Crystal Palace v QPR: Premier League – as it happened
|
http://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2015/mar/14/crystal-palace-v-qpr-premier-league-live Version 0 of 1. 2.39pm GMT14:39 FULL TIME: Crystal Palace 3-1 Queens Park Rangers And that’s that. Glad All Over pumps from the PA system. Palace can touch Premier League safety now. Rangers are still in a lot of relegation bother. Palace were worthy winners, much the better team. Though it’s that Matt Phillips wonder strike that everyone will remember. That’s the beauty of football for you, right there. 2.37pm GMT14:37 90 min +5: But nothing comes from it, other than a game of head tennis. One last chance to load the box, though, as Ward handles an Austin pass down the wing. But Speroni catches the set piece safely enough. 2.36pm GMT14:36 90 min +4: A long hoof forward by QPR, and Ward clumsily heads behind to the left of goal for a Rangers corner. 2.35pm GMT14:35 90 min +3: Grego-Cox tries to skin Kelly on the outside along the right, but the big full back isn’t having it. 2.34pm GMT14:34 90 min +2: More faffing. Palace are back on an even keel after rocking awhile back there. 2.34pm GMT14:34 90 min +1: Palace happy to run the clock down with some aimless forward hoofing. You can’t blame them after the shock of that Phillips super-strike. 2.33pm GMT14:33 90 min: Henry, to the left of the Palace box, loops a pass back for Kranjcar, who chests down and scores three rugby points. No Phillips he. The board goes up, and there will be five added minutes. 2.31pm GMT14:31 88 min: Another free kick for QPR. It’s 40 yards out. Phillips Range! The ball’s tapped to the right for Phillips, who is clearly in the mood. He lashes one towards the top right, forcing Speroni to tip round the post! This really is an astonishing shooting performance. The corner, sadly for Phillips and his team-mates, comes to naught. 2.30pm GMT14:30 86 min: The QPR fans have been fantastic this afternoon. Their latest number is worth reporting. “How shit must you be? We’ve scored away.” You can even forgive the appropriation of the tedious Sloop John B for that one. 2.28pm GMT14:28 85 min: And now a free kick for QPR on the right. Before it’s taken, a double change by QPR, who might as well go for it. Wright-Phillips and Sandro off, Kranjcar and Grego-Cox on. Taarabt wastes the set piece. 2.26pm GMT14:26 WHAT A GOAL! Crystal Palace 3-1 QPR (Phillips 83) This is astonishing. Astonishing. Phillips, on the halfway line, to the left of the centre circle, takes a touch inside. Another nudge of the ball. He’s just out of the centre circle, and cocks his leg to shoot. He’s not going for it, is he? He is, you know! And he sends a heatseeker into the top left! Speroni had no chance! That was a good 45 yards out! The goal of the season? It won’t be far away! Updated at 2.39pm GMT 2.23pm GMT14:23 80 min: Murray makes way for Sanogo. 2.22pm GMT14:22 79 min: QPR fans, to their eternal credit, are making the most noise. Gallows humour is their friend. They celebrate every successful pass - scrub that; every simple touch - with gusto. Olé! Olé! Olé! 2.21pm GMT14:21 77 min: Gayle prepares to break into the box down the left. Onuoha steps across and bundles him over, just outside the area. Free kick. Onuoha is livid, as he’s of a mind that Gayle stepped in front of him to buy that. Running up to the referee, incensed, he nearly slips on the greasy pitch and takes the official out. Firm feet save the day, inches from disaster. An accidental two-footed tackle there would have been highly amusing. He’s booked anyway. Gayle takes the free kick himself, and sends it bouncing apologetically into the arms of Green. 2.18pm GMT14:18 74 min: Bolasie strides with purpose down the right. It’s a stunning run. When he reaches the edge of the box, he chips across for Murray, 12 yards out and level with the left-hand post. Murray chests down, having been afforded time by Caulker’s slip. Murray pearls a shot towards the top right, but Caulker manages to chest clear while on the floor. Brilliant work all round. Updated at 2.28pm GMT 2.15pm GMT14:15 72 min: Sandro, twisting and turning to hold possession in the middle of the Palace half, slides a clever ball down the inside-right channel to release Wright-Phillips. All that inactivity shows, as he can’t quite latch onto the pass, but Speroni comes out, sliding at his feet, and concedes a corner anyway. From the set piece, the ball ends up at Taarabt’s feet, 30 yards up the right wing. He curls a delicious cross into the box. Austin meets it, 12 yards out, but his header is straight at Speroni. That’s a little bit better from Rangers, who have been nothing short of dismal today. 2.12pm GMT14:12 69 min: Mariappa comes straight through the back of Taarabt. It should be a booking, but the referee settles for a stern yak. Lee Mason has missed a few things this afternoon, but the imperfections are the things that make football so beautiful. Change them at your peril. 2.10pm GMT14:10 68 min: A corner for Palace down the right, won by Bolasie off Yun. Ledley takes, with Puncheon gone. After a bout of head tennis, Bolasie attempts to guide one into the top left from a position level with the right-hand post, ten yards out. Nope! 2.08pm GMT14:08 66 min: A fairly muted atmosphere at Selhurst Park. You get the sense that everyone would be perfectly happy if the referee blew up for full time now. Updated at 2.08pm GMT 2.07pm GMT14:07 63 min: Word is that Puncheon has a hamstring problem. Ward, meanwhile, advances on the QPR area down the right channel. He’s unceremoniously upended by Phillips. It should be a free kick, but the referee waves play on. Joe Ledley’s Victorian Dad beard bounces up and down like billy-o as he delivers his trenchant analysis of the non-decision. Or perhaps he’s reporting the loss of his stovepipe hat. 2.03pm GMT14:03 60 min: Those changes have disrupted Palace’s rhythm. QPR have no rhythm to disrupt. 2.01pm GMT14:01 58 min: Murray, freshly back from suspension, is booked for an agricultural mow on Sandro. 2.01pm GMT14:01 57 min: Alan Pardew, perhaps spooked by the injury to Puncheon, takes off Zaha, who took that whack in scoring the first goal. Mariappa comes on in his stead. 2.00pm GMT14:00 55 min: The ever-excellent Jason Puncheon has taken a severe whack to his side. He’s grimacing and limping quite a lot. He’s replaced by Gayle, whose first act is to waste the free kick Bolasie earned. Puncheon looks in a lot of pain, he’s being helped around the touchline, and can’t put any weight on his left leg. Though it’s not clear whether it’s the leg or his left side that’s troubling him. He winced as the physio put his arm around his torso. A strange one, picked up in a common-or-garden collision with the totally innocent Phillips. 1.57pm GMT13:57 53 min: Bolasie goes on a Power Meander down the left. He’s nearly tap-tackled in the playground rugby style by Henry, who has already been booked. He should be off. But the referee waves play on, as Bolasie isn’t to be stopped by a mere foul. He continues on his bustle. And is then upended by Sandro, just to the left of the QPR area! Sandro gets a yellow card. Lucky Henry, whose intervention there held Bolasie up for a couple of seconds. QPR should be down to ten men. Updated at 2.14pm GMT 1.53pm GMT13:53 50 min: Zaha bustles down the flank again, and wins a corner this time. Puncheon whips it in. Austin heads clear, and QPR stream upfield. Wright-Phillips very nearly threads one through the middle to release Taarabt, but Speroni races out of his area to blooter clear. And then up the other end, Bolasie very nearly manages to take down the long hoof and break clear down the inside-left channel! A gallant effort, but he can’t quite do it. That period of play was end to end, it’s fair to say. 1.51pm GMT13:51 48 min: Puncheon slides the ball wide right to Zaha, who has space, but not for the first time in the match, clatters his cross into Yun. Otherwise, a slow start to the second half. 1.50pm GMT13:50 And we’re off again! A change for QPR. Poor young Darnell Furlong, 19, got worked over by Bolasie down the Palace left during that first half, so he’s been hooked. Nightmares, we all have ‘em. He’ll come back stronger for it. Hill comes on at centre back, with Onuoha moving out to the right of the defence. “This match has 3-3 written all over it,” predicts mystic Ian Copestake. “Or 5-0. You’re welcome.” 1.33pm GMT13:33 Half-time entertainment from the Philips label: 1.32pm GMT13:32 HALF TIME: Crystal Palace 3-0 Queens Park Rangers And that’s that for the first half. What a display by Palace! Three shots on target, three goals. You can’t ask for much more. It’s hard to see how Rangers can get back into this. But it’ll be worth watching anyway. No flipping! 1.31pm GMT13:31 44 min: QPR, to a man, look shell-shocked. And no bloody wonder. A really strong start to this match, but since then, they’ve fallen apart. To be fair, though, Palace are swaggering about like Barcelona right now. 1.29pm GMT13:29 GOAL! Crystal Palace 3-0 QPR (Ward 42) This is over. QPR are all over the shop. Zaha draws Sandro, Phillips and Yun towards him down the right as he reaches the byline, just outside the box. Three white shirts, and none of them can stop Zaha cutting back for Ward, who takes a touch, steps into the area, and curls one into the bottom left! A decent shot, though it wasn’t travelling at any real pace. Green might have done better there, though there might have been a slight deflection and he was momentarily unsighted. Even so. 1.26pm GMT13:26 GOAL! Crystal Palace 2-0 QPR (McArthur 40) So simple, and very similar to the first goal. Ledley, on the right, sprays a pass wide left for Bolasie, who makes off down the flank and into the box. He fires a low ball into the centre, where McArthur slides it home from six yards. No woodwork clattering this time, though. Updated at 1.41pm GMT 1.25pm GMT13:25 39 min: BT Sport have developed an annoying habit of cluttering up the bottom-left corner of the screen with bullshit. If it’s not box-outs of managers dancing around on the touchline, it’s as-things-stand tables that blot out half the action. Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! 1.23pm GMT13:23 37 min: This is better from Rangers, and out of the blue. Sandro, down the inside-right channel, feeds Wright-Phillips on the inside. SWP flicks it forward to Tarrabt, who creams a looping shot just over the bar from the best part of 35 yards. Speroni might have had that covered, had it been dipping in, but he might not. 1.21pm GMT13:21 34 min: Another free kick for Palace, 40 yards out, in a central position. Nothing really comes of it, but it’s worth noting for the sheer panic Green displays as he desperately attempts to organise his defence. His hollering, long, loud and hoarse, pings around the Selhurst stands, the horror in his eyes evident. It’s something to witness. Edvard Munch couldn’t have captured the concept of fear and terror any better. 1.17pm GMT13:17 31 min: Palace are all over QPR. Zaha makes good down the right again, and very nearly returns the favour for Bolasie with a low cross. Yun hacks clear. Then Palace earn another corner down the right. Puncheon whips it to the near post, where Murray rises, six yards out. He can’t keep it down. Rangers really need to watch themselves here. Another goal before half time, and they’ll be in all sorts of bother. 1.16pm GMT13:16 30 min: Yun, with nobody around him, slips over. Zaha nicks off with the ball, zipping up the right wing. Henry is forced to step in and cynically bodycheck the goalscorer, who really has been in the wars. Henry goes in the book, and doesn’t bother complaining about it. The resulting free kick is looped to the far post, where Murray lurks, but Onuoha cushions one back to Green. 1.13pm GMT13:13 28 min: Bolasie is a constant menace. On the left-hand corner of the Rangers box, with his back to goal, he flicks a ball round the corner for Delaney, who wheechs a snapshot into the side netting on the left. Green had that covered, but Palace are on top right now. Rangers need to rediscover their early mojo. 1.12pm GMT13:12 26 min: Rangers are a bit annoyed, mind, Austin having been clattered in the centre circle in the build-up to the goal, before Puncheon could shuttle the ball wide left to Bolasie. You’ll have seen them given all right. Though that doesn’t excuse the Rs switching off at the back for the rest of the move. 1.10pm GMT13:10 24 min: A couple of minutes’ worth of treatment for Zaha, who hasn’t been able to celebrate his goal, such is his pain. He hobbles back onto the pitch, but isn’t moving around particularly well right now. He really did smack the upright as he bundled the ball over the line and into the bottom-right corner. He’s earned the huge round of applause he receives upon taking to the pitch again, anyway. 1.08pm GMT13:08 GOAL! Crystal Palace 1-0 QPR (Zaha 21) Bolasie chases after a Puncheon pass down the left wing. He gets a stride ahead of Furlong. He’s romping into the box. Zaha’s coming in from the other side. Bolasie slips the ball across the area, taking Green out. Zaha can’t miss. And he doesn’t, tapping in at speed from a couple of yards! But he can’t miss the right-hand post, either, and clatters into it at high speed. Ooyah, oof. That’s a brave finish, he’s literally taken one for the team there. Updated at 1.17pm GMT 1.06pm GMT13:06 21 min: And now a Palace corner down the right. Puncheon takes, and whips a stunner to the far post, where Dann meets the ball on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. He should score but his effort is wide left and high. No matter, though, because in the next phase, Palace are coming straight back at QPR. And ... 1.05pm GMT13:05 19 min: Bolasie goes on a baroque ramble down the inside-left, and wins the first corner of the match. The set piece finds Dann, pretty much on the penalty spot. He can only flick a header miles wide right of goal. But Palace are coming back into this after a slow start. 1.04pm GMT13:04 17 min: Zaha bothers Yun down the Palace right, winning a ball he should never have won. He slips a pass inside for Puncheon, who returns it down the flank. Zaha has space and time, and a chance to cross. But he batters the cross into Yun’s midriff. Reminiscent of another silent-movie classic: man catching cannonball. 1.01pm GMT13:01 15 min: Green slips while battering a long ball upfield. A few players have been sliding around in the Early Hollywood fashion. Fortunately none of them are transporting pianos, sheets of glass, etc. The pitch has been heavily watered. Palace tried this against Liverpool in the cup. That match resembled a Buster Keaton short for a while. And much good it did the home side. This is pretty messy at the moment. 12.58pm GMT12:58 12 min: Rangers have been the brighter team in the opening exchanges. Palace are struggling to get hold of the ball right now. Austin and Taarabt, close together down the right wing, very nearly combine to rip Palace open. Taarabt takes down a high ball and strides smoothly down the wing, before slipping the ball inside. But Austin is robbed by Dann just before he can enter the area. Updated at 1.00pm GMT 12.54pm GMT12:54 9 min: Taarabt looks to bomb down the left. He’s got Austin clear in the middle, if he gets his head up, but there’s no chance of that, because Dann puts him on his face. A chance for QPR to load the Palace box. The ball’s hoicked into the mixer, but Rangers can’t apply any pressure, let alone get a shot or header away, because Austin is faffing around with his arm in the air, and he handles. What a needless way to relieve the pressure on Palace. 12.52pm GMT12:52 6 min: Phillips makes good down the left wing. A little space, but his cross for Austin, tearing into the box, is too close to Speroni. It’s scrappy so far. 12.51pm GMT12:51 4 min: Taarabt twists and turns down the right, before forcing Kelly to nudge the ball out for a throw, deep in Palace territory. Furlong’s throw is intercepted. You might be getting a sense that there’s not much to report yet. Wright-Phillips has touched a football for the first time since 1967, by the way, a game attempt to control a ludicrously over-hit Henry pass. McArthur made sure he wasn’t scooting off with it. 12.47pm GMT12:47 2 min: Zaha embarks on a sprint down the right. He’s got empty grass in front of him, but looks for Puncheon in the middle with a precision pass. His eye’s not in quite yet. 12.46pm GMT12:46 And we’re off! The ball moves around for the first 60 seconds, in directions various, but nobody’s really in control of it. Plenty of time for everyone to find their groove. 12.44pm GMT12:44 The teams are out! Crystal Palace are in their delicious wine-and-grape strip, mmm hmm, while QPR are de-hooped, in their change strip of all-white. Very Real Madrid. They’ll be hoping to do a lot better than that shower earlier in the week. We’ll be off before you know it! 12.13pm GMT12:13 The team news. And who’s that in the QPR starting XI? It’s 2005’s Shaun Wright Phillips, that’s who! The 33-year-old makes his first Premier League start for more than two years. My oh my. Rangers also recall the fit-again Darnell Furlong and Adel Taarabt. So that’s two players in the Rangers team called Phillips. Not a problem as such, except your MBM hack is quite slow and dim, and can never remember the correct number of Ls in the name Phillips without double-checking. The classic old record label confuses me. Anyway, I’ve gone off piste here. Palace make one change to their team, the suddenly free-scoring Glenn Murray restored to the side after his suspension for that red card against West Ham. 11.49am GMT11:49 Cast and crew Crystal Palace: Speroni, Ward, Dann, Delaney, Kelly, McArthur, Ledley, Zaha, Puncheon, Bolasie, Murray.Subs: Mariappa, Hangeland, Sanogo, Hennessey, Gayle, Ameobi, Souare. Queens Park Rangers: Green, Furlong, Caulker, Onuoha, Yun, Wright-Phillips, Henry, Sandro, Phillips, Taarabt, Austin.Subs: Hill, McCarthy, Kranjcar, Hoilett, Vargas, Zamora, Grego-Cox. Referee: Lee Mason (Lancashire) Updated at 11.57am GMT 11.45am GMT11:45 So much for the new-boss bounce at Queens Park Rangers. Upon Harry Redknapp’s resignation at the start of February, Chris Ramsey took up the managerial reins and ... woo hoo! Within two matches, Rangers had registered the club’s first away win of the season! But ah. Since then, though performances have been decent enough, the relegation-haunted Rs have suffered three defeats on the bounce. A last minute sickener against Hull, then two equally sickening London derby defeats at home, against Arsenal and Tottenham. Some honeymoon this was. Bah. Crystal Palace, however, are quickly becoming past masters at successful managerial honeymoons. Back in December 2003, Iain Dowie took over at Selhurst Park with the Eagles 19th in the second tier. Seventeen wins in 23 matches later, and they were in the play-offs, heading for promotion. Tony Pulis, of course, arrived to haul them out of Premier League bother last year. And now Alan Pardew’s at it. Four wins on the bounce, he started with, and another couple of league wins in the pocket since. The Pardew honeymoon’s probably over too - Palace have lost four of the last seven in league and cup - but a lot of the work’s been done while the going was good. They’ve put a little distance between themselves and the relegation places. And in any case, Palace have looked the part in their last three games, despite results, a comprehensive win at West Ham sandwiched by unfortunate losses against Arsenal and Southampton. They’ll be confident of registering their first win over QPR since December 2007. Rangers, on the other hand, will take succour from a seven-game unbeaten run against their London rivals since then. Eight points separate these two teams. QPR are in the thick stuff. If Palace win today, you’d give them a good chance of staying the Premier League for another season. If Rangers win, hope may rise again in west London. Whole seasons depend on matches like this. It’s not quite a six-pointer, but it’s close enough. Four? Five? Whatever. It’s on! Kick off: 12.45pm. |