Hoops lose to another Poot scottish side :(
The R's left Kilmarnock wondering how on earth they lost this game after dominating play for nearly the entire match, but going down 1-0 to a Manuel Pascali header in the first half.
On a night when Kaspars Gorkss was named on the bench after being granted permission at the 11th hour to play by Blackpool ahead of a proposed move tomorrow - so late, in fact, that his name didn't even feature on the teamsheets which were released an hour before kick off - Iain Dowie's side produced a much-improve performance on their 2-0 loss at Falkirk on Saturday.
They created a series of excellent chances, with Patrick Agyemang, Angelo Balanta and Gareth Ainsworth all going close, but in the end they couldn't get past keeper Damien Rascle, who was in inspired form.
Radek Cerny was handed his debut by Dowie after successfully overcoming a slight hamstring injury, and the R's First Team Coach made four other changes, with Peter Ramage in for the injured Matt Connolly, Mikele Leigertwood replacing Martin Rowlands, Balanta in for Dexter Blackstock and Ainsworth starting at the expense of Hogan Ephraim.
In the opening minute, the hosts had a half chance at the far post but Danny Invincibile's shot from eight yards was well blocked by a committed Ainsworth.
In an explosive opening, Agyemang had a great chance to give the visitors the lead following a swift counter-attack two minutes later. Damien Delaney found Emmanuel Ledesma still inside his own half and he burst forward before picking out Agyemang with a slide-rule pass.
The former Preston man left the Kilmarnock defence for dead but his shot from ten yards was smothered by Killies keeper Rascle.
The pressure was relentless and moments later Rascle was on-hand to deny Balanta, who had broken away down the left side. From the resulting corner, Fitz Hall produced a stunning half-volley from the edge of the box, which was spectacularly tipped over by the home stopper.
With seven minutes gone, the R's could have been three up, and they continued to attack in search of the all-important opening.
On 15 minutes, Gavin Mahon picked out Ledesma on the left with a cleverly-disguised pass, but the latter's shot drifted wide of the far upright.
Dowie will certainly have been pleased with the start his side made following their lacklustre first-half showing at Falkirk four days earlier, and it was certainly appreciated by the 100 or so R's fans who made the long trip north.
It took 27 minutes for the hosts to test Cerny, a 25 yard drive from Craig Bryson, which was comfortably gathered by the R's custodian.
A minute later, the visitors created another terrific chance. After some good inter-play between Balanta and Ainsworth in the area, the R's winger found himself one-on-one with Rascle, but as he tried to catch the Kilmarnock keeper out with a toe-poke from close range, his shot was blocked.
Incredibly, after all that hard work, it was the hosts who took the lead on 32 minutes. Following a corner from the right by Mehdi Taouil, Manuel Pascali rose highest to head home from eight yards.
It was a bitter pill to swallow for Dowie's men, who had dominated the match, but they refused to lie down and following a great run through the middle of the park by Fitz Hall, he played a lovely ball for Agyemang to race onto. Unfortunately his shot was cleared off the line by a back-tracking Kille defender.
On 44 minutes, Balanta's persistence forced an error in the home defence, and he was able to get a great shot away from 18 yards, but Rascle was proving tough to break down, and pulled off another excellent save, this time diving to his right.
Bang on half-time Ledesma saw his volley fly inches over. The R's went off at the break wondering how they weren't comfortably winning, never mind losing!
Gorkss was introduced to the fray for the second half, at the expense of Hall, and his composure on the ball and range of passing will certainly have impressed the watching R's faithful.
It was the hosts who created the first opportunity after the break, the pacy Conor Sammon breaking clear but seeing his fierce shot from 20 yards expertly pushed away by Cerny.
Gorkss nearly scored a debut goal moments later. Ledesma produced a brilliant delivery from a freekick on the left, but the Latvian international was unable to get a crucial touch as the ball flashed across the face of goal.
The next R's chance came on 76 minutes when a lovely ball from Ramage on the right was headed just wide by Angelo Balanta.
Amongst a series of substitutions, Ainsworth was replaced by Matteo Alberti to a chorus of boos from the home fans in the 78th minute, who took exception to his physical, no-nonsense style which has made him such a popular figure with the Rangers faithful.
In the closing stages Damien Delaney fired over and, despite their best efforts, the R's had to accept a very unjust scoreline as they went down 1-0 at Kilmarnock.
Kilmarnock: Rascle, Fowler, Morgan, Pascali (Hamill, 78), O'Leary, Ford, Invincibile, Fernandez, Sammon, Taouil (Skelton, 75), Bryson.
Subs: Harpur, Lilley, Wright, Murray, Gibson, Corrigan, Flannigan.
Goals: Pascali (32)
QPR: Cerny, Ramage, Delaney, Mahon (Walton, 76), Hall, (Gorkss, 46) Stewart, Ainsworth (Alberti, 78), Leigertwood (Bolder, 62), Agyemang, Balanta, Ledesma (Rose, 82).
Subs: Camp.
Bookings: Delaney (43)
Referee: Mr C Boyle
Attendance: 1,814 (QPR Fans: 134) :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
