City produced a flat performance this afternoon against QPR, our poorest effort in four months, but we escaped with a point thanks to the best two players on display, Folan and Turner.
The first half was dire. We weren't as vibrant as we have been of late. QPR, to their credit, did as good a job on us as anyone has this year. They pressed the ball; they denied us any space in the middle and forced our defenders to play the ball long, where Stewart and Hall won everything in the air. We lacked decent movement off the ball so whoever had possession was forced to put the ball in the air or give the ball to someone else who was under immediate pressure. There were times when we could have been braver and tried to beat a man or to play a more difficult pass but most of the time, the passer was stuck for options. We rarely found any width. Richard Garcia was up against Delaney and we couldn't find him. Every ball was played to him in the air which played into Delaney's hands. It was like watching the games we played against Steve Wilson after he'd left. We'd watched him struggle with crosses for the best part of 10 years and then when he came back, we didn't put any in. Today, we faced a guy who's great in the air, but a carthorse of a full-back and it took 91 minutes for someone to run at him.
QPR scored after about 15 minutes. Delaney won possession with his hand and they broke away, Ephraim slid a great ball across the box, Wayne Brown made a mess of it but was rescued by a great save from Bo Myhill. One of theirs followed up and knocked it against the post, it rolled back out and Dawson cleared, at which point, the lino flagged for a goal. I didn't think it was in when I saw it live and having seen it at half time on the telly, I still didn't think so. They probably deserved a lead. We never looked like equalising before half time. Fraizer Campbell had a decent penalty shout but he got straight back up and tried to score. Either he didn't think it was a foul, or he was very naïve but creditably honest. An Andy Dawson free-kick that was easily tipped over was our only other effort. Phil Brown isn't a reactionary manager, he doesn't tend to make rash substitutions but today, I wanted to see him make at least two. We were really poor in the first half and I would've liked to see Folan and Hughes on at half time.
Browny didn't make the changes, he stuck with the guys who started and who it has to be said, are the guys who've done brilliantly as of late. We had a lot of the ball in the second half. QPR didn't threaten at all but seemed happy to let us have the ball. They would've grown happier by the minute as we wasted possession time and again, either through sloppy, panicky passes or long balls aiming for Windass, whose head shone like beacon, a broken beacon. They continued to press our defenders, resulting in a number of back passes to Boaz that surely breaks some sort of Commonwealth record. Hughes replaced Garcia, who looked like he'd hurt his shoulder and started to give us a bit more composure on the ball and then Folan replaced Pedersen as we switched to 4-3-3. Folan changed the game, he started to win headers, he chased down defenders and he got in front of them to receive the ball. He was a real target. Hughes moved inside to make up the three and, importantly, Sam Ricketts started to get forward. We finally put them under real pressure, winning free-kicks and corners and creating one or two half chances. We controlled the last 20, we still didn't show a lot of quality on the ball, but we looked capable of winning the ball up front and doing something with it. With 90 on the clock, Folan received a ball from Campbell, skinned Delaney and whipped a great ball across that Turner, emergency striker, tapped in. It was a deserved equaliser because QPR hadn't done anywhere near enough to deserve three points. They didn't even score! It nearly got better as Folan won a great knock down from Fagan's cross and Campbell swiveled and volleyed straight at the 'keeper. It should have been three points, deserved or not.
Turner was my man of the match. He was a rock at the back and he scored a potentially priceless goal. Myhill had a nervy moment, but generally did OK. You could hear his calls from the stand and he made solid stops when necessary. Andy Dawson was very quiet. He looked uncomfortable in possession and rarely got forward. Ricketts grew as the game went on. He looked unsure at the start, up against the tricky Ephraim, but his opponent disappeared out of the game and Sam grew as an attacking force. He struggled to get past Delaney though, mainly because there was very little link up play so we were still trying to put the ball over Delaney's head. Wayne Brown shouldn't have been out there today. He wasn't at the races. His distribution was rotten and he looked sluggish. He made poor decisions and we were lucky that QPR had little quality going forward. He had to play because we've left ourselves desperately short but he really shouldn't be out there. I've not been a fan of Delaney since we hit this level of football, he's not good enough consistently but it was hard today to see him on the other side when Wayne Brown is clearly unfit and the alternatives are Walton and Doyle.
Marney and Ashbee were pretty much anonymous. They couldn't get into the game when we were in possession and QPR's midfield didn't have a lot of the ball either, so they spent most of the time tracking wide players or getting the ball off the defence and passing it straight back. Ash was sloppy as anyone when he did have the ball. Marney tried to get into the game but struggled. Most disappointing was that he didn't pick up the 'second ball' as he has been doing between their 'D' and the half way line. As a team, we were garbage at picking up the balls headed out by their centre backs. Marney saw little of the ball in their half which cut the supply line to Garcia and Pedersen. Pedersen was the better of the two but both were average. Garcia's first decent touch came in the second half and led to him being clobbered and injured. Pedersen made a couple of runs in the first half but lacked quality on the ball. He won nothing in the air either.
Windass hasn't shown a lot of quality in recent games but he's taken a lot of knocks, occupied defenders and created space for our forwards. He's tired defenders and then made way for Folan to terrorize. Today, for the first time in about 14 years, I thought Windass was useless. He didn't win a thing in the air and he lacked quality on the floor. QPR's defenders won't have had an easier half all season. When Folan came on, he gave them a problem in the air but he was also a mobile target, he came short, he pulled wide and the ball stuck to him. I'm not sure what the guy has to do to start. He should certainly have replaced Windass at half time. Campbell was quiet, there wasn't a lot of space in behind their defence or any real service so he ran around chasing scraps for the most part. He was lively in the box and had 4 fair chances including two late on that he should have converted. His finishing, so often his strength let him down today. Fagan replace Windass late on and gave us a decent option down the left and played a couple of decent balls in.
On the whole, it was a disappointing afternoon. We've been spoilt lately, granted, but today was a big opportunity for us and we didn't take it, we were nervy and spark-less. What we did do, was show incredible strength of character and a refusal to lose the game. We had a fantastic bench today, which was always going to give us a chance. It was a vital equalising goal because it keeps our destiny in our own hands, albeit on goal difference. We must have a good week now because after Stoke play Bristol next week, their final pair of games are easy. We've had very few poor performances in the last few months, but when we have been poor, we've bounced back quickly. Here's to doing the same on Tuesday. We cannot afford another poor performance this season; that is for certain.
Ratings: Myhill 6, Ricketts 6, Dawson 6, Turner 7, Brown 5, Garcia 5 (Hughes), Pedersen 5 (Folan), Ashbee 5, Marney 6, Windass 4 (Fagan), Campbell 6.