Match Report: Queens Park Rangers 2-1 Blues

Gary Rowett's first game ends in defeat courtesy of a Jimmy Dunne worldie. Promising signs but an all too familiar feeling.

Jimmy Dunne’s injury time worldie consigned Birmingham City to a fifth consecutive defeat.  

Juninho Bacuna stepped up to give Blues the lead after a hard-fought first hour only for Steve Cook to equalise a couple of minutes later. The game looked to be dying a death until Jimmy Dunne produced a moment of serious quality to give his side the three points.  

Gary Rowett’s first XI sprung some surprises with a shift to three-at-the-back. Three changes were made, Dion Sanderson, Krystian Bielik and Tyler Roberts returning to the XI in place of Ivan Sunjic, Koji Miyoshi and Jordan James. Siriki Dembele and Keshi Anderson returned to the squad.  

Curiously, two of those returning to the XI had previous with QPR, along with Ethan Laird. Andre Dozzell missed out due to the terms of his loan. Jake Clarke-Salter started for the hosts and QPR were reportedly one of the clubs Rowett spoke to prior to his initial departure from Birmingham City. Links everywhere.  

It was turnover central early doors with Blues showing the one real moment of quality, Bacuna getting on the turn and seeing his effort blocked before Tyler Roberts whipped an effort just shy of the far post.  

Despite a topsy-turvy opening, QPR looked the side more comfortable in their skin and that came to fruition when Chris Willock dug out a cross for Ilias Chair, John Ruddy making a big stop. Chair then teed up Kenneth Paal for a delicious cross that was pushed against the bar by a somewhat unknowing Lucas Andersen.  

For all QPR’s general quality, Blues were standing firm. Bacuna produced a wonderful pass to send Stansfield in behind but he couldn’t make the most of the opportunity having rounded Asmir Begovic. QPR clearly went down the other end with Andersen firing over from close range and Willock was forcing Ruddy into action a couple of minutes later. That was pretty much that for the half, beyond Jimmy Dunne heading a left-wing cross on target.  

The hosts started the second half the stronger. Michael Frey headed over Chair’s cross while a free-kick was nodded down for Sam Field – Bielik thankfully got in the way. Bacuna stepped up again, first showing good footwork until a weak effort then working with Paik Seung-Ho to send Jay Stansfield in behind only for the young striker to miscue his snapshot. A poor header from Emmanuel Aiwu allowed Chair to blaze over.  

If Blues were going to do something, it was going to come the mecurial qualities of Bacuna and so it proved. The Curacao man turned again in midfield and found Ethan Laird. Laird squared up Paal and drew Field just close enough so that Bacuna was in space to receive the ball, take a touch and find the net with minimal backlift.  

Unfortunately, Blues couldn’t hold on for long. A set-piece from the left found Jimmy Dunne under little pressure from Cody Drameh. Bielik was first to the ball but his header deflected to Cook, whose first effort hit Buchanan and the second deflected off Aiwu and into the net.  

Little happened from that point. QPR were more comfortable but chances were few and far between with Blues comfortable in their shape and neither Willock or Sinclair Armstrong showing much in the way of accuracy.  

In the 91^st minute, Paik showed brilliant footwork to win a free-kick only to see his low effort from 25 or so yards find the gloves of the experienced Begovic. Begovic promptly launched the ball forward and Dunne won the header unchallenged against Drameh again. Drameh didn’t react. Sanderson’s header was unconvincing under pressure from Armstrong. Dunne was first to the loose ball, controlled it on his chest and promptly spanked it with his weaker left foot over the despairing reach of John Ruddy.  

Lineups 

QPR: Begovic; Dunne Cook Clarke-Salter Paal (Larkeche 87); Hayden (Colback 60) Field; Willock (Smyth 76) Andersen Chair; Frey (Armstrong 60). Unused: Walsh; Cannon Fox Hodge Dykes.  

Blues: Ruddy; Aiwu Sanderson Buchanan; Laird Paik Bielik (Gardner 91) Drameh; Bacuna (James 84) Stansfield (Hogan 84) Roberts (Miyoshi 73). Unused: Etheridge; Sunjic Hall Dembele Anderson  

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Tactics 

So, Gary Rowett decided to go an interesting route in his first game as Blues boss, being the first to abandon a four-at-the-back approach and opt for something of a 3-4-3.  

The back five was straight forward, Laird and Drameh flanking, from right to left, Aiwu, Sanderson and Buchanan. It got a little fluid from there with Bielik firmly at the base, Paik sort of next to him but a little more advanced with Bacuna and Roberts flanking Stansfield, but the former having license to drift while the latter stayed wider.  

In deep possession, it was firmly a 3-1 with the back three spreading out and Bielik alone at the base to receive the ball. The aim was clear – find a yard of space then play forward with Buchanan and Bielik the two entrusted to play those forward passes through the lines. Drameh would hold width on the left but show to feet with Laird high and wide on the right. Roberts would adopt a role more towards the left-hand side with Bacuna and Paik having license to get between the lines and find space.  

Set up, Blues tended to follow two options from there. One, fire the pass into the feet of Bacuna and Paik, normally the former, and let them make the next decision having turned into space in the centre of the pitch. Two, Drameh turns and finds a runner down the left which Blues were pretty proactive in doing – Roberts, Bacuna and Paik made regularly forays down that flank.  

The former led to Blues running at the QPR with Roberts and Stansfield looking get on the wrong side of their defenders and Laird making a jolt down the right-hand side for that option. That’s how we scored.  

The latter would drag Cook or Hayden out of position to chase down the channel, which in turn left space free on the edge of the box with Stansfield occupying the centre of defence and Field needing support to cope with the other two attacking midfielders. We got joy from this but failed to make the most of the opportunities.  

In short, the set up was there in possession, we simply failed to execute our opportunities with any efficiency or ruthlessness.  

I’ve eluded to some of QPR’s defensive work there. They largely sat in a 4-1-4-1 out of possession. Frey cut Sanderson and Aiwu. Andersen and Field were tasked with stepping on with the press but Paik and Bacuna dropping into awkward positions and Andersen also closing Buchanan, it often left space for either Buchanan or Bielik to receive possession and play.  

Because of their shape, while there was no shortage of effort, Blues could play on Hayden then Colback being dragged away from their roles and Clarke-Salter and Cook defending the area, Field could be left alone to deal with men on the edge. That was Blues’ opening.  

QPR were generally 4-2-3-1 in possession. The full-backs showed wide. Field and Hayden offered for the ball from defence. Primarily, they were working space to find Chair, Willock and Andersen, all of whom can handle the ball and play.  

Their primary avenue out of the defensive third came via Chair, who would drop into a LCM role from his LW position knowing that Paal was high and wide. Blues weren’t completely sure how to deal with it given Laird was watching Paal and Aiwu didn’t want to step out so far, presumably on instruction given we’ve seen him charge out previously. Blues eventually worked out that by having Laird step onto Chair, Aiwu cover Paal knowing he had a solid four behind him.  

The other avenue tended to involve Andersen, who would drop into midfield to create a three. It was a similar problem for Blues who didn’t have a direct competitor given Bielik didn’t want to get dragged out too far while Paik tended to watch Field.  

Blues set up out of possession with Paik watching Field almost permanently. That left Bacuna and Roberts in half roles trying to cut the pass to the full-back and Stansfield sitting off waiting for the moment to press. The front three never really got to grips with when to go and when not to, perhaps owing to the fluidity behind them, meaning we often got caught between nobody going or one going and an easy out then being available for the QPR defence. As with the Chair situation, these are the small details that catch you out when learning a new style.  

What helped less was that QPR started pushing Field higher up the pitch which dragged Paik further back. This led to more indecision, especially with both Andersen and Chair dropping off. Blues were working it out as they went and lacked an authority figure to read and lead things.  

Another notable factor, which paid off for QPR with the equaliser, was that Blues were again vulnerable from set-pieces. They put pretty much every set-piece towards the back post, knowing that Dunne, Cook and Field, usually the former, were far more comfortable attacking the ball in the box than the majority of Blues defenders. That proved the case with Drameh, who has regularly been employed as a blocker, failing to stop Dunne, or even put him off, in the air for both goals.  

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Players 

This is tricky. On the one hand, there were some positive performances. On the other, the squad itself severely lacks leadership, concentration and whatever else you want to call it in key moments.  

For example, Drameh had a pretty decent game. Willock just about beat him once early on. He was otherwise excellent in his one-to-one duels. But then he fails to stop Dunne from two balls pumped forward and it costs us.  

Take Sanderson. Barely gave Frey a kick all game. Strong. Aggressive. Defended his area. But then he turns his back twice for the Cook goal and heads back into danger under a bit of pressure for the second.  

This is the frustration. I thought Laird did okay once he and Aiwu sorted out what they were doing down the right. I thought Buchanan was pretty solid and used the ball well. Bielik had an excellent game at the base of midfield and looked the midfielder we know he can be. But it’s a completely different viewpoint when you conceded two really soft goals and they play in the defensive area of the pitch.  

Bacuna was unquestionably our man of the match. His passes for two Stansfield chances were superb. He scored the goal. Regularly found space and got on the half turn. His decision making remains infuriating at times but he’s without doubt our most prominent threat.  

Paik had a decent game. Couple of lovely moments. Tyler Roberts looked early on like he had the bit between his teeth but was fairly anonymous thereon and failed to take his opportunities. Stansfield is certainly showing no signs of shirking it but he’s carrying a lot of weight on those shoulders right now.  

For QPR, Chair, Andersen and Willock are excellent footballers. Just quality players that make things happen and make more good decisions than bad ones – oh the envy. Cook and Clarke-Salter defended well. Paal was a threat down the left and looked natural in his movement.  

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Conclusions 

There’s been a lot of discussion post-match yesterday on social media and I can’t deny being a tad frustrated that I let myself get embroiled in it. 

There’s a much larger conversation to have around why we are where we are and who is to blame. Few will come out of that with much credit.  

For now, we simply have to look at the game yesterday and whether there were signs Gary Rowett can amass the points total required to keep us in the Championship.  

Perhaps frustratingly, the answer is yes and no.  

Starting with the latter, we saw what we’ve seen for much of the season. Soft goals. Not defending set-pieces. Not committing wholeheartedly to the battle. Taking the easy option defensively. I’ve already discussed the goals themselves and you simply can’t get away from it.  

But we should acknowledge how these things are exacerbated by our inability to do things right at the other end. We often make things more complicated than they need to be. We don’t take the big opportunities that come our way. We’ve only conceded six goals in our last five matches but scored just twice.  

Tactics, patterns, shapes and styles all important as far as the way your team controls a football match but the result often boils down to the quality of how you defend your own territory and attack the opponents. It almost doesn’t matter how we play football when we are so toothless at both ends of the pitch – it's those areas that will ultimately cost us if we do go down.  

And yet, it wasn’t all bad yesterday. While QPR were more comfortable in their shape, we were more than competitive in the game. We kept much of their play wide of our goal, owing to a solid shape and generally defended the box well. We had clear avenues of attack and caused problems with a lack efficiency, ruthlessness or whatever you want to call it costing us. We’re a couple of tweaks away, whether that be mentally, tactically or a change of personnel, from striking the right note based on yesterday’s display.  

It’s a difficult task judging Rowett. You can only judge what he’s trying to do by what we see on the pitch and the performance was okay. Yet we need results, and regardless of whether we play okay or better in these eight games, his tenure will be defined on whether he keeps us in the division.  

What are the answers for Monday? It’s difficult to say. The only change we can make to the back five is Emmanuel Longelo, which feels unlikely. Bielik, Paik and Bacuna were fine. So you’re looking at Stansfield and Roberts and what we can change there. There are plenty of options – Miyoshi, Hall, Dembele, Anderson, Hogan. Perhaps even James. The challenge is Rowett finding the right balance.  

It’s not over yet.