Barclays Premier League
Loftus Road - Saturday 17th November 2012
Queens Park Rangers 1
- Hoilett 49'
Southampton 3
- Lambert 23′
- Puncheon 45′
- Ferdinand 83′ (og)`
Att: 18,174
Match Report
Phew, normal service has been resumed.
After a white knuckle ride in Saints initial matches in the Premier League the team we know and love turned up today. Nigel Adkins picked an unchanged team and it showed. Right from the off Saints clicked into gear. The shape looked good and the midfield quickly got a grip on the game. Special mention should be made for the travelling Saints support who seemed to make it sound like a home game.
This was a game between the two bottom sides in the Premier League and the press were in full cry during the days leading up to the game, banging on about 'El Sackico', in reference to the fact that they seemed to think that the manager of the losing side would be sacked. Ridiculous.
From the moment Rickie Lambert nodded a very brave goal (he got a kick in the head for his troubles) in the 23rd minute the result was never in doubt. QPR were abject and that is being generous. Or was it that Saints were right on their game, which they most certainly were? The truth is probably a combination of the two.
Special mention must go to Jason Puncheon, who had what was almost certainly his best game in a Saints shirt. The change in formation in the last couple of games has particularly suited him and he was positively rampant at times during this game. He scored a deserved goal, almost on the stroke of half time to put Saints 2-0 up and comfortably in control. This did not go down at all well with the QPR fans, who roundly booed the QPR team off the field when the ref, Mr Dean blew for half time.
So far, so good. The only negative had been that Gazzaniga had looked very nervous and although he had made two or three good saves, he was looking anything but certain. I suppose it was inevitable, given how good Saints had looked and how poor QPR looked that there would be a fightback and so it proved. Even so, Saints defence still looked comfortable. Until a cross was floated in and Gazzaniga came for the ball that he was never ever going to be able to claim and Hoilett, who was probably the shortest player on the pitch headed it over the young Saints goalkeeper and into the net.
There was a very brief spell where it looked as though QPR were going to fight their way back into this game, but all credit to the Saints team, they simply rolled their sleeves up and dug in.
The impressive, but tiring Ramirez was replaced by Steven Davis with just under 30 minutes to go and the team hardly missed a beat. Saints just ramped up the pressure and it looked only a matter of time before they scored again. When the third goal did come, it was from an unexpected source. There was a well worked corner routine between Puncheon and Schneiderlin, with the Frenchman crossing low and fast from an acute angle, almost on the byline, that Anton Ferdinand only succeeded in turning into his own net.
That was effectively that and the clock was run down, as the Saints fans partied in the away section. The fans had been loud and raucous all match, with 'There's only one Nigel Adkins' being sung very early in the game. Now they, like the team were overjoyed at the final whistle. A thoroughly well earned victory.
Channonite 21.11.2012
Teams
QPR
- 33 Julio Cesar
- 03 Traore
- 05 Ferdinand
- 17 Nelsen
- 19 Bosingwa Booked (Fabio - 73' )
- 02 Diakite (Derry - 71' )
- 10 Taarabt
- 14 Granero
- 32 Faurlin (Mackie - 46' )
- 09 Cisse
- 23 Hoilett
Substitutes
- 01 Green
- 20 Fabio
- 04 Derry
- 11 Wright-Phillips
- 18 Dyer
- 28 Ehmer
- 12 Mackie
Southampton
- 12 Gazzaniga
- 02 Clyne
- 03 Yoshida
- 06 Fonte
- 23 Shaw (Fox - 74' )
- 04 Schneiderlin
- 10 Ramirez (S Davis - 61' )
- 18 Cork
- 20 Lallana
- 42 Puncheon
- 07 Lambert (Rodriguez - 90' )
Substitutes
- 01 K Davis
- 05 Hooiveld
- 13 Fox
- 08 S Davis
- 16 Ward-Prowse
- 09 Rodriguez
- 24 Mayuka
Match Stats
Possession
- QPR 53%
- Southampton 47%
Shots
- QPR 13
- Southampton 21
On target
- QPR 7
- Southampton 15
Corners
- QPR 4
- Southampton 13
Fouls
- QPR 12
- Southampton 9
