In 1967 Mike Keen captained QPR to the League Cup trophy in dramatic circumstances after we came from two goals down to beat West Bromwich Albion 3-2. What a way to remember the man by matching that feat with a really good win here today.
I have to say that I was amused when we went 2-0 down because I saw a guy in the Lower Loft get up and leave. I thought it was a bit premature of him as I watched him wave goodbye to those around him and couldn’t but help chuckle to myself at the end as I remembered. Why do people leave matches early? I just couldn’t do it, whatever the score or performance.
Anyway – we played some good football here and were unlucky to be one goal down let alone two, but we were punished for individual errors and poor decision making. We did a great job of brushing ourselves down and getting on with it though, which was good to see because at times we have looked sorry for ourselves this season.
There was a good balance about the side, both in defence and attack and we used the ball particularly well from the defensive areas. Matthew Connolly was excellent going forward and when he came inside he always caused Sheffield Wednesday problems with the choice of passes or runs he made.
I liked how we focused a lot of our play in central areas and this allowed us to work the Wednesday back line and we created several dangerous situations for them with clever through balls or angled deliveries over the top of their defence for our players to run onto. The support play from the midfield was also much better too with the players joining the strikers or running beyond them intelligently.
And how great is it to see Rowan Vine back and on the score sheet. That will have done his confidence the world of good and is an important boost that he needs as he continues his progress. I liked what I saw of him and Heidar Helguson in the side at the same time and think that could be a very interesting partnership providing we play with midfielders that are allowed to and willing to bomb on and bet beyond them. If we can combine that with some fast and fluid counter attacking football we’ll be very difficult for teams to deal with.
The majority of the players had good games today. I still think we need to work on Wayne Routledge mind and feel he’s been a bit of a peripheral figure since he joined. Some of that is through no fault of his own as the service he’s been getting hasn’t been up to scratch, but equally he’s not performed in the way I had expected when he has had the opportunity to show what he’s got. Today I saw the first proper glimpses of what I expected to see and that was his part in Vine’s goal. The way he raced with intent onto the ball with a determination to get there and burst away once in control. On this occasion he pretty much made the goal himself, but we need to find a way to get him into those sorts of positions more often so that he can do this type of damage.
With Lee Cook, he still needs to just play, play and play some more. I don’t think he will hit top form this season but as I’ve always maintained, even if he hasn’t quite got the same engine or strength at the moment, he can still cross a ball and with great quality and he delivered two beautiful balls that got us goals today. I really hope he gets a good pre-season under his belt to give him that extra bit of sharpness because that’s all he really needs. Until then, it’s just a patient waiting game and letting him get as many matches as possible.
Overall a good performance, a great comeback and an excellent three points. It was a win and performance that was needed in what has been a bit of an unsteady period for the club. It’s about time we let the football do the talking and although there’s still a lot of room for improvement, if we play like this every week then we won’t be complaining about too much else.
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