Bees Sting Rangers in Carabao Cup

Words | Tom Caldon
Queens Park Rangers 1 - 4 Brentford
Furlong 43'                                                                         Borysiuk (og) 10', Egan 19'
                                                                                           Maupay 32', Clarke 83'   

  Carabao Cup  Second Round | Tuesday 22nd August 2017


Photo content belongs to Queens Park Rangers Football Club



 

There's something disconcerting about League Cup football. Interpreting the strength of line-ups in a competition which many managers and boardrooms consider antiquated can be problematic. The financial incentives for clubs to progress are insignificant in comparison with potential FA Cup revenue or the windfall that follows promotion to the Premier League. The manner in which some clubs conceal their lack of League Cup ambition from supporters never feels quite right and highlights the avaricious direction in which the game continues to move.

However, admission prices of ten pounds for an adult and five pounds for a youth ticket at Loftus Road represented excellent value in an historic West London fixture which was recently revived after an eleven-year hiatus, following QPR's return to the Championship in 2015/16.

Far more disturbing than any sense of injustice on the terraces is the scolded silhouette of Grenfell Towers which continues to line the London sky. The reality is harrowing. In the concourse beneath the School End, the breezeblocks are plastered with posters which advertise the forthcoming Game 4 Grenfell to be hosted by Rangers. The proceeds from a game featuring celebrities and retired footballers will be donated to the London Community Foundation in support of families who continue to suffer after the June disaster. 

In a summer when transfer fees have risen astronomically and the relationship between club and supporter seems ever more tenuous, these posters are a timely reminder of football's inherent value; uniting communities through the competitive spirit, cultivating a kind of regional and national pride which transcends politics, and providing a form of escapism in which the masses can invest wholeheartedly.

While Brentford manager Dean Smith selected a side which combined first-teamers with fringe players, only Alex Baptiste remained from the QPR team that defeated Hull City in The Championship three days before. From the first whistle the dichotomy between the cohesive team in stripes and the strangers in hoops was evident.

After ten minutes Jozefzoon deftly poked past the sliding Steven Caulker and sprinted down the right flank. Upon reaching the by-line, the Dutchman fired a low cross towards Neal Maupay. Before it could reach the intended target, Ariel Borysiuk lunged to divert the ball beyond his own keeper and into the bottom right corner.

The consummate pace and dribbling skills of Clarke and Jozefzoon continued to stretch the home defence. The visitors' incisive passing was unstoppable. The pedestrian play and lack of understanding among the home players only made matters worse, culminating in Caulker's incompetent pass towards Alex Baptiste. After intercepting, Maupay fed Clarke whose near post attempt was smartly turned behind by Ingram. Boos echoed from the Ellerslie Road Stand.

Within nine minutes of Brentford's opener, the Bees doubled their lead. Jozefzoon's deep corner was met at the back post by Andreas Bjelland. The Dane's astute header across the box to John Egan was nodded past the helpless Matt Ingram and into the bottom right corner. Egan wheeled away in ecstasy to the dismay of those behind Ingram's goal.

Only thirty-two minutes had elapsed when Brentford raced into a three goal lead. Romaine Sawyers lobbed a pass over the Rangers defence with the outside of his right boot. Maupay sprinted past Baptiste on the edge of the area and fired with his weaker left foot past the motionless Ingram and into the roof of the net, sparking pandemonium in both tiers of the School End.

Even as an objective viewer, it was difficult not to feel some sense of pleasure watching The Hoops - who have been reckless with their abundant wealth in recent seasons - being torn apart by The Bees, whose rank and fortunes have always been comparatively modest. "The Championship is upside down" came the chant from the two thousand travelling fans whose team currently occupy the relegation zone.

From South Africa Road, QPR's home of 100 seasons looks unremarkable. The surrounding tower blocks rise above its monolithic exterior. Once inside however, at the first sign of a Rangers response, an overbearing roar rolls from the half full home sections of Loftus Road, bringing it to life. Its stands encroach and envelop; each a relic from a bygone era.

First, Ryan Manning's long-range effort was clumsily spilled by Luke Daniels. Idrissa Sylla latched onto the loose ball only to have his legs swept away by the diving Daniels. Referee Christopher Sarginson dubiously waved away the penalty claims. The former Scunthorpe keeper's indecision epitomised the ease at which a stopper who is seldom selected can develop ring rust.

Two minutes before half-time, Yeni Ngbakoto crossed invitingly from the right. Darnell Furlong arrived to score a bullet header which his father Paul, who netted fifty-eight times for Rangers, would have been proud to convert. From six-yards the full-back directed the ball past the outstretched right arm of Daniels and into the net. The hosts had momentum.

After the interval, Holloway introduced Luke Freeman, whose probing runs troubled the visitors until Nico Yennaris man-marked the ex-Stevenage midfielder and patrolled the back four. Next, Matt Smith was thrown on to provide a target for QPR's direct passing. His movement towards the petite full-back Ilias Chatzitheodoridis ensured that Smith could regularly head towards goal. Despite the aerial bombardment and a couple of scrambles, the visitors stood firm.

As the Rs flooded forward in desperation, gaps started to appear at the rear. With eighty-two minutes on the clock, substitute Justin Shaibu fed the marauding Clarke. With plenty of time and ample room, Clarke glided through the penalty area and slotted past Ingram into the bottom left corner. Brentford had only secured a place in the third round of the Carabao Cup, but it meant something more.

Fifty years on from QPR chairman Jim Gregory's failed attempts to agree a deal with Brentford owner Jack Dunnett, in which the Hoops would play their home games at Griffin Park and the Bees would cease to exist, Brentford's demolition of their neighbours in Shepherd's Bush felt poignant. A symbol of how far they have come.

The travelling fans' revelry during the final ten minutes seemed to be not only inspired by League Cup victory, rather it was a suspended celebration of the players and supporters who fifty years earlier walked from Brighton to Brentford to raise funds; the people who fiercely protested and saved their football club.

 

Teams (Player Ratings in Bold)
Queens Park Rangers
Ingram - 6, Furlong - 7, Manning - 6, (Freeman 51' - 7), Caulker - 5, (Smith 75' - 6), Baptiste - 6, Borysiuk - 5.5, N'Gbakoto - 6.5, Wszolek - 6, (Mackie 69' - 6), Robinson - 5, Sylla - 6, Chair - 5

Brentford

Daniels - 6, Colin - 7, Bjelland - 7, Jozefzoon - 8.5, Yennaris - 7, Mokotjo - 6.5, (Woods 69' - 6), Egan - 7.5, Sawyers - 8.5, Clarke - 9, Maupay - 8.5, (Shaibu 69' - 7), Chatzitheodoridis  - 8, (Dalsgaard 77' - 6)

Referee: Christopher Sarginson
Attendance: 9,719 (2,218 Away)

Vale Slump Continues In Luton Defeat

Words | Tom Caldon 

Luton Town 2-0 Port Vale
Whitfield (og) 38', Stacey 50'

Sky Bet League Two | Tuesday 12th September 2017



Photo content belongs to Luton Town Football Club

 



So often, momentum is football's most irrepressible force. After relegation from the third tier in 2016/17, Port Vale have experienced a tumultuous start to life in the fourth, failing to register a single point in the five games prior to their encounter with Luton; a sequence which leaves the Staffordshire club bottom of the embryonic League Two table.

 

Kenilworth Road, hosting its first league game under the lights this season, generated an eerie atmosphere. As the site of Luton's 3-0 loss to Swindon three days earlier, the prospect of a home defeat against the league's bottom club rendered its congregation mute and uneasy. The Hatters, in the midst of a three-game winless streak themselves, already have their fans contemplating a season which began with such promise in the 8-2 demolition of Yeovil last month.

 

Approaching the fixture, Port Vale manager Michael Brown was faced with a selection headache which only compounded early fears that the Valiants could be heading towards successive relegations. The ex-Spurs midfielder made three alterations to the team that fell to a 1-0 defeat against Coventry. Sam Hornby replaced the injured Rob Lainton in goal, Tom Anderson deputised for Anthony Kay at the back, while Marcus Harness made way for Anthony de Freitas on the wing.

 

Similarly, Luton manager Nathan Jones had to rebuild his team without captain Scott Cuthbert, whose dismissal against Swindon provoked the Bedfordshire side's capitulation. Glen Rea stepped into defence. Meanwhile, Luke Berry started in midfield at the expense of Olly Lee.

 

In the early stages, the strong winds duped and deceived more than any jinking run or incisive pass. First, Marek Stech's long drop kick from the Kenilworth Road End had Hornby ferociously backpedalling, only to grasp the ball in relief at the Oak Road End. Moments later, as the ball hung in the air above the hallway line, the flailing elbow of James Collins floored Joe Davis. It is unclear whether misjudgement or malice caused the collision. However, the Luton forward escaped without caution.

 

After quarter of an hour, Berry calmly controlled on the right-hand side before directing a floated cross towards the far post. Andrew Shinnie evaded David Worrall only to head embarrassingly wide from six yards. The home side had the better of proceedings, but their ponderous passing and rigid formation lacked the element of surprise. To some extent, both teams lacked the cohesion and confidence required to assert dominance.

 

In a game of little quality, it was befitting that the first goal was scored in calamitous fashion. Once Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu followed his accurate pass into the feet of Danny Hylton, Berry tried to return the ball to the former West Ham midfielder. However, the pass was inadvertently blasted into the bottom left corner by Ben Whitfield. The on-rushing Hornby was powerless to prevent his team falling behind.

 

At the other end, it seemed like any Port Vale equaliser would arrive by good fortune rather than inventive play. However, de Freitas provided brief moments of quality from the left flank. First, his inviting cross was astutely headed away by Alan Sheehan with Tyrone Arnett waiting to pounce. Next, his free-kick from twenty-five yards looked destined for the top corner, only for Stech to leap to his left and impressively catch the curling effort. 

 

The visitors' direct style was ineffective. While Barnett and Tom Pope had the capacity to outmuscle Sheehan and Rea, the gales which wobbled the windows of the executive boxes at this old ground were not conducive to the long ball game. 

 

Immediately after the interval, Vale at last displayed the urgency and tenacity which once characterised their manager's playing career, but it was short lived. Following an ambitious penalty appeal against Jack Stacey's exceedingly physical defending, Gavin Gunning launched a series of throw-ins into the hosts' box; the trajectory of which tormented the Luton defenders.

 

The pressure led to a flashpoint which ultimately decided the outcome of the game. When Rea unconvincingly cleared Gunning's throw from the six-yard box, Alan McCormack dispossessed Worrall and passed into the path of the accelerating Stacey. From his own half, the former Exeter full-back galloped down the right flank before striking on the edge of the area past Hornby and into the top right corner. The visiting keeper misjudged the tortuous flight of Stacey's shot which beat the ex-Burton custodian at his near post, almost as if the conditions had conspired to inflict further misery on the Staffordshire outfit.

 

While the game headed towards a relatively comfortable Luton victory, Stech was intermittently called into action. First, Worrall's cross from underneath the executive boxes was unwittingly headed by Rea towards his own goal. Exhibiting sharp reactions, the Czech stopper tipped over the crossbar. Then, after lackadaisical defending by Dan Potts, Worrall swept the ball towards the bottom left corner. With agility which belied his towering frame, Stech stooped to palm the ball behind.

 

As referee David Webb blew the whistle on Port Vale's sixth consecutive defeat, the Vale Park board of directors are faced with a difficult question: 'Is Michael Brown the right man to preserve the club's one hundred and five year old status as a Football League club?' On this evidence, his days at the helm are numbered.

 

 

Teams (Player Ratings in Bold)

 

Luton Town

 

Stech - 7.5, Stacey - 7.5, Rea - 6, Sheehan - 6.5, Potts - 6, McCormack - 7, Shinnie - 6, (Cornick 84'), Berry - 6.5, Mpanzu - 6, Hylton - 6, Collins - 6, (Lee 90+1'). 

 

Port Vale

 

Hornby - 5, Davis - 6, Smith - 5.5, Anderson - 6, Gunning - 6, Worrall - 6.5, Middleton - 5.5, (Stobbs 73'), Whitfield - 6, de Freitas - 6.5, Barnett - 6, (Turner 62' - 5), Pope - 6

 

 

 

Referee: David Webb

 

Attendance: 7,046