankfully went wide and the 3 points were heading back to West London. Warburton will certainly want to work on the amount of crosses we allowed in to the box, he surely won’t be happy with that, we seemed to stand off and allow crosses which is a dangerous game.
Overall it is not like Butland was making save after save but we were totally on top. As I’ve said we were pressing high up the pitch and Stoke never looked comfortable on the ball. A third goal would have killed the game but it was then a case of typical QPR conceding out of nothing and it became a very nervous finish!
It was however a thoroughly deserved win with plenty of positives. It gives me confidence that we will at the very least be competitive and will give teams a game this season. It is clear how crucial Amos staying fit will be. Once he went off we didn’t quite look the same team. I don't even think he was at his best today and he still made a huge difference.
In my match report on the opening day last year I said nothing had changed at QPR under McClaren and numerous players were not fitting in to the system he wanted. This season couldn't be more different. Wabburton has gone all guns blazing and we have a clear plan and this is only match 1. If Warburton can keep instilling his ideas and patterns of play we will impress a few this season. Warburton will be chuffed and so were the R's fans in attendance. Certainly an opening day to remember.
Player Ratings:
Lumley: 6 = The flap at the end probably loses him a mark. He didn’t actually make a proper save that I can recall. His distribution has improved for sure and his quick pass to Barbet was key in us scoring the second goal.
Rangel: 7 = He was solid, got tired, gave it away a few times late on which you wouldn’t expect from somebody of his experience but he did link well with BOS especially
Manning: 8 = Let's not forget he is out of position but he is quickly becoming a star in this role, Wallace will be worried watching him and that is what we want! He moved to left wing once Leistner came on and won headers against players who looked much taller.
Hall: 7 = From my view he won most of his duels and largely went unnoticed which is a good sign, a performance reminiscent of the old Grant Hall of 2-3 years ago which is like having a new signing if he can stay fit.
Barbet : 7 = Gave the ball away a few times in the first half but didn’t let it put him off and he clearly likes to be on the ball and tries long range passes too switching the play. A good start.
Cameron: 8 = He did fade late on and ended the game with his socks at his ankles but you could see in the warm up how much today meant to him, he wanted to win and as I mentioned in the first 20 or so minutes he was an absolute beast. Why would Stoke want Cousins over Cameron? They played in the same position today and I know who I would want in my team.
Amos: 8 = He was controlling the game with his pressing and quick use of the ball. We struggled to win as many 50/50 balls once he went off and the tempo of our play dropped which helped Stoke build up momentum. I sense he can play a lot better but he already showed how vital he will be.
Scowen: 7.5 = His early booking negated his impact slightly but he never stopped running and him being further forward really works in this system as it means as a team we can push up rather than sitting deep before we engage them like Scowen used to in the past
Osayi-Samuel: 9 = Man of the Match. Barely put a foot wrong and McClean will be having nightmares about him tonight! Bright was insanely good today, playing to his strengths and I hope the injury that forced him off is nothing major as he simply looked incredible today; he looks faster and also more intelligent in his play. More of the same please.
Eze: 8 = He was working harder for the team than I've seen before and as mentioned his goal was not only fantastic it made him come alive for a spell midway through the second half. He struggled in the last 10 minutes when left up front when Hugill went off but he still kept trying.
Hugill: 8 = The goal clearly did wonders for his confidence and he never stopped running and never gave the centre halves a minutes peace. If you compare his all action performance today with what we saw from Hemed last season and it is like chalk and cheese.
Pugh came off the bench and seemed a bit lost, Shodipo was the ideal sub for Osayi-Samuel but after he came on we didn't play the same way so he couldn't impact the game in the same way that Osayi-Samuel had and Leistner came on to keep things tight and did his job with some headed clearances. As a side note Leistner did have the look of a man who is leaving, his head was a bit down when he re-emerged from the tunnel after full time to warm down.
Well that was bloody good wasn’t it?
QPR ran out deserved 2-1 winners against Stoke at the Bet365 Stadium to start the 2019/20 season in a very positive fashion.
The R’s lined up with Lumley in goal behind a back 4 of Rangel, Hall, Barbet and Manning. Cameron and Amos sat in front of them with Scowen pushed further forward. Osayi-Samuel was on the right, Eze on the left with Hugill up front. Dominic Ball missed out owing to a previous suspension so, despite all the summer signings, there were only 3 players making a debut from the start in Barbet, Amos and Hugill. That said, despite there still being a lot of familiar faces, the performance couldn’t have been more different to what we were used to last season.
From the off it was clear that every QPR player was well drilled and knew their precise role. There was no panic on the ball for the most part and honestly I am so impressed with what the club have achieved in 5/6 weeks of pre-season training. To bed in this many new players, whilst implementing a new style of play, is far from easy.
Within 8 minutes of the new season starting we were ahead and off to a flyer as Osayi-Samuel tracked down the ball as Stoke goalkeeper Butland came rushing out of his area out wide, Butland perhaps underestimating the speed of Osayi-Samuel who was able to get to the ball first, crossing it into the goal mouth for Hugill to score with one of his first touches in a hooped shirt. It was just the starting point in a tireless display from Osayi-Samuel whilst Hugill kept calm to finish his chance and celebrated like a man with a weight lifted from his shoulders.
There was a nervous moment at the back for QPR when a weak back pass had Lumley rushing from his line and he had to time his sliding tackle brilliantly outside the box to avert the danger. Stoke also had a glancing header from a free kick that went just wide but that was their only real threat in the first half. We were the better side, pressing all over the pitch. The team was also a lot higher up the pitch than we are used to which was good to see.
Cameron especially was putting in a towering performance, especially in the opening half hour. Scowen should have made it two nil with a header from close range that went wide and Eze had a strike from range well held by Butland, so chances weren't exactly flowing but we were by far the better team. We just knew what we were doing which was so refreshing to see. Stoke were only making progress once they knocked it long towards Afobe and and their odd diamond in midfield seemed to be doing them no favours. Joe Allen was getting pulled out wide where he isn’t effective, Vokes up front was anonymous and Powell was ineffective behind the front two.
Only 3 quick QPR bookings for Cameron, Scowen and Barbet were the slight blight on a superb first half performance. The referee had a habit of not booking Stoke players for similar misdemeanours, which was frustrating for the away fans but we saw the 1-0 lead out to half time. Even players that had started slower like Barbet grew in to the game and didn’t let the odd misplaced pass affect them too much.
A sign of how well the first half went for QPR and how poor Stoke were is that their fans were already leaving on 40 minutes, lines of fans were queuing as they made their way down to the concourses in each stand, whereas the QPR players got a standing ovation at half time from a packed away end. You don’t see that too often.
The second 45 saw us carry on where we left off. Osayi-Samuel was causing McClean constant headaches and he was straight at him again and we were unlucky that his cross never fell for Scowen as the ball was scrambled behind for what was given as a goal kick, it looked like a corner. Then in the same time it took in the first half we had another early goal to start the half and it was sensational stuff, a joy to watch. The ball was calmly worked back to Lumley then calmly back through the field from Barbet out to Rangel, forward to Cameron and over to Eze. Eze showed his true class, moving forwards and away from chasing midfielders then selling the defender a dummy moving the ball from his left foot to his right and slotting home, he was the calmest man in the stadium to slot it in the bottom corner. Genius. A brilliant – and very un-QPR like - goal. 2-0.
The real positive to mention here is that Eze and Hugill are both off the mark for the season on match day one. Eze was playing well anyway but for a 15 minute spell after his goal he was perpetual motion. Normally QPR loan somebody like Hugill and it takes them months to get firing. For him to score early it clearly gave him a boost and his overall performance was top notch, running himself in to the ground for the cause.
At 2-0 up were in total control. It was a cracking atmosphere in the away and it felt like there was nothing to worry about until Amos and Osayi-Samuel went off in quick succession. I am not sure why Amos was pulled but bringing on Pugh to play behind Hugill didn't really work, we lost momentum. Ince came on for Stoke around the same time and 10 minutes later we conceded a sloppy goal, giving them far too much time and a ball across the box seemed easy enough to deal with but it got flicked into the path of Clucas who had the easy task of smashing the ball home with Lumley helpless. It was undeserved and Stoke were back in the game thanks to what must have been their first and only shot on target. The substitutions just didn't help us and we were clearly flagging at the end. Shodipo had come on for Osayi-Samuel but once we conceded we brought on Leistner for the tiring Hugill and we then didn’t have the best shape and struggled to hold the ball up. Shodipo wasn’t able to keep breaking down the right flank like Osayi-Samuel because we stopped playing football, opting instead to try and hold firm for the points.
Stoke had a few crosses and whipped balls across the goalmouth without ever testing Lumley. However, in 5 minutes of added time Lumley flapped at a free kick right at the death and it looked from the far end like the ball just hit somebody and was going to bounce in to the net but it thankfully went wide and the 3 points were heading back to West London. Warburton will certainly want to work on the amount of crosses we allowed in to the box, he surely won’t be happy with that, we seemed to stand off and allow crosses which is a dangerous game.
Overall it is not like Butland was making save after save but we were totally on top. As I’ve said we were pressing high up the pitch and Stoke never looked comfortable on the ball. A third goal would have killed the game but it was then a case of typical QPR conceding out of nothing and it became a very nervous finish!
It was however a thoroughly deserved win with plenty of positives. It gives me confidence that we will at the very least be competitive and will give teams a game this season. It is clear how crucial Amos staying fit will be. Once he went off we didn’t quite look the same team. I don't even think he was at his best today and he still made a huge difference.
In my match report on the opening day last year I said nothing had changed at QPR under McClaren and numerous players were not fitting in to the system he wanted. This season couldn't be more different. Wabburton has gone all guns blazing and we have a clear plan and this is only match 1. If Warburton can keep instilling his ideas and patterns of play we will impress a few this season. Warburton will be chuffed and so were the R's fans in attendance. Certainly an opening day to remember.
Player Ratings:
Lumley: 6 = The flap at the end probably loses him a mark. He didn’t actually make a proper save that I can recall. His distribution has improved for sure and his quick pass to Barbet was key in us scoring the second goal.
Rangel: 7 = He was solid, got tired, gave it away a few times late on which you wouldn’t expect from somebody of his experience but he did link well with BOS especially
Manning: 8 = Let's not forget he is out of position but he is quickly becoming a star in this role, Wallace will be worried watching him and that is what we want! He moved to left wing once Leistner came on and won headers against players who looked much taller.
Hall: 7 = From my view he won most of his duels and largely went unnoticed which is a good sign, a performance reminiscent of the old Grant Hall of 2-3 years ago which is like having a new signing if he can stay fit.
Barbet : 7 = Gave the ball away a few times in the first half but didn’t let it put him off and he clearly likes to be on the ball and tries long range passes too switching the play. A good start.
Cameron: 8 = He did fade late on and ended the game with his socks at his ankles but you could see in the warm up how much today meant to him, he wanted to win and as I mentioned in the first 20 or so minutes he was an absolute beast. Why would Stoke want Cousins over Cameron? They played in the same position today and I know who I would want in my team.
Amos: 8 = He was controlling the game with his pressing and quick use of the ball. We struggled to win as many 50/50 balls once he went off and the tempo of our play dropped which helped Stoke build up momentum. I sense he can play a lot better but he already showed how vital he will be.
Scowen: 7.5 = His early booking negated his impact slightly but he never stopped running and him being further forward really works in this system as it means as a team we can push up rather than sitting deep before we engage them like Scowen used to in the past
Osayi-Samuel: 9 = Man of the Match. Barely put a foot wrong and McClean will be having nightmares about him tonight! Bright was insanely good today, playing to his strengths and I hope the injury that forced him off is nothing major as he simply looked incredible today; he looks faster and also more intelligent in his play. More of the same please.
Eze: 8 = He was working harder for the team than I've seen before and as mentioned his goal was not only fantastic it made him come alive for a spell midway through the second half. He struggled in the last 10 minutes when left up front when Hugill went off but he still kept trying.
Hugill: 8 = The goal clearly did wonders for his confidence and he never stopped running and never gave the centre halves a minutes peace. If you compare his all action performance today with what we saw from Hemed last season and it is like chalk and cheese.
Pugh came off the bench and seemed a bit lost, Shodipo was the ideal sub for Osayi-Samuel but after he came on we didn't play the same way so he couldn't impact the game in the same way that Osayi-Samuel had and Leistner came on to keep things tight and did his job with some headed clearances. As a side note Leistner did have the look of a man who is leaving, his head was a bit down when he re-emerged from the tunnel after full time to warm down.
