Wth two wins and two teams getting the results there should be a much brighter feel to the whole squad now. Plenty of youngsters given a touch of first team football last night. Pros will be giving the youngsters a pat on the back for a good result. A total new feel to training for the weekends game. Let’s hope we can carry things on and get something this weekend to keep our momentum.
Not unlike Beth, when I saw the team sheet, I feared the worst. My brother-in-law decided to pop 30 quid on rovers at 18/5 based on my reaction. A positive start to the game with BOS looking like a genuine threat every time he got on the ball; very pacey and took his goal well. The back 4 looked ok although Bristol did overload the flanks a few times, cover from midfield was lacking on a few occasions. Bristol didn’t offer much threat and Ingram looked comfortable most of the time. Pav took his goal well to the delight of a few in the directors box... thought he did ok in the centre but would have preferred to see him on the right. Chair’s set piece delivery was good and he looks full of energy. Cousins became frustrating as the game wore on, looked off the pace and slow to react at times. Apart from Smith’s goal the strikers put in plenty of effort but Connor looks like he’ll never score again. 2 shots on target, one at the keeper, the other at Matt who was guarding the post for Rovers... Pleasantly surprised at how stress free the match and although Rovers started the second half brightly, the game settled into the pattern of the first half - Rovers played the ball around, neatly at times, but rarely threatening. My group (sons and a couple of friends from Melbourne) enjoyed the experience, even though the standard was not EPL - no **** Sherlock. We had good seats in F block with only the D of the Loft end goal area obscured by the post. My brother in law lost his 30 quid but didn’t grumble all the way home. Danielle from Melbourne predicted 4-1 and was willing a final goal - she has never seen a live football match before. Just saying. She loved it. Good to bump in Beth and Roller at half time...didn’t spot any regulars at the C&S, but enjoyed the evening nonetheless. Sadly I have a wedding in Bristol on saturday at 2pm, so cannot make our away banker.
H He is indeed, no sour grapes. Fair play to Rovers for bringing so many and their vocals. Gave it a bit of atmosphere..
Plus the LFW report: https://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/footb...ines-bright-as-qpr-make-cup-progress-–-report Osayi-Samuel shines Bright as QPR make cup progress – Report Wednesday, 29th Aug 2018 11:25 by Clive Whittingham Another fast start, another cup upset avoided by QPR, with Bright Osayi-Samuel the star in the League Cup second round win against Bristol Rovers at Loftus Road on Tuesday night. In a competition where Queens Park Rangers have frequently been dragged into a lower league street fight and then beaten with experience by teams from Leagues One and Two, Rangers finally appear to have hit upon a solution – get a great big sucker punch in nice and early and then run away. A home draw with Peterborough in round one looked absolutely ripe for an ‘upset’. The Posh had won both their opening league games, and have since won five out of five to top League One. QPR, meanwhile, have started appallingly in the league and fallen out of the League Cup to Carlisle, Rochdale, Port Vale, Swindon and others in recent times. But Luke Freeman and Pawel Wszolek both had the ball in the net in the opening five minutes and the tie was effectively done before it had started – Rangers able to hold their opponents at arm’s length through some nervy second half moments, safe on the cushion of a 2-0 lead. Bristol Rovers have made the opposite start to life in the third tier this season, with one win from their first five, but they were victorious down the road at Fulham in this round of this competition last season and Rangers have certainly fallen to worse sides in similar situations during two decades of cup humiliation. Throw in a team selection even Ian Holloway would have found a bit weird and wonderful – 11 changes to a QPR team for the first time since the war years, Pawel Wszolek picked as a central midfielder, names on the bench to send you scurrying into the darkest corners of the club’s official website looking for clues – and the writing looked to be on the wall.
