Team: Smithies, Bidwell, Hall, Caulker, Onuoha, Borysiuk, Cousins (Wszolek), Luongo, Chery, Shodipo (Polter), Sylla
Subs Not Used: Ingram, Lynch, Henry, El Khayati, Washington
Attendance: 13,693 (including 1,616 away fans)
To coin old clich√©s…a game of two halves…just another **** ref, and stewards acting the ********!!!
A first-half albeit the last 15 minutes, we looked clueless, without any plan, without any confidence, bullied off the ball and expecting another tonking!
What a difference the break made…often said, all you can ask for is to give your all, well, the players did just that.
Finally some showed some fight, some purpose, and tried at least to play some football on the ground, indeed, we did more than enough to win the game. Some good performances all round, in particular; Wszolek, Caulker and Luongo.
Of late, a lot of criticism has been aimed at both Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and the players, rightly so, this time credit where credit is due.
This side will never be world-beaters, however, they are young, new and learning.
I still have very little faith in JFH, his formations, his choice of players and tendencies for alehouse football.
Another clich√© comes to mind…its still early, only time will tell.
The ref: Did his utter best to destroy the game, biased, blind, destroyed the tempo of the match, just couldn’t get it right! Not good enough to ref a Sunday alehouse game!
The stewards: Apparently ordered the bar staff not to serve beer at half-time in
the South Africa Road at the Newcastle game, when challenged they would not give a reason!
Yesterday, obstructing the exit staircase at half-time and refusing to move out of the way.
Yesterday, getting proper abuse in the Upper Loft from fans during the game. I wonder why?
What is it with these people?
Jimmy Murray
Birmingham City stretched their unbeaten run to five Championship games as they drew at Queen’s Park Rangers.
Both goals came from first-half corners as first Lukas Jutkiewicz headed the visitors in front before an unmarked Steven Caulker levelled for QPR.
Adam Legzdins saved from Tjaronn Chery after the break as QPR failed to win for a fifth game in all competitions, but ended their three-match losing run.
Birmingham, unbeaten away from home so far this term, remain in the top six.
Having gone 28 months without a goal before scoring his stoppage-time winner against Sheffield Wednesday, Jutkiewicz found his second goal in two games to give Blues the lead as he nodded in from close range after Michael Morrison’s header.
He had forced a good save from Alex Smithies early on, as Birmingham – who were without striker Clayton Donaldson through injury – started brightly.
All eleven of QPR’s league goals so far this season have come from set-pieces and the result keeps them 16th in the table.
Both sides pushed for a winner in the second-half, but Idrissa Sylla missed the target for the hosts after his team-mate Nedum Onuoha had blazed well over.
QPR manager Jimmy Floyd Haselbaink: “Our display was very good. We had a setback when they scored, but it didn’t affect us and that was really pleasing to see.”
“In the second-half there was only one team in it and we did very well. Unfortunately for us their keeper made good saves.”
“But I must say I am happy with that performance and we need to put that kind of performance in regularly. If you can make a string of these kind of performances then you will win games and that is what we now need to do.”
Birmingham manager Gary Rowett: “Ryan Shotton lost his man. He apologised to the other lads at half-time. He just switched off for a second and didn’t get tight.”
“We knew QPR, given that they’re under pressure after recent results, might go a little bit more direct and put balls in to make us defend.”
“I felt we were fairly comfortable, and we scored, but it was very disappointing that we then allowed them to get into an area to get a corner and then score.”
“In the second-half we had to weather it a bit, it was a combination of QPR’s desperation to get that win they’re looking for and us being poor.”
BBC Sport
Birmingham came to Loftus Road unbeaten away from home. And they could well have gone in at half-time 2-1 up but for an amazing miss from point-blank range. The ball was fizzed in along the front of the goal-line and somehow the Blues player blazed it well over the bar!
Rangers were much, much better after the break and were creating good chances and winning 50/50 balls, which in turn helped pump up the volume.
Pawel Wszolek got better and better, particularly in the second-half, and with the introduction of Seb Polter after 65 minutes we went 4-4-2.
Idrissa Sylla looked more and more bemused each time that he was penalised by Paul Tierrney for supposedly handball/backing-in offences??? Three times in a short space of time that happened!
Birmingham fell away in the second-half, not saying a lot but better movement and creation from the R’s could well have secured all three points.
Steve Russell