Julien Stephan took charge of his first Queens Park Rangers game at Loftus Road as the R’s took on Dutch side SC Heerenveen. The closely-fought encounter ended in a two-two draw.
A poor pass from Nicolas Madsen early on led to Levi Smans running at Sam Field, who was QPR’s last defender, but the experienced midfielder dealt with the situation well.
The first shot of the game came in the eighth minute after Maxence Rivera got past Amadou Mbengue and into the box. His strike came from a narrow angle and it was easily put behind for a corner.
The R’s had their first shot of the game in the 19th minute. Ilias Chair pounced on Kieran Morgan’s long ball and played the ball to Kwame Poku on the right wing. The former Peterborough United man cut inside and fired his shot wide of the post.
Rivera got in behind Mbengue again three minutes before the half-hour mark, but his centre-back partner Steve Cook stepped in to avert any danger, clearing the ball for a corner.
The R’s got themselves into a mess trying to play out from the back a minute later as Heerenveen won the ball back on the edge of their box. Fortunately, the striker’s effort was wide of the mark.
Half an hour in, the home side opened the scoring courtesy of Kader Dembele. The diminutive winger was given time and space on the edge of the Heerenveen box, and he responded by firing his strike into the top corner and past the outstretched glove of Bernt Klaverboer.
Madsen misplaced another intricate pass in the 37th minute, allowing Rivera to fire a shot at goal. The effort struck Mbengue’s head and the young defender needed treatment, but he was okay to continue as there was no further action before the referee blew the whistle for half time.
Half time: Queens Park Rangers 1-0 SC Heerenveen
Stephan made three changes at half-time as Daniel Bennie, Kealey Adamson and Liam Morrison entered the fray.
In the 48th minute, Jacob Trenskow got in behind Adamson on the right-hand side, but nothing came of his sly through ball to Oliver Braude.
The visitors levelled the score in the 53rd minute after Adamson was caught in possession when inverting into midfield. The ball was eventually squared to Dylan Vente, who easily placed his finish past Joe Walsh.
But, the R’s were not level for long. Less than two minutes after kickoff, the Heerenveen defence failed to deal with Walsh’s long clearance. The ball was pounced upon by Daniel Bennie, who produced an excellent chipped finish to beat the Heerenveen goalkeeper.
The game majorly opened up in this period as Heerenveen almost levelled the scores instantly. Rivera cut inside from the left wing and put his effort narrowly wide of the post.
The Dutch side did equalise in the 72nd minute. Timothy Akindileni failed to clear a cross and the Heerenveen attacker hit the woodwork. The ball fell to Smans after a scramble and his strike levelled the scoring.
Soon afterwards, substitute Eser Gurbuz drove into the R’s box and had his effort saved by Walsh.
Unfortunately, the match, that looked to be set up for a grandstand finish, meandered to an unspectacular ending.
Full time: Queens Park Rangers 2-2 SC Heerenveen
