JORDÃO'S JOTTINGS
queens park rangers 0
WEST BROMWICH ALBION 2
EFL CHAMPIONSHIP SAT 28/9/19
"It ain't over, til it's over!"
One Swallow
Doesn't make a summer,
Three swans flying
In formation
Isn't the onset of doom.
And
Although defeat today
Would be a bummer,
Supporters shouldn't be
Full of gloom.
Battles may be lost
Along the way
Being on the wrong end
Of a score,
The occasional set back
Will be acceptable
As long as we eventually
Win the war.
As the teams took to the field and lined up in their formations, it was clear that Mr Bilic had won the battle on the touch line. QPR had won their last four games and had found a successful formation of three mountains at the back, five across the midfield and two willing runners upfront. Those victories had come against teams without the weaponry that the Baggies possess, so Mr Bilic only tweaked one position, that being the reintroduction of Grady Diangana to the side in place of Filipe Kravinovic, with Matheus Pereira getting the number ten berth. This allowed the Baggies to drag the big, cumbersome centre backs out wide to have to try and stop Albions wide men.
Rangers in the early stages were willing to test the Baggies backline, but found them resolute and uncompromising. There were some niggly fouls from either side and it disrupted the games flow, but if any side looked the more comfortable it was the Albion, with Pereira drifting in and out, being a nuisance. His vision and guile were evident with a stunning through ball for Phillips who forced a corner. Austin had a chance, but his effort was blocked and the Baggies were slowly taking a strangle hold on the match. Rangers frontman Hugill was certainly making himself known to Kyle Bartley, who only let him out of his pocket when the halftime whistle blew. Ferguson was up against one of the divisions brightest wing backs in Manning, but he was immaculate in his strength and positioning, making sure Johnstone was a mere spectator for virtually the entire half.
In truth the Baggies were rather profligate up front too, with Austin showing plenty of endeavour, but the final ball eluded him on several occasions. As stated at the start of the report, the Baggies boss had out thought Mr Warburton and allowed the visitors to have a firm hold on the game. The plan was very easy to see, yet Warburton failed to combat it.
Ht 0-0
As the second half started it was clear that not only did QPR fail to address their weakness, they compounded it by venturing the wing backs even further forwards, thus falling into the Baggies trap, by exposing their three tree trunk centre backs to the pace of Diangana and Phillips, with the sublime skill of Pereira. Sawyers and skipper Livermore began to get a vice like grip on the game and suddenly Albion were a very dangerous animal. The foul count from the home side was rattling along as the Baggies went through the gears. The other difference in the sides was the potency of the players on the bench.
Lumley in the Rangers goal had been the busier of the keepers and was maybe a touch slow in responding to Ferguson's speculative drive from distance. Such was the space in the Rangers midfield, the young fullback ran unchallenged a full 30 yards before cutting inside and rifling a low shot which sped past the startled keeper. It was a sublime moment, as the excellent Ferguson excitedly ran to the massed ranks of supporters behind the goal to celebrate. Chants of "He's one of our own" and "We're top of the league" rang down from the packed double tiered stand.
The Baggies were looking ominous now, with some superb moves, mainly focused around the majestic skills of Pereira, forcing Lumley into two superb saves. Austin, who is beginning to look like a player desperate for a goal, saw a superb drive pushed aside, as did Diangana, who'd mesmerised the defenders before unleashing a rasping drive which again Lumley pushed wide. Robson-Kanu replaced Austin and Edward's swapped with Phillips and the Baggies intensity increased even more. A brilliant Sawyers through ball had Robson-Kanu scampering in behind the tiring back three of Rangers. Youan Barbet pulled the striker down twenty yards from goal, feigned an injury to try and extract sympathy from the referee, but to choruses of "Cheerio" from the Baggies fans the defender was shown the red card. The stage was set for the Brazilian magician to seal the points, as Pereira stood intently over the ball. His run up suggested a curling shot into the top corner and the defensive wall obliged by jumping in anticipation of such. Pereira then arrowed a low shot under the wall and it nestled in the bottom corner watched by a flat footed Lumley. Pereira, like Ferguson celebrated infront of the adoring hordes, even drawing his hand, blade like across his throat to indicate that the game was over. He was substituted soon afterwards as his brilliance had upset a few of the Rangers players who may have sought retribution. Pereira with a huge smile on his face, stroked a Rangers player on the cheek, who took offence and shoved the impish South American in the back. Kravinovic, who was replacing the Brazilian found it all hilarious as Mr Bilic put an arm around the Baggies player.
Back on the pitch, the Baggies were now hunting a third goal, Edward's (twice) and Robson-Kanu were both thwarted by Lumley, but the Rangers threat (if ever there was one) had long since petered out.
The final whistle sounded and the Baggies were temporarily perched on the top of the division. The work in progress has reached fruition, the players looked like they'd played together for years, the sheer brilliance of Pereira has us rubbing our eyes in disbelief at times. The metronomic poise and prowess of Ajayi and Sawyers is building with every game. The exuberance and burgeoning reputation of Edward's and Ferguson is a benchmark for the other youngsters in the camp. In fact its difficult to not mention every player after a performance of such superiority against a challenger. The impending return of Hegazi, Gibbs and Barry shouldn't be ignored either. Mr Bilic the overseer, the tactical supremo, is forging a very cohesive and dangerous unit...... It's early days obviously, but let's enjoy our progress and with that in mind I leave you with this......
The orchestra waits
The stage is set,
For a symphony of sport
Full of melody and passion.
The piece, already composed
The conductor appears,
No bow tie and tails
Suit and trainers the fashion.
The occasional nod
Pointed gesture or two,
Then the soloists conjure
Up the magic of their art.
The orchestra in the finest,
Green and yellow livery
The epic has just begun
This is just the start.
The wingers soar
The defence being the percussion,
Midfield blowing the horns
A tempest of flight and sound.
Our conductor oversees all
As players revel in the delight,
This masterpiece is unfolding
Wherever the Baggies are found.
We have a genius in our midst.........
Jordào
