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Season 2014-15
Queen's Park Rangers (a) Premier League


In association 
with NUFC.com

 
Date:
Saturday 16th May 2015, 3pm.

Venue:
Loftus Road

Conditions:
Calamitous

Admission:
£45 to £38 restricted view
(last season n/a)

Programme:
£3

 

Queens Park Rangers

 

Newcastle United

2 - 1

 

Teams

Goals

24 mins A foul well inside the Newcastle half by Clint Hill on Ayoze Perez saw play resume with a free kick, punted forward  by Tim Krul. Emmanuel Riviere then benefited from a fatal hesitation by alleged marker Steven Caulker, who followed the flight of the ball but didn't turn and chase.

United's non-striking striker was onside as he collected the clearance on his left foot around the penalty spot, the ball running a short distance across the box at the Loftus Road End, but too far away for goalkeeper Robert Green to reach. 

Riviere
struck the ball right footed and appeared to dink it right-footed over Green from eight yards at his left hand post. However it later became evident that he'd somehow managed to accidentally deflect the ball into the goal via his (left) standing foot. 

Had that not happened, then it's possible that the onrushing Richard Dunne may have intercepted his effort - or perhaps helped it into the net to increase his record-breaking total of Premier League own goals.  

The "strike" bore some similarity to Andy Cole's effort at Oldham back in November 1993, but hardly warranted the extravagant celebration that followed - taken from the LuaLua family book of acrobatics. Still, they all count. 1-0


flipping marvellous? - nowt else was....

Half time: Rs 0 Magpies 1

54
 mins A classic counter-attacking move began with Moussa Sissoko's low centre from the United right reaching Remy Cabella at the near post. His effort towards goal was blocked by substitute goalkeeper Alex McCarthy and bounced into the path of Leroy Fer, who hastily cleared upfield.

Although dropping just outside the R's box, momentum took the ball past a stumbling Jack Colback and into the path of Matt Philips, who drove forward over halfway. Pursued by Ryan Taylor - who stopped to appeal for offside when a pass was played out to Charlie Austin on the right flank - Phillips continued his forward run.

Austin twisted and turned on the right hand edge of the area and turned Jonas Gutierrez inside out before sending over a tempting centre towards the back post. With Paul Dummett lingering towards his own goal and playing two home players onside, Phillips converted a simple four yard header, barely leaving the ground to beat a stranded Daryl Janmaat in the process
1-1

61 mins
Another home attack was stopped by Sissoko's intervention in the right back slot and his pass back to Krul was cleared first time. However the kick lacked power and dropped midway in the United half, with Phillips sliding in to beat Taylor to the loose ball.

That placed the ball at the feet of Fer and after taking a touch he unleashed a right-footed 25 yard pile-driver that flew into Krul's net, Fabricio Coloccini crucially turning his back as it passed him
1-2

Full time: Rs 2 Magpies 1

We Said


 

John Carver:

"I'm not so sure about 'bottled it'. We had a 10-minute mad spell in the game. In the first half we were in control not under any threat, but then we shot ourselves in the foot again in that 10 minutes after half-time. It was in our hands today and we could have put it to bed today.

"I thought for a spell when the first goal went in one or two dropped their heads. Then he
(Leroy Fer) hit a raker. I was thinking about changes just before they scored.

"I thought the way they changed their system, the two wide guys came in narrower, and they kept on playing it to the front men. Our two wide guys Cabella and Perez were too high.

"We dealt with that in the first half but in the second half QPR kept on picking up second balls and it was difficult in the midfield to win the ball, so we were talking about changing it.

"We had a plan to bring Cisse on at half-time but because we were winning there was no need to do that. We came again, made changes and had good chances from Dummett and Cisse.

"It could have been a Clint Hill handball but we don’t get them. We didn't give up on it, we had a go and I can't fault the lads for their effort again in a hot, warm climate. They were hot conditions and we kept going and going and going, but it wasn't good enough.

"This
(Sunday) is now the biggest game this football club has had for a long, long time. One of the biggest in the club’s history. 

"I want the same atmosphere as against West Bromwich Albion a fortnight ago because it could be the fans who get us across the line and keep us in the Premier League. They were in full voice against West Brom and it made a difference.

A lot of people will say: ‘Why should they?’ Because they want this team in the Premier League. If it gives us that extra five or 10%, then great. We’ll have our postmortem after that once we have stayed up.

"Let’s not forget it’s a huge football club and you have to have that personality to deal with wearing the shirt. But only time will tell. At least it’s still in our hands, and if they want it enough, they can do something about it.

"I saw, against West Brom after the players had had their post-mortem and I had had mine, there was a good reaction. We need that same reaction next week. We have to manage the situation. 

"I’ll try and keep the players away from any press, television or online this week, try and keep it as low key as we can, and focus on the game.”

They Said

 

Chris Ramsey said:

"We’ve had a lot of good support from the fans who have been very loyal in what they’ve done. Last week we didn’t perform in a way that befits a club of this stature, and the travelling fans were embarrassed away from home at Man City. 

"We gave away another sloppy goal, but the players came back in the second-half and really put it in for the fans and the owners on our last home game. 

"It was really important for us to finish well here and show that next season we’re hoping to redress the situation and make sure that the club is on an even keel and also trying its best to get back to this division.

"There was no screaming and shouting at half-time, sometimes the players themselves dig deep and they realised that we didn’t want to go away from here after being relegated with an even worse taste in our mouths. We wanted to make sure people have positive feelings across the summer.

"All managers know what it’s like when things don’t go well - John Carver’s a good man and I’m sure he’ll get his troops back for the battle to stay up next week.”


 

Stats


Carver in charge: Played 18, Lost 13, Drawn 3, Won 2 (scored 15, conceded 35)

The defeat makes it ten consecutive games without victory, matching a barren sequence between February and May 2009 that contributed to our relegation.

Only once in 21 seasons of Premier League football have Newcastle won their final away game - that solitary success was at QPR in May 2013, a 2-1 victory.

The final away game of another rotten season sees United ending with a haul of just 13 points from 19 games (3 wins, 4 draws, 12 defeats). That's the second lowest total in our Premier League history, equaling the 2012/13 tally and just one more than the 12 recorded in 2008/09. 


Maximum points came at Spurs, West Brom and Hull while points were gathered from
draws at
Villa, Swansea, Burnley and Palace. Just three clean sheets were recorded (Villa, West Brom, Hull).

A return of just 14 Premier League goals on the road this season is the lowest total since
the
13 scored in 1997/98. Papiss Cisse scored five of those, Ayoze Perez weighed in with three, Sammy Ameobi two and Fabricio Coloccini, Yoan Gouffran, Remy Cabella & Emmanuel Riviere got one each.

Emmanuel Riviere scored his first Premier League goal, becoming the 121st Magpie to do so. It came on his 23rd PL
outing and after 1,083 minutes. That goal meant United ended a goal drought away from SJP that stood at 522 minutes since Papiss Cisse headed in at Palace in February.

Riviere is either the 20th or the 21st French player to score in the PL for
us, after: David Ginola, Stephane Guivarc'h, Laurent Charvet, Louis Saha, Didier Domi, Alain Goma, Laurent Robert, Olivier Bernard, Charles N'Zogbia, Antoine Sibierski, Hatem Ben Arfa, Yohan Cabaye, Gabriel Obertan, Sylvain Marveaux, Moussa Sissoko, Yoan Gouffran, Loic Remy, Mathieu Debuchy and Remy Cabella. 

(Depending on your methodology, the 21st is French-born Demba Ba, who represented Senegal).

The R's recorded victory over United for the first time in ten attempts, since Les Ferdinand's brace helped them to a 3-0 win at Loftus Road back in February 1995. Les was present today, in his role as QPR's Director of Football.


Mags v R's @ the Bush - all-time:

2014/15 lost 1-2 Riviere
2012/13 won 2-1 Ben Arfa (pen), Gouffran
2011/12 drew 0-0
2009/10 won 1-0 Lovenkrands
1995/96 won 3-2 Ferdinand 2, Gillespie
1994/95 lost 0-3
1993/94 won 2-1 Clark, Beardsley
1988/89 lost 0-3
1987/88 drew 1-1 P.Jackson
1986/87 lost 1-2 Goddard
1985/86 lost 1-3 Gascoigne
1984/85 drew 5-5 Waddle 3, Wharton, McDonald
1982/83 lost 0-2
1981/82 lost 0-3
1980/81 won 2-1 Hibbitt, Boam
1979/80 lost 1-2 Ferguson
1977/78 won 1-0 Robinson
1976/77 won 2-1 Barrowclough, Nattrass
1975/76 drew 0-0 (FAC)
1975/76 lost 0-1
1975/76 won 3-1 Macdonald, Burns, Nulty (LC)
1974/75 won 2-1 Tudor, Burns
1974/75 won 4-0 Macdonald 3, Tudor (LC)
1973/74 lost 2-3 Moncur, McDermott
1968/69 drew 1-1 Foggon

Full record v QPR:

  P W D L F A
SJP 22 12 3 7 31 29
LR 22 8 4 10 28 38
League 44 20 7 17 59 67
SJP(FA) 1 1 0 0 2 1
LR 1 0 1 0 0 0
SJP(LC) 0 0 0 0 0 0
LR 2 2 0 0 7 1
Cup 4 3 1 0 9 2
Tot 48 23 8 17 68 69

   

Waffle


 


Newcastle matched their worst-ever Premier League run of ten games without a win on Saturday, as yet another opportunity to save their own miserable skins was wasted.

Hull City's defeat at White Hart Lane the same afternoon meant that United needed only to turn their half time advantage into a full time victory in order to send the Tigers down. Breaking an eight hour scoring duck on the road thanks to a decidedly fortunate strike, the signs looked good against an already-relegated side who were booed off by a discontented home support at the interval. 

Playing on a ground where they'd won their last four matches and facing a side winless in any of their last ten home games since December, what was described by John Carver as a "mad ten minutes" saw hopes of victory spectacularly dashed however.

Minutes John? months, surely?

United were once again found lacking discipline, endeavour and talent, utterly powerless to help themselves once falling behind to the only side in the division who were more woefully out of form and shipped six goals without reply in their previous outing.

Their apparently meek acceptance of our fate is possibly the worst thing - apart from the glaring lack of talent on show - and with one game left, it's still in our own hands. Unfortunately....

A spectacular Leroy Fer strike ultimately gave the home side the win but Newcastle were fortunate to take a 24th minute lead when Riviere slipped and struck the ball off his standing foot to register his first Premier League goal of the season.


Ex-Magpie Joey Barton then dealt a knockout blow to his own goalkeeper Green when accidentally kneeing him in the head, causing him to leave the field after just 34 minutes - surely another small event in our favour, given that former Reading 'keeper Alex McCarthy had played just twice for his latest club and conceded three goals in each game? 

No, we barely went near his goal all afternoon. Typical.

Fabricio Coloccini did give McCarthy the chance to save just before half-time when he should have headed home from point blank range after Daryl Janmaat's shot had deflected into his path, but 

The break gave Rangers a chance to regroup while the Magpies emerged in a state of confusion - not knowing whether to stick or twist after enjoying the all-too-rare luxury of an interval lead.

United were given a warning when QPR - who had made their final two substitutions at the interval - almost scored in the 47th minute but Matt Phillips's effort at the far post was somehow deflected wide by a well-timed block from Jonas Gutierrez.

Charlie Austin then went close but Carver's side failed to heed the warning and allowed Phillips to level, converting an Austin cross with a close range header. And worse was to follow just seven minutes later when Fer's rocket beat Krul all ends up

That induced the familiar panic that has seen us tailspin into our current predicament, Papiss Cisse and Rolando Aarons replacing Riviere and Ryan Taylor - the latter whose set piece delivery was again lamentable, but who retained his place due to the apparent untrustworthiness of Mehdi Abeid. 

Only Carver will know why Vurnon Anita was relegated back to the bench after what for him was a reasonable display against West Bromwich Albion, while the pathetic Remy Cabella made way for Sammy Ameobi, who wasn't much better and struggled with the confines of the Loftus Road pitch.
 
There were chances to salvage what would still have been a precious point, Hill clearly manhandling Cabella to the ground and then legally deflecting Cisse's goalbound effort over the bar. As has so often been the case though, we failed to build up a head of steam and force something to break - Rangers seeing out the game with little effort and looking as likely to add a third as concede.

And the day had a fitting conclusion when Cisse lined up a free-kick in a great position during added time, only to harmlessly chip the ball into McCarthy's arms. That final chance to prevent a sixth successive away defeat sets up a nervy last against West Ham at St. James' Park next Sunday.

Anything other than a win would allow Hull to catch us by beating Manchester United, although two defeats for the mackems at Arsenal (in their game in hand on Wednesday) and Chelsea could still mean a point would see us safe, should our current inferior goal difference of five be expunged.

With Villa and Leicester now assured of their top-flight status for another season, it comes down to a three-way survival battle on the last day of the season between us, the mackems and Hull. 

Sound familiar? It didn't end well in 2009, when a single goal loss at Villa took us down, one point behind Hull (who lost 0-1 at home) and two behind the mackems (beaten 2-3 at home to Chelsea).

The Red Devils return to Humberside on Sunday looking to make it eight wins out of eight against the Tigers in the Premier League. In a fifteen year managerial career meanwhile, the Old Trafford old  boy in charge of Hull has never beaten his old side. Yet.

It was a home loss to West Ham that relegated us in 1989 and Big Sam would like nothing more than to repeat that feat on his former employers, in what may yet be his final game in charge of the Hammers. Kevin Nolan may also have something of a grudge against the current administration....

 

This miserable loss at Loftus Road joins our playoff reverse in 1990, FA Cup Final defeat by Arsenal eight years later and a disastrous home loss to Fulham in 2009 in making May 16th a definite date to forget. And by the way, this Sunday's (May 24th) anniversary is Villa away in 2009, 0-1. Gulp.

After repeated disappointments of this season it all comes down to the final day, when we'll rely on the (non) performance of two more local lads to save us - Steve Bruce and Steve Harper. The evidence of our own eyes suggests there's not a single reason to believe we'll beat West Ham.

Biffa


Page last updated 16 May, 2017