Queens Park Rangers head coach Marti Cifuentes has explained what went wrong as his side conceded late on to drop two points away at Plymouth Argyle on Tuesday night.
The West London outfit took the lead in the 73rd minute through Sam Field and looked set to take all three points back to Loftus Road. A victory for Cifuentes’ side would have put them six points clear of the relegation zone with four matches remaining.
Hear from the gaffer following our draw with Plymouth 🗣 pic.twitter.com/AW1pjRQYGM
— QPR FC (@QPR) April 9, 2024
However, Albert Adomah, who came on just a few minutes after Field opened the scoring, found himself as the villain following a mix-up at the back as goalkeeper Asmir Begovic flapped at a cross from a corner before the ball ricocheted off the 36-year-old and crept into the net.
While it’s still a point on the road and moved QPR up to 16th, Cifuentes and his players will feel as though it’s a massive opportunity missed ahead of the final few weeks of the season, particularly as the Londoners have games against Hull City, Preston North End, Leeds United and Coventry City on the horizon.
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Speaking after the game, the Spanish coach rued his side’s inability to put the game to bed at 1-0, claiming that this isn’t the first time Queens Park Rangers have failed to get an all-important second goal in a tie this season [quotes via West London Sport]:
“Try to score the second goal – that is always the target,” he said.
“It was obviously disappointing because we created enough chances to win the game.
“But it is not a new thing. It has been unfortunately something that we have experienced this season – not once and not twice – when we haven’t had the accuracy to close games.”
Writer’s View
The next two games are vital for Queens Park Rangers to secure safety in the Championship for at least another season. Hull and Preston will be tricky customers but QPR need a victory in at least one of those two matches to secure survival as fixtures against Leeds and Coventry could prove too difficult.
Nevertheless, Cifuentes is right. Struggling to score isn’t a new trend for his team as Rangers’ top goalscorers this term are Lyndon Dykes and Ilias Chair, who have only found the net a mere five times each in all competitions.
