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QPR start summer with Stevenage win - match report
QPR start summer with Stevenage win - match report
Sunday, 20th Jul 2008 00:05

QPR got the Iain Dowie era off to a winning start with a 3-1 win at Stevenage Borough on Saturday. Neil Dejyothin was LFW's man at the match and provided a full report and photographs.

To vist Neil's excellent QPR blog click here

So, here we are again and after a summer of highs and lows. After feeling hard done by with the 2008/09 season ticket prices to the welcome announcements of some fabulous new sponsorship deals; it feels good to be back, doesn't it?

Saturday saw our campaign get underway with a short trip up to Broadhall Way where we entertained Stevenage. It promised to be an early indicator as to what our season may hold and give us a brief glimpse of the capabilities of some of our new signings. It is worth remembering however that this was a pre-season friendly, our first of the summer.

In contrast, this was Stevenage's third, having played twice earlier in the week against Gillingham and Hitchin. This led to two potential questions in my mind: would Stevenage be sharper because of the extra match practice they had accumulated and would they burn out? Three matches in such a short space of time in pre-season for a non-league outfit would surely take their toll at some point?

Before the match I thought about what the coaching team might want to see at this stage. Usually these games are all about building up fitness and getting some minutes under your belt before the real thing. I did hope however to see some tactical progress or at least some indication on shape and certain passages of play. But then I thought, why would you put all your eggs in one basket? Is it clever to do that in the first pre-season match and give potential clues away to opposing Championship teams as to how you plan to play?

I couldn't make up my mind on what the answer was. I think for us it might be dangerous but the likes of Manchester United and Barcelona play the same way all the time. You know what's coming but the style is so good and so well executed that you really need that extra quality to prevent them doing what they want and they have that quality to pull it off.

So - have we added that extra quality to our team this summer? In the first-half we started in a 4-4-2 with Lee Camp (GK), Peter Ramage (RB), Chris Barker (LB), Damion Stewart (CB), Zesh Rehman (CB), Gareth Ainsworth (RW), Hogan Ephraim (LW), Adam Bolder (CM), Martin Rowlands (CM), Samuele Di Carmine (ST) and Patrick Agyemang (ST).

To the best of my knowledge, Stevenage started in a 4-5-1 with: Carl Muggleton (GK), Eddie Anaclet (RB), Scott Laird (LB), Ronnie Henry (CB), Luke Oliver (CB), Mitchell Cole (RW), Steve Morrison (LW), Gary Mills (DM), Daryl McMahon (CM), John Martin (CM), Anthony Thomas (ST).

The match started slowly and almost at snail’s pace as both teams started to feel each other out. The first notable incident happened in the sixth minute when Damion Stewart allowed a long punt up the pitch to bounce and go over his head. Stevenage's Anthony Thomas latched onto it but it came to nothing.

I was immediately concerned by that as it was poor defending and a little bit of the 'same old' from last season. The alarm bells continued to ring when Stevenage had the ball in the net a minute later. A well worked passing move which resulted in Thomas winning a simple header across goal was tapped in by a Stevenage player, but it was adjudged to have been offside. There were little complaints but it looked like a legitimate goal to me.

From the resulting free-kick, Lee Camp got his first taste of the ball and he punted it towards Gareth Ainsworth on the right wing but it went out of play. On his next one, he found Samuele Di Carmine who got his first taste of 'direct ball' in England. He won his header well and cushioned his header into the direction of Ainsworth. I was slightly irritated by the goal-kicks and had hoped we'd try something different, like passing it out from the back and building up the play. Once or twice Camp's kicking was below par too and it's something that does plague his game from time-to-time. He did look to be in physically in great shape though.

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Stevenage had a couple of other crosses into the box, one when Ainsworth gave away a needless free-kick which Peter Ramage cleared well with and another from a corner which was headed wide. In the tenth minute we got our first real sight of goal. Patrick Agyemang had been working hard up until this point, but mainly in terms of pressing players and chasing them down. He managed to rob Luke Oliver of the ball towards the left wing and proceeded to charge at goal. It looked like he was clean through at one point but Ronnie Henry came across and blocked really well, conceding a corner in the process. Big Dave might have felt he could have done better and he had Di Carmine in support too.

Martin Rowlands took the corner but Muggleton collected easily and set his side off on a counter attack with a quick throw to Cole. He played a delicate through-ball which Zesh Rehman did really well to read and cut out, but then he proceeded to pass the ball right back to Stevenage when it was easier to play in one of our players and we were a little lucky to get away with it.

Suddenly though we began to spring to life and ironically the best football was being played on the same side of the pitch by both teams. While we enjoyed our best moments from the right wing, Stevenage enjoyed their best play down the left wing.

A really nice patient passage of play by the Rs saw passes exchanged between Ramage, Rehman, Di Carmine and Ainsworth before the Wild Thing whipped in a cross to the near post which Di Carmine met really well. It crashed off the woodwork and came back out, much to the Italian's anguish.

In all of about a minute or two, the game suddenly became very open. Stevenage broke at pace on the counter attack and Ramage was not doing enough to stop crosses being whipped into the box. Morrison fired one across which Stewart did well to clear just inside the six-yard box and suddenly we were on the attack again.

Di Carmine picked up the loose ball and fed in Hogan Ephraim who hadn't really been heavily involved until now. He turned Eddie Anaclet inside and out as he strode into the box before slotting neatly into the bottom-right of the goal for 1-0.

It was hard to say whether it was deserved or not, because Stevenage's work on the counter was good. There were times when they broke well from midfield and caused problems for our midfield or defenders by charging straight down the middle and they had already put plenty of balls into the box by now too.

We then had another good passage of play where we passed the ball patiently around the right hand side and eventually it ended up with Martin Rowlands in the middle. He ventured forward before playing one of those all too familiar blind-square-passes, straight to Daryl McMahon who gleefully accepted the invitation to run at Stewart and Rehman before firing his shot wide from just outside the box. It's these elementary mistakes that could prove costly against better opposition.

For the next five minutes we created a couple of chances from corners. Muggleton saved well from an Ainsworth header which resulted in another corner that was cleared at the near post. But as ever, the clearances were the catalyst for Stevenage to counter quickly.

Another surging run through the midfield saw Agyemang foul one of their players. A quick free kick saw our entire team asleep apart from Rehman who did well to cut out a cross inside the six-yard box. It could have gone anywhere though and you could have said that about a few of the cut outs our defenders had to make in the opening half.

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By now Rowlands and Bolder were constantly talking to Stewart and Rehman and Stewpeas seemed to protest his innocence a few times or try to explain what he was attempting to do. It was clear the defence and midfield were positionally a little at sea at times, but full credit should be given to Stevenage who used their 4-5-1 system well.

In the 27th minute Steve Morrison had to be withdrawn due to a knock and was replaced by Iyseden Christie. It was a shame for Morrison who had worked well from a tactical point of view but Christie was much more of a physical presence.

Just two minutes on and he out-muscled Stewart with his back to goal, slotting in Thomas who had a poor effort go wide. A couple of minutes after that Thomas was troubling our defence again; this time turning Rehman and running away from him. Fortunately for us he went for goal when he really should have slotted in Christie who was in a much better shooting position.

Three minutes later Stewart was turned by Thomas yet again after we sloppily conceded possession from a throw but Rehman covered really well and mopped up the danger. Thomas though was by now the pick of the Stevenage players and had put in a really impressive performance. It was annoying to see Stewart and Rehman bullied by two Conference strikers like this. They didn't do any damage but you just felt that if it was higher class opposition, we'd have paid for it by now and at the same time, they were just getting by without doing anything disastrous.

Rehman though had more good work to offer when he cut out a cross by Anaclet who still found a delivery despite being doubled up by Chris Barker and Hogan Ephraim. Anaclet had managed to find himself in many advanced positions and the right back made a series of overlapping runs in the first half resulting in decent crosses.

In the 36th minute there was more worry for the QPR defence. A straight ball over the top look easy enough to deal with but Stewart and Rehman let it bounce and the substitute Christie snuck in between them and onto goal. A nice volley from the edge of the box brought out a good save from Lee Camp.

It was a rocky spell for us and we'd not shown much going forward in this time. In the 42nd minute Gareth Ainsworth tried a volley shot from the right wing after Rowlands found him with a switch pass and then once or twice Ainsworth overdid it as he tried taking on too many players before being easily dispossessed.

The second-half saw 10 new outfield Rs with Lee Camp remaining in goal and Stevenage made no further changes at this point.

Lee Camp (GK), Damien Delaney (DL), Matthew Connolly (DR), Fitz Hall (DC), Simon Walton (DC), Matteo Alberti (RW), Romon Rose (LW), Gavin Mahon (MC), Emmanuel Jorge Ledesma (MC), Angelo Balanta (ST) and Dexter Blackstock (ST).

The half-time break didn't do Stevenage any favours. The realisation that they were up against ten new freshly prepared outfield pros suddenly took its toll and they started the second period as if they'd all suddenly run out of steam. I felt a bit sorry for them actually.

On the other hand, we flew out of the blocks and it was as if all that steam had been transported into Ramone Rose. Within a minute of the restart we were on the attack and Angelo Balanta picked up the ball and fed in Rose on the edge of the box. He cut inside and then drilled a strike in at the near post which beat Muggleton for 2-0.

If all our best work came down the right in the first half, it was all coming down the left in the second. Rose picked up the ball a minute later and sprinted away before crossing well for Dexter Blackstock who saw his header saved.

A few minutes later Matteo Alberti picked up the ball and played an intelligent dinking pass into Blackstock who made a great run. He took the ball down well and squared to Balanta to tap home but Blackstock was flagged offside and the goal was ruled out.

Blackstock looked really lively and sharp. A couple of minutes after that incident he won the ball off a defender and burst through on goal before trying to lay it off for someone to score but there was nobody there and it was cleared.

Gavin Mahon's possession based style seemed to help us build and launch attacks and he often just fed the players who were doing well on the ball.

Five minutes after that, Blackstock was in the thick of it again. This time Emmanuel Jorge Ledesma played a through ball which he raced onto and was blatantly fouled but the referee waved play on. Blackstock got on his feet and still had the ball before winning a corner which Ledesma took well and Damion Delaney miss-hit and would have been a great chance had he connected properly.

It was all QPR at this point and Ledesma was starting to get into the game and was fouled just outside the box when he was about to let fly. From the resulting free-kick he whipped a strike off the bar with Muggleton well beaten.

Stevenage were simply out of steam but the positive approach by the Hoops was also causing them severe problems and we soon added a third when Blackstock took the ball superbly on the chest and cleverly laid the ball down the left into the path of Rose who sprinted onto it and crossed over the Alberti at the back post. The young Italian controlled well and dispatched his chance with a cute finish for 3-0. Photobucket

It looked like this was about to turn into a rout and that would have been unfair on Stevenage but they showed good character and resolve to grab a consolation goal just shortly after. Christie headed home after we failed to cut out a simple cross and as he was left unmarked in the box he had an easy job of beating a frustrated looking Camp.

After their goal the home team made a series of substitutions over the next few minutes and the only noteworthy incident in that time was a foul on Ledesma by Luke Oliver who lunged in. Ledesma went down as if he'd been shot and his scream could be heard all the way back to West London.

The R’s fans sarcastically then proceeded to scream whenever any player went down and shortly after some of the Stevenage fans were doing it too. While Ledesma made a bit of a meal of the tackle, Oliver went in two-footed which is probably why he yelled so loudly. It was a dangerous challenge. The incident seemed to aggravate the home team and they appeared to go after Ledesma who also went down from an accidental elbow and became a bit of a villain for the home support thereafter. The Argentine will need to work on his theatrics a little even if the crime is real because he will be targeted otherwise. To his credit however, he got on with the game and on several occasions looked very slick on the ball. He had the courage to continuously take on players and try and beat them and once or twice he broke from deep in the middle and opened up the play or had enough skill about him in wide areas to skip pass challenges and find the right type of ball to another player.

In the last ten or 15 minutes we took our foot off the gas somewhat and Stevenage enjoyed some good possession and had some decent crosses without really creating anything serious. Ledesma did have one final chance for us when he feigned outside the box to go one way and then went the other before firing just wide with the keeper beaten.

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Reece Crowther came on for Lee Camp in the last five minutes but was never really called into action and we went away with a good work out and a good win in the end.

It's probably too early to say what the future holds, but it looks as though some of the players who are not well known to the QPR masses may be a little further on than we all thought and that's encouraging. But the real question is are they far enough?

I think over the next few pre-season matches we will start to find that out.

First Half
Lee Camp
He made saves when he needed to but his kicking could have been better. The good thing is he's looking in great shape and appears to have lost a little bit of weight and perhaps turned that into muscle.

Peter Ramage
He got better as the half went on but quite often just allowed his man to cross the ball into the box and often across the six-yard area which annoyed me. He needs to work on closing those wingers down and making sure they're turning backwards. In forward positions he was steady on the ball and generally made good use of it with simple passes to those who can do more damage in attacking areas.

Chris Barker
It seemed more like a fitness work out for him rather than looking for a performance. Once or twice he allowed his man too much time on the ball, particularly when he came across into central positions to cover. Didn't really see a great deal of the ball but it wasn't that often on the left hand side and that wasn't his fault.

Zesh Rehman
He made some really good interceptions and read the play quite well, but the tendency to let the ball bounce every now and then or be out muscled or out strengthened still remains. I'd still say he looks much more comfortable at centre half though as opposed to right back. Made some good blocks from crosses and covered Stewart well a couple of times.

Damion Stewart
He worried me with some of his positioning and allowing the ball to bounce before doing anything. I was also surprised at how he got out muscled once or twice when he's quite a strong bloke. Still made some good blocks from crosses though.

Gareth Ainsworth
He just does what he always does and you'll either love him or loathe him for it. He chased and worked hard which you can never fault, but sometimes he tries things that are so obviously not going to come off which is really frustrating. At the same time, in our worst period of the game, at least he was trying to drive it on and that's what makes him such a special character to have in your side.

Hogan Ephraim
He didn't get anywhere near enough of the ball because it wasn't often played down the left. That was a shame because he looked good whenever he got it. He was quick and nippy on the ball and his footwork caused Anaclet problems. Took his goal really well.

Martin Rowlands
It was a bit hit and miss for Martin but he didn't do anything drastically good or bad. It was a good to see him out there though.

Adam Bolder
I thought he did quite well. He was a bit swamped in the middle when Stevenage were running through and he didn't really adopt the defensive midfield role that you thought he might. He got about as usual and stuck in when he could and was continuously talking to everybody around him. A decent shift and I'm really hoping he can find good form. He can still be a useful asset for us because of his tenacity and work rate.

Samuel Di Carmine
He was in and out of the game in patches in the first half, but there were signs that there's a decent player there. He held the ball up well and showed some good touches and technique. I liked the way he won headers and was nice and precise with his cushioned passes from direct balls. Unlucky not to score with a great header.

Patrick Agyemang
Like Di Carmine, he was in and out of the game but he worked really hard in patches. He chased backwards a lot and pressed players all over the pitch from the left and right channels to central positions. A couple of times he almost poached in on goal after pinching the ball. No worries here - it was a typically Agyemang performance.

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Second Half
Lee Camp

There wasn't much to add for his second half performance because he barely had the ball apart from picking it out of the net.

Matthew Connolly
Didn't really get too involved as the defence had it quite easy in the second half. Made one or two surges forward, one with the ball of which he carried on into a central striking position which surprised me.

Damien Delaney
He was a bit sloppy at times. His distribution and timing was a little bit off but nothing to shout home about or be concerned with.

Fitz Hall
Didn't really have much to do at the back. Played one of those switch passes that he does to Ramone Rose, which came off and worked well but generally I find that I don't like it when he does that!

Simon Walton
Like Fitz, he didn't have too much to do but also surged forward and was dribbling around the box on one occasion. Nice to see him back.

Matteo Alberti
When he got the ball, particularly early on in the first half, he looked quite handy but as time wore on, he looked a little suspect defensively and despite having a decent build, a little bit weak in terms of the physicality of English football. He probably needs to adapt but it was a positive start all the tame.

Ramone Rose
The first 20 minutes were fantastic. He roasted Anaclet who was probably glad to see the back of him after he was subbed. He's right-footed though and had to keep checking back in to cross the ball, but he got plenty of crosses in and the majority of the deliveries were of a good standard. He's certainly come on from last season and we may just see him used as a late substitute when the campaign is under way.

Gavin Mahon
He was nice and steady on the ball and mainly kept it simple which helped our flow because the match needed it.

Emmanuel Jorge Ledesma
I really liked what I saw. He's not the finished article and he will need to adapt like the others, but he showed plenty of courage to keep on demanding the ball and running at players or taking them on. Showed good vision at times too with nice threaded passes. It will be interesting to see how we intend to use this guy with Akos Buzsaky and Rowan Vine waiting in the wings.

Dexter Blackstock
He looked really sharp, in great nick and he played superbly too. Led the line really well and showed good first touch, desire, hunger and the football he played was really positive and encouraging. I hope he can maintain this type of form but he looked much more comfortable than I have seen him in ages.

Angelo Balanta
I didn't mention him too much in the report, but he was lively and got on the ball well. His movement was also pretty good, either into the channels or supporting Blackstock and he used the ball well too.

Reece Crowther (on for Lee Camp after 85 minutes)
He didn't have much to do in the five-minutes he was on apart from two catches from crosses which he took well and took clearances from back passes to feet. Both of those were more geared towards his left foot but he used his right instead, which is something he will need to work on in the future.

To visit Neil's excellent QPR blog click here

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