Blues 2-0 QPR

 

Starting XI

Two changes. Hannibal Mejbri and Troy Deeney for George Hall and Juninho Bacuna, who drop to the bench. Tahith Chong steps back into midfield.

Game

Blues started well and it took just four minutes to open the scoring, a corner cleared as far as Kristian Bielik whose miskicked volley found Auston Trusty who looped the ball over Seny Dieng with the outside of his boot.

That bit of fortune set the tone for a game in which Blues were well drilled and effective but had to rely on strong defending and a little bit of luck.

Ilias Chair saw his free kick saved then when nobody in the Blues defence took charge of a ball in behind, John Ruddy was forced into action again to tip over Tyler Roberts' deflected effort. Bielik almost gifted Lyndon Dykes a goal with an errant pass but the strike was straight down the throat of Ruddy.

At the other end, Blues were breaking but struggling to get the final ball right. Then, after two enforced substitutions from the visitors, Emmanuel Longelo scored his first professional goal. Hogan and Deeney linked up and the latter played into midfield. The ball was spread out to Hannibal who nutmegged the referee and found Longelo. The West Ham loanee drove forward, cut inside of Ethan Laird and hurriedly shot with his weaker right boot, the ball curling into the far bottom corner.

The tide was stemmed for much of the half after that. Stefan Johansdn had a free-kick deflect just wide of Ruddy's post. Then substitute Sinclair Armstrong ought to have scored from a Kenneth Paal cross before later heading over another from Tim Iroegbunam.

QPR changed shape slightly second half and had the better of the second half as a result. That said, Chong was able to fire at Dieng after a loose Sam Field pass and if Longelo could have played the right pass, Scott Hogan would have had a tap in for three. Between those efforts, Dykes shot straight at Ruddy after escaping Trusty.

The pressure increased as the game went on. Luke Amos got across Harlee Dean at the near post but got too much contact on his header. Chair then tried himself from range before Leon Balogun headed wide at the near post. QPR then won a penalty when Longelo fouled Laird in the box but Ruddy saved Dykes' effort. Blues made a couple of changes before Iroegbunam and Amos fired over from distance.

Tactics

So, nominally, this was 3-1-4-2 v 4-3-3.

The first notable change for Blues was that Chong and Hannibal had switched sides.

The truth is, a lot of the first half became a slog fest. It was all about second balls with four or more bodies competing and looking to move the ball forward after. Blues initially tried to play and move the ball wide but found Maxime Colin and Longelo quickly pressed out of action. QPR, meanwhile, wanted to find the burly figure of Dykes or the feet of Chair. Blues were aggressive defensively and distances were tight, often ensuring the first ball wasn't won by a QPR man and then scrapping away in the centre before looking for an outlet.

Blues found their outlets well. Down the right was Deeney, who would drop off the front and make himself available for Chong in transition with Paal having broke forward. Down the left, Hannibal, and this is where Blues had most success progressing into the final third, Johansen/Iroegbunam drawn into the midfield battle to support numbers, Laird therefore finding himself needing to step out onto Hannibal and Longelo being free on the overlap. This situation opened up time and again first half.

In terms of Blues' standard press, initially, it was about going high down the right. Chong stepped onto Iroegbunam, who started LCM, and Colin onto Paal. Deeney and Hogan would typically drop off then spring onto the centre-backs while ensuring Field couldn't get involved. Bielik and Hannibal would take up aggressive positions and Sanderson was happy to follow Chair who stayed high early on. When Chair eventually started dropping deeper and dovetailing with Paal, Chong would remain high but was slightly more hesitant to press Chair until he was in possession to ensure he wasn't caught out with Sanderson and Bielik tasked with the more advanced midfielder.

To cause problems for Blues, QPR did three things.

Firstly, they decided to start going longer, especially after Armstrong entered the field. The more direct approach left Blues 4 v 3 defensively initially and Blues had to be sharp defensively.

Secondly, to gain a foothold from defence, Field started dropping in to make it a back three when playing out. It allowed the centre backs to step wider and the FB's to push on. This caused some hesitancy in the Blues press with Field too deep to pressed and Chong/Hannibal unsure when to engage for a period.

Thirdly, Beale made a half time sub. Amos replaced Johansen and QPR effectively moved to a 4-2-2-2. Amos pinned himself to Trusty, Dykes to Dean and Armstrong to Sanderson. The FB's were able to engage higher up the pitch while Blues' midfield had to be mindful of Chair floating in off the left as well as the midfield two. It meant Blues were easier to turn because it was 5 v 5 across the back rather than 4 v 3. Amos also sat in on Hannibal then Bacuna out of possession, ensuring far less space in transition down that flank. QPR showed more patience in possession and were better set to win duels, stretch the play and move the ball quicker.

Blues again had to respond with a more aggressive approach defensively but as tiredness creeped in, they dropped deeper and Eustace was forced into changes, even swapping Hogan for Jordan James for the final few minutes.

Players

The Blues back three were excellent. Dean barely lost a duel with Dykes all night and he's flanked by two guys who are learning and progressing. I also thought while Bielik lacked his usual composure on the ball, he did a very good job of breaking play and winning duels. And John Ruddy. What a man.

Hannibal was his typically energetic self. He has to be more disciplined but that will come. Longelo scored a wonderful goal but has to refine his decision making and final ball to become a top WB at this level.

For QPR, Chair was the standout, a cultured forward who always looked in control when in possession and involved in most of their good moments.

Anything else?

Hannibal Mejbri. He should have been sent off. The first yellow card is a definite yellow and perhaps a touch naive with two players about to support him against Iroegbunam. He then blocked a quick throw, bundled somebody over on the edge of the box and in the second half went through Laird. Eustace probably could have withdrawn him and admitted post-match that he gave him a scare. He's young, he'll learn, but we got away with that.

At the end of the game, Neil Etheridge could be seen running over to Ruddy and celebrating with him. Etheridge has perhaps become the forgotten fall guy this season with all the changes made and he could have understandably took losing his spot poorly. But, such is the improved feel about the place, he ran on to celebrate with Ruddy post-match. I loved that.

Wrapping it up...

Let's get it out of the way. We were somewhat fortunate here. The first goal is a bit of a fluke. Our midfielder should have been sent off. Their penalty effort was weak. 

However, we've earned that luck. We were fantastic against Blackburn in defeat. We were apparently Burnley's toughest opponents to date. Defensively we were fantastic here and never stopped engaging, rather than sitting in and hoping for the best. And when we did switch off, our goalkeeper stood tall.

QPR are one of the strongest sides in the division and have a very talented coach. This was a test of organisation, structure, concentration, work ethic and leadership and we passed those tests on the night.

That's one of five home games down before the World Cup break and it's the perfect start. Millwall and the return of Rowett next. It doesn't get easier...