QPR 1 Leicester City 2: The juggernaut rolls on
Leicester claimed their 13th victim of this extraordinary season, consigning Gareth Ainsworth to the dustbin of history in the process. Harry Gregory was in West London to see it all go down.
This week has been one of remembrance. As well as attending the funeral of my uncle (LCFC fan, God rest his soul), we collectively celebrated Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha’s life. On Tuesday night, the King Power Stadium needed no prompting from the referee’s whistle to applaud the memory of our former Chairman. Alongside this of course, the greatest English footballer of all-time, Bobby Charlton had also sadly passed away.
If you needed a measure of Vichai’s legacy at Leicester City, our visits to Loftus Road that bookend King Power’s time at the club are a good indicator. Back in 2009, before his involvement with the club, a 2-1 comeback win over an Adel Taarabt-inspired Queens Park Rangers on a Friday evening in October saw the Foxes hit the top of the Championship. I’d go as far to say as it was one of the best away ends I have ever been a part of. Jubilant pride amongst us. We were top for one evening that season; before ending it in the playoffs. The summer saw Nigel Pearson depart and King Power come in.
When both of those parties later combined for another visit to Loftus Road, they brought away a 1-0 win thanks to Jamie Vardy, David Nugent chasing a squirrel and Gary Taylor Fletcher winding up Joey Barton to a red card. It proved the catalyst for a Championship winning season. All the madness and chaos ensued from there.
Whereas we arrived in West London in 2009 as underdogs, this weekend we visited the Loft as heavy favourites to win the league. We are in record breaking form. No longer are we the equals of Queens Park Rangers on paper. To the point that the constant, nagging fear that we might go full Leicester on those occasions has been dimmed slightly. That’s Vichai’s legacy. We’ve reached a different standing.
I mention considering us as equals to Queens Park Rangers because my living memory of trips to Loftus Road is comprised of closely fought competitive fixtures, played in a great atmosphere within the confides of a traditional British stadium. However, it’s been tough times for the Rangers recently and it certainly felt low-key around Shepherd’s Bush pre-match. Their appalling form had their fans wanting Gareth Ainsworth sacked and a restructure/refresh around the club. And indeed in the aftermath of this game those fans saw the first half of their wish granted.
It shaped up to be a good away end. There’s always been something about Leicester travelling to London for away fixtures. The hordes released from the East Midlands for a good day out. Even a devilish morning on the trains down to London wasn’t enough to dim the mood. It was a sign of the times for me that the number of pastries consumed pre-match outscored pints of alcohol. There was a buzz though once we entered the ground. Expectation was part of it but there was an excitement that it was a venue we haven’t seen for a while.
Getting physical
Wearing their festive pumpkin away kit, Leicester typically began in a sluggish fashion, which made you think is this going to be one of these ‘classic Leicester’ days. While it sounds like an excuse straight from the elite manager coaching manual, the tight pitch at Loftus Road assisted the home side’s tactics. Our double pivot of Harry Winks and the inverted Hamza Choudhury was less influential than usual. It proved far more difficult to isolate the opposition on the wings.
We’d heard so much about Gareth Ainsworth’s anti-football that I was expecting something more ghoulish and terrifying. Instead, they diligently cut down our passing options whilst utilising their main advantage over us: physicality. They were forever trying to use Albert Adomah’s height over James Justin and get the ball into Lyndon Dykes.
Whisper it. It’s a weakness. We’ve struggled to impose ourselves on the teams towards the very bottom of this league. They all possess a tall, big striker who’s happy to compete aerially every time they have possession. That delays the recycling process of this Enzo Maresca machine. Equally, it encourages a game plan when the opposition always want the ball dead. They want set pieces, they want the ball in the air. That’s better for them than sitting in shape.
Ironically, Adomah continually shut down Stephy Mavididi’s initial attempts to take him on. Hence it was a bit of tough luck when Mavididi’s effort deflected off the QPR player’s foot and beat Asmir Begovic. 1-0 Leicester. Cruise control?
It proved not to be the case, as QPR instantly utilised our weakness against direct football. Of the eight league goals we’ve conceded; four have involved an aerial cross (or come in the direct aftermath). A couple of crosses led to Dykes getting a header in, which was initially cleared off the line by Choudhury but Andre Dozzell hammered the rebound home from the edge of the box.
Inevitably, their equaliser was greeted by the, now traditional, murmurs behind me. Those that criticise the style as passing for passing’s sake. Why won’t the goalkeeper hit long? Why won’t the wingers take the players on? Why not just have a shot?
Winks murder
The opening of the second half was more of the same. A scrappy struggle where QPR’s desire to slow the game down and keep the ball dead or static had the upper hand against Leicester’s goal of keeping the ball in play and moving. The turning point came when the referee correctly applied the laws of the game, a sight rarely seen in the Championship, with Keith Stroud’s antics on Tuesday night fresh in our minds.
As we broke and approached the edge of the box, Abdul Fatawu was clothes-lined by Dozzell, QPR’s goalscorer. You could understand Fatawu’s reaction, pushing Dozzell and perhaps baiting the Hoops midfielder, who reacted by pushing back. After a bit of a melee which seemed to galvanise the away support, and an eternity of official admin, the referee gave two bookings to Dozzell and a yellow card to Fatawu.
QPR now reached for the Ainsworth anti-football playbook. Asmir Begovic’s foot seemed to be causing him real difficulties every time there was a goal kick. The puzzle was set. Two banks of four. Get past us, Leicester.
Sometimes, just maybe, those moaning gits are right. Sometimes you should just have a shot. Which is what Harry Winks did when the ball fell to him on the edge of the area. A couple of touches out of his feet and then whipped with the inside of his foot. It was central, but spinning so quickly that it fizzed past Begovic. The whole squad exploded in celebration which suggested Winks is as popular amongst his peers as he is with the fans. The travelling support were equally thrilled.
After that, the game was up. Leicester could afford to pick Rangers off as they tried to chase things despite their man disadvantage. The space they left behind resulted in plenty of openings that Leicester should have taken advantage of. It was quite incredible to watch Begovic make the save of the game from a Ricardo Pereira missile. His recovery from that troublesome foot injury something Dr. Frankenstein would have been proud of.
This was a battle. Possibly one borne of overconfidence, or just of QPR putting in a mighty shift with a game plan which had its merits. But we came through it. Then what occurred post-match was a sign that the players and fans have begun to reconnect, after years in which we had drifted apart. The squad came over to join in the fans in celebration.
Let’s face it, this is what travelling away from home is about. Regardless of level and quality, there’s something intoxicating about three points on the road. Especially when it’s of that hard-earned battle variety.
