Team: Brown, Poppitt, Ingham, Clayton, Spence, Smith, Mountford, Gilberg, Addinall, Cameron, Shepherd.
Attendance: 3,799
On this day in 1952, the R’s lost 4-1 to Shrewsbury Town in a FA Cup 1st Round, second replay at Villa Park. The first match had been drawn 2-2 at Loftus Road.
The replay at Gay Meadow was also drawn 2-2 after extra time so the second replay had to be played on a neutral ground.
The match programme was a single sheet with a plain back and the game kicked off at 2pm on Monday 1st December. The venue, kick-off time and the weather conditions were all factors in reducing the attendance to less than 4,000.
The R’s turned out in red shirts with white shorts and the following match report appeared in the Yorkshire Post and Intelligencer the following day:
‘Gallant Shrewsbury who fought back from a 2-0 interval deficit in their first Cup meeting with Queen’s Park Rangers at Shepherd’s Bush, ended their marathon tie by outplaying their rivals at the third attempt and so qualifying to receive Chesterfield in the second round on Saturday.
Shrewsbury were always the livelier and more purposeful attackers on the soft layer of snow which carpeted the Villa Park ground. Reagan, whether an outside left or on the right wing, was a constant threat to a slow moving defence.
Goals by Brown, Jackson and Butler, from a penalty, gave Shrewsbury a commanding position in the first-half and although Rangers improved in the second, their lack of steadiness and tendency to delay passes proved costly.
Fisher increased Shrewsbury’s lead before Smith scored Rangers’ consolation goal.’
As for our league campaign in Division Three (South), Rangers ended the season in 20th position, whilst Shrewsbury finished second from bottom.
Steve Russell
(My thanks to Colin Woodley and Gordon Macey for their assistance)
Those were the days eh? Before my time though. Honest!
Tony Ingham and Bobby Cameron were still playing for the R’s when I first started going five years later in 1957.
Also in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s Ernie Shepherd was around as manager of Southend United and I did see Conway Smith play for Halifax against QPR at Loftus Rd circa 1958.
Young Kerrins are you sure that is not you at the front of the terrace under the Butlers Beer advert holding your teddy bear!?
Even the mere whiff of snow would have cancelled the game these days. A period when footballers and spectators just got on with it.
Memories of the Swindon away game a few years later Young Kerrins.
Aston Villa did not get floodlights installed until 1958 which influenced the kick off time in 1952.
Colin a lot of “top clubs” did not have floodlights installed until the very late 1950’s…Fulham were another.
As far as QPR FC were concerned in that respect we were ahead of the game.
We drew them again in the 1st Round the following season. Won 2-0 at Loftus Road and both goals were scored by William Hurrell.