As I walked down South Africa road to the ground someone got out of a WBA coach banging a great big drum. I thought he’d be lucky to get past the stewards and, sure enough, never heard from him again. In fact, apart from the 10 minutes after they scored, never heard their fans singing either. Maybe it was because ours were so loud? Best atmosphere for years- not sure about throwing things at opposition players tho.
I like the rule that the ref can make players walk round the pitch and they’d taken the piss with a few subs already but it was a bit naive of the ref there. For some bizarre reason after 20 minutes where neither Johnstone nor any West Brom player had had any grief from the fans they decided to give it after both goals which I’m all for if you’ve been getting stick but was a bit odd in the circumstances. The crowd were well up for it by the time he went off and I think it wasn’t long after Smyth was blatantly fouled in that corner and the linesman and ref were having a wild 15 minutes of losing the plot entirely and just wanted to go home. But, shouldn’t throw things. We’ll get our fine in the same letter as the latest pointless apology for referring ineptitude. Just tell players to get on with it and book them if they don’t and add the time on in that situation.
For what it's worth, the bits I've seen online seem to suggest the Baggies fans agree with us on the whole. Lucky to come away with a point and should have finished with ten men on the pitch.
Things shouldn't be thrown. But players should get yellow cards for going right up to opposition fans and goading them.
I think if fans give it they have to take it which is usually the case. It’s great when some 20 stone grot is screaming abuse at a player for 89 minutes and is outraged the player has the temerity to celebrate nearby. All a bit pantomime villain and no need for cards. Was just odd as they hadn’t had to take any to suggest he was going to give it back.
Still not quite sure what to feel about that game. I guess most of all I feel that if we play like that in the next 3 games we're going to be more than safe. I've never loved managers who rotate line ups but I think we're seeing the benefits of rotating here front players and keeping a consistent back line. Our pressing was extraordinary throughout the whole game - amazing energy levels. Great to meet @Stroller and @QPR999 before the game and to see @sb_73 again. This was supposed to be my only live game this year but I have a real itch to see more of the Marti Party now.
I didn't post last night as I felt a strange combination of exhaustion, exhilaration, frustration and anger too. Going ahead early was superb and I expected thereafter to see a reasonable combination of defence and attack to both protect and even perhaps build on the lead. Cue very good first goal from Johnston followed by some dismal defending from QPR to gift them a second in less than 2 minutes. Johnston decides to become the bad boy of the show by running over to the Loft and celebrating hard in front of the QPR faithful? Why? Born in Scotland and plays for ROI so perhaps some sort of Celtic warrior thing? The QPR team of last Autumn would have folded at this point. There might have been some effort from Chair with a last ditch gamble on Armstrong but that was then! The team, the whole team, set about putting it right. Beautiful passing and pressure building on WB who understandably sat quite deep. Rare events are savoured all the more because they are, well, rare! As soon as the pen was awarded, my first thought was that I was not clear who the penalty taker was for. Field had the ball, and that seemed reasonable, and then suddenly Frey was the man. I had a sense of foreboding but, in fairness, I always have that when we're awarded a pen. I wish folk would wack it as hard as they can rather than trying to place it. It would then be easier to forgive if saved. Still heads did not drop. The home crowd appreciated both the skill and effort in searching for the equaliser. People rave about Maradonna's undeniable skill. Rightly so too, I suppose. For me, however, a self confessed cheat and his subsequent descent into obesity, drugs and (probably) crime make him an object of contempt rather than admiration. Cue Kipré whose been to the Maradonna school of defending. Hang your head in shame, lad. If you can't play fair, don't play at all! Loftus Road erupts as we hit the woodwork - a very deep 'ough ah' moment only for Field to guide a header down and in probably risking a boot on the bonce in the process. Eruption turns to ballistic jubilation and game on looking for a winner. I know I'm biased but it really was all QPR after that. Steve Cook winds the clock back and winds up a superb overhead kick - spirit of Trevor Sinclair - only to be thwarted by a superb clearance from the head of former Rs Furlong. NB Kipré, he cleared it with his head! Perhaps for Health and Safety, it's better that Cook didn't score as the stand might have collapsed under the weight of celebration! (Not really, much better if he'd scored). I can't blame the ref or lino for not seeing the handball. Whether by design or fortuitous bad luck, his hand was very close to his head and it happened in a fraction of a second. Only VAR would have put that right. The most important thing for me is that finally, the odds have changed and we are now no longer in the bottom three at season's end according to the betting odds. A very good sign indeed. Bring on Boro. This QPR team need fear no one and LR is indeed becoming a fortress once again.
Nice post, mate ............ When you live on the other side of the world, one can appreciate reading post as if we were there, so to speak.
Got the last train back, no way was I leaving that game early, home at about 1:00 a.m. What a great night out. In the last few games we’ve seen so many different sides to this team - from the absolute crap of Stoke, through the barely adequate with Huddersfield and Rotherham to the incredible calm delivery of a game plan last weekend to the controlled passion of last night. I think that last night is the way Marti wants us to play - keeping the ball but moving it fast and with real intent. It was good to see that our response to going behind was immediate, we didn’t do the usual of fannying around until the last ten minutes and then going hung ho. The equaliser was a little late for comfort, but the entire performance was the thing to treasure, along with a tremendous atmosphere. Of course we deserved to win, but I thought West Brom are one of the better teams I’ve seen this season, and after the equaliser they were going for another goal, credit to them. No one where I was sitting, or anywhere else in the ground, spotted the handball clearance, we thought it was a great save, and no players appealed. So I can’t blame the officials for not seeing it and I’d still prefer not to have the endless **** of VAR still making mistakes. It’s football, live with it. With VAR last night I’d probably still be on the way home. Four points from Leicester and West Brom? Yes please. And a great goodbye for Stan.
What I find really heartening about these last two games is that they've given two completely different performances but both equally brilliant. We don't want to get ahead of ourselves but we play like we did last night and there aren't many teams in this division who could live with it. I just hope this team's Jekyll and Hyde nature doesn't resurface. Must admit though things feel very different at the moment, we've got quality and a bit of steel, bloody hell I almost feel confident.
Johnson was well out of order celebrating like he did after his goal. He was provocative after the second too but one of their defenders Pieters??? went in a quietened things down, and pulled the celebrating players away. Very sensible lad. Our fans were out of order throwing a bottle and other things on pitch, and we will be punished as we should. I just hope it is not punative, as we need our 12th man
As an aside, what a fine player Darnell Furlong has turned into, from the scrawny kid thrown under the bus at Palace to how he's playing now and his obvious affection for our club........ a credit to his family.....
Agree, no one appealed, no players, no fans. It took 3 replays to work out what happened. Don’t want VAR, generally, these things equal themselves out. Anyway, if we’d scored a pen and they’d had a player sent off, they’d have sat even deeper and the game would have probably still ended 2-2, probably.
We finally get karma for Marcus Bean at Gillingham. Although we had that one Swansea scored this season already so guess we’re due one.
