A well-worked routine from Rangers forced a save off Daniel Iversen from a Paul Smyth within the first 3 minutes of the game.
The pendulum of play swung back in Stoke’s direction, as a tantalising ball in Asmir Begovic’s penalty area passed through without anyone in position, for what would have been a tap-in finish.
There was plenty of space down Stoke’s left flank for QPR to exploit, but there was a distinct lack of quality in the final ball from wide, crossing positions.
Sinclair Armstrong beautifully held off his man and turned him in the 14th minute of play, but as is so often the case this season, he was harshly penalised for a soft foul. But, any leaning of favouritism towards one side was levelled out by a tolerant approach from the referee towards a delayed corner-routine from Kenneth Paal, which irritated Stoke fans initially, before delighting them as Steve Cook couldn’t convert from a bobbled kick in from Paal.
With both teams struggle for rhythm bearing a sign of the relegation dogfight they respectively find themselves in, clear cut-chances were a prized commodity. A pearl amidst the rubble at the bottom of the deep waters of championship places between 20th – 24th is hard to find, and the best chance of unearthing the much-desired goal for both teams seemed to lie in set-piece opportunities.
There was little difference to separate between the two teams. But it felt like Ilias Chair’s ingenuity could provide QPR with a potential game-changing influence.
A loose back pass from Begovic will have momentarily frayed the nerves of the travelling support for the R’s. And if they were nerved with that lapse of concentration, worst fears were realised when a set-piece did provide a goal-shaped pearl for Stoke. Wouter Burger, the goal-scorer.
The Hoops forced a corner from a well-timed and well-cleared cross from Paal, but the subsequent delivery was a toothless effort. That was the missing piece of the puzzle for QPR – composure with the final pass. Especially, as there build-up play was easy on the eye, at times in the second half, with Stoke dropping deep.
Armstrong had a beauty of a chance from close-range go a-begging, with the referee calling back play to a foul for Rangers, prior to their frontman’s miss. Chair whipped in a pacy cross/shot which was headed away from Iversen’s goalmouth.
QPR pushed for an all-important equaliser, with 8 minutes of added time, filling hope into the chanting and cheering lungs of the away contingent.
A slip at the crucial moment of play, a deflection off Frei for a goal-kick and a well-won corner from Stoke; all halted the opportunities for a final-chance for the Hoops.
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