FA Cup 3rd round V Blackburn

Discussion in 'Queens Park Rangers' started by Maczebus, Jan 9, 2011.

  1. Maczebus

    Maczebus Member

    Jun 15, 2002
    Couldn't see an existing thread so thought I'd throw one out there.

    I went to this as it was a short hop over the Pennines, and only £15 a ticket. I dragged my brother along too.
    This was probably my 4th or 5th time of visiting Ewood Park, and I have to say it's probably the coldest place on the face of the planet. Football grounds have a tendency to be slightly chilly in the period between October and April, but hell Ewood must have refrigeration units at full blast.

    Anyway, to the game.
    Really nothing special from either side. I'm sure they were resting/missing some players (though who, I couldn't tell you - still had that twat Diouf playing though) - however we were missing most of our influencial guys. No Fitz, Taarabt, Ephraim, Rowlands etc.

    I'm not going to break it down to the minutiae of the game because the game isn't worthy of it.
    At the start of the game however we were being opened up by some long passes down our left. And I started to have major doubts about getting anything from this match when they had 3 headers at almost point blank range in quick succession. Paddy was however on good form and tipped each one of them away magnificently.
    Our chances didn't arrive all that ofen. We did pressure, but the pressure all too often seemed to stop at the edge of the box. On a number of occasions when it seemed a shot at goal would be the better option, we'd pass it across to someone else on the edge of the box, then ultimately lose possession.
    That said, we came very close on 3 major occasions. Mackie (I think) had his effort cleared off the line mid way through the first half. Then a wonderful drilled free kick from new-boy Moen was tipped onto the bar by their keeper.
    Then right at the end (85 mins or so), after a bit of extended pressure from us, Gorkss' header from a corner hit the top of the bar.
    Oh yeah, and a few mins before that, Blackburn scored after a bit of a penalty area mess, nicely placed though.

    And that's about it.
    Pros: Bruno came on a played a blinder, nippy little chap and puts in a huge amount of effort. He had us all on his side.
    Showed we weren't overawed by a team playing in the division above us and showed also that even with a much weakened side, we can easily hold our own against supposedly 'better' sides. That said, the finishing from Blackburn was woeful - if they'd have got half their attempts on target we'd have easily lost by more. On that showing I simply cannot fathom how Blackburn manage to beat anyone.

    Cons: The awful injuries to Mackie and the Blackburn player. As soon as it happened you could tell it was a bad one. Looks like Mackie will be out for the rest of the season, which is a big blow.
    Leon 'waste of space' Clarke - it was utterly unbelievable that he was on the pitch for a whole match. Big and powerful but a crap touch, slow and generally didn't seem to have the urge to go for balls that weren't within 6 feet of him. He had no fans in our bit and hilariously this old guy sat behind me wanted his blood.

    Overall, I'd have to say it was probably a fair enough result. Fairly close match but Blackburn had more possession, more chances and more clear cut chances.
    Not too unhappy really as it means we can concentrate on the league.
     

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