Lloydy i Chesterfield - del 1
"For not the first or last time in the match we failed to defend the far post and a whipped cross was headed in from a couple of yards out to put Chesterfield in front"
Vår käre ambassadör drog till Chesterfield och genomled ytterligare en bortaförlust. Här kommer Lloydys rapport från matchen och lite tankar kring läget i laget just nu. Då rapporten är för lång för att kunna rymmas inom en artikels storlek så har redaktionen delat upp den!
Kevin Hastings and myself set off in good time for Chesterfield, not a difficult ground to get to, 125 miles north of Aylesbury. The weather was poor, plenty of rain and so the drive up wasn't the most fun. We arrived in good time though and met up with some of the local QPR fans in one of the pubs in town.
It stopped raining and the sun came out so we made the short walk to the ground, the break in the weather was however not to last. By kick off there was horizontal rain coming straight into our faces blown by strong winds, added to the Chesterfield away terrace having no roof we were soon pretty soaked. The tannoy system was bad and only worsened by what must be the, most useless and ineffective floodlights in the league.
Talking of useless and ineffective, well we all know what the final result was but I'll take you through what happened and where I think the Rs are going wrong at the moment. A number of you asked about Cureton but no he didn't play, I am not sure if his registration when through in time and in any event he hasn't played first team football for some time.
The team lined up in the usual 4-4-2 formation, with Gallen playing at left midfield, Forbes taking Dan's place at centreback and Matty Rose filling in at right back. A fit again Tony Thorpe was upfront with Furlong. I have said on a number of occasions I do not want to see Gallen, our top scorer, played in midfield and nothing I saw today has altered that opinion. Not only was he playing in midfield he was also on the left, it is though a testament to the quality player that he is that he took what he was asked to do and performed the job for which he was assigned as well as could have been expected of him.
Chesterfield won the toss and gave us the advantage of the strong wind in the first half, a decision that was to pay benefits for them later in the match. We did though have a dream start as 13 minutes in Bircham stopped the ball with his.err...nuts.and Rowlands picked the ball up and played the absolute perfect through ball for Tony Thorpe who dummied the keeper, went round him and finished expertly from a tight angle.
It was only a shame that Rowlands was to be at fault for two of the Chesterfield goals. He has a tendency to over elaborate and be too clever, which he can get away with at home but on the road it can work against the team. This time we were to pay with the equalizer. QPR had poured forward with Rose overlapping Rowlands, Rowly then rather than crossing took on one player too many, Chesterfield broke and Glynn Hurst beat both Terrell Forbes and Gino for pace his cross shot hit the post and Jamie McMaster (a promising youngster on loan from Leeds United) smashed a shot in off the post having run the length of the pitch with the rest of the team still struggling to get back.
Just as it looked like the match would go to half time at 1-1 Thorpe had a great opportunity to put us ahead. Following a melee in the box he had a clear shooting chance but decided to take a second touch and slid the ball agonisingly inches past the post from 6 yards. Half time came and went with the rain and wind still directly in our faces and Chesterfield were to make the most of the advantage of it.
For not the first or last time in the match we failed to defend the far post and a whipped cross was headed in from a couple of yards out to put Chesterfield in front. At this point I really felt that we were unlikely to get back into the match but I was proved wrong by Steve Palmer. The ball was played back to him and from 25 yards out he swerved in a brilliant shot that expertly evaded the defenders and keepers in his path. Whatever anyone may say about him, he has clearly warranted his place in the side this season, he has scored some crucial goals and brings a cool head to the team.
Läs fortsättningen av rapporten här!
