Team: Smithies, Perch, Hall (Caulker), Onuoha, Lynch, Henry, Wszolek (Sylla), Shodipo (Washington), Borysiuk, Chery, Polter
Subs Not Used: Ingram, Hamalainen, Gladwin, Luongo
Attendance: 15,048 (including 1,675 Reading fans)
QPR’s win-less home run continued as Danny Williams’ equaliser earned Reading a deserved point.
Polish winger Pawel Wszolek netted his first goal for the Hoops from close range after Olamide Shodipo’s run. The lead was short-lived as Williams steered home Garath McCleary’s cross.
Rangers, who backed manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink on Friday following a Daily Telegraph corruption investigation, have failed to win at Loftus Road since the opening day of the season.
Ariel Borysiuk shot wide and Sebastian Polter’s header was just off target as Rangers threatened either side of half-time.
But the Royals, who had lost just once in nine Championship matches, carried the greater threat in the second-half.
Home keeper Alex Smithies denied Roy Beerens and McCleary, while Yann Kermorgant headed McCleary’s cross wide.
QPR, who have won just once in eight matches, moved up a place to 13
, while Reading are a point outside the play-off places in seventh.
QPR boss Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink: “It’s better to win three and lose one than win one and draw three. We really tried to get the three points.”
“My boys gave everything and we were very positive in our substitutions, and on another day it might have worked.”
“It’s just unfortunate because we started ever so well and for the first 20 minutes we looked the better side and got a deserved goal. But we stopped doing what made us the better side and that is a pity.”
“In the second-half we tried to pick it up again and we did in stages. But it was always going to be a game of not many chances.”
Reading boss Jaap Stam: “I think we should have won it. If you look at the game and how we played, we should have scored a second goal.”
“They tried to make it difficult for us by pressing us high up the pitch, but there was still a lot of space for us.”
“We kept searching for the second goal in the second-half but there was always a threat from QPR, who are a strong side and have physical players.”
“In the second-half, though, with the chances we created, and sometimes should have created, we should have scored and that’s the thing we didn’t do well.”
BBC Sport
It was good to meet up with Alan (Dubliner) with his fellow Dubliners, and also Paddington Paul, in the Crown & Sceptre pre-match. The Dutch R’s were also there (with flag), and thanks to them for picking up some of my Groningen badges.
We were up on our feet after 15 minutes, when Pawel Wszolek took his debut goal following a wonderful ball from Olamide Shodipo. However, the visitors equalised 7 minutes later.
Well done to the club for organising such an array of former players. At half-time out came Les Ferdinand, Andy Sinton, Ian Gillard (President of the newly formed ‘Forever R’s Club’), followed by; Ian Morgan, Phil Parkes, Don Shanks, Peter Hucker, Clive Wilson, Danny Maddix, Kevin Gallen, Martin Rowlands etc, and finally Stanley! Marc Bircham looked behind him and announced that he had been busy collecting autographs!
The Rangers defence was all over the place at times as the visitors regularly played the ball around with ease, sometimes leaving two Reading players in loads of space in dangerous positions!
Going forward we did manage to create some good chances but I have to say that we also lacked at times good movement and co-ordination. We actually ended up with three strikers on the pitch, which proved to be ineffective.
The Man-of-the-Match for me (by a mile), was Alex Smithies, who made some superb saves, stops and three or four times he raced out of his area to either head or kick the ball away.
On one occasion in the second-half, and faced with a 40/60 confrontation, he somehow managed to clear the threat without taking out the Royals’ player.
As for other post-match views, nearly everyone I bumped into were moaning and about our tactics (or the lack of them!)
Steve Russell