Millwall 2-0 QPR

Match Report

The last time QPR played Millwall, back in October, we lost 1-2. This afternoon, against a Millwall side chasing an automatic promotion slot, we were comprehensively beaten 2-0.

Going in to this, the Lions had won just one of their last five, slipping two points behind promotion rivals Ipswich in the race for second spot, whereas we were unbeaten in five, winning three and drawing two. Those three wins had me daring to dream about the play-offs. But after this desultory performance, a top-half finish looks optimistic.

Julien Stéphan made just one change to the side that started against Bristol City. Rayan Kolli dropped to the bench, with Kwame Poku coming in. But the good news was Ilias Chair, Nicolas Madsen and Rumarn Burrell were all on the bench.

The formation shifted from 4-4-2 to 4-2-3-1, with Kieran Morgan and Jonathan Varane dropping into defensive midfield and Harvey Vale, Paul Smyth and Poku as the attacking trio. That meant we lined up as follows: Joe Walsh in goal; Amadou Mbengue, Ronnie Edwards, Jake Clarke-Salter and Rhys Norrington-Davies in defence; Varane and Morgan in midfield; Smyth, Vale and Poku in front of them; and Richard Kone leading the line.

We didn’t get to the stadium in time to see the opening goal, having got the train to Shadwell which still left us half an hour from the stadium. But by all accounts, it was 1-0 before we’d even had a kick. Derek Mazou-Sacko was quickest to react to a loose ball on the edge of the area and placed his left-footed shot beyond Walsh inside three minutes, with Mbengue at fault for ducking as the ball flew past him.

We had a couple of corners in quick succession around the 20-minute mark — Clarke-Salter headed one of them wide — but they amounted to nothing, and Millwall doubled their lead in the 17th minute. Varane went diving in to a challenge and the attacker, Camiel Neghli, cut back, sat the Frenchman on his arse and curled the ball into the corner. Walsh might have done better, but it was primarily a defensive error, and sadly typical of Varane in his current form. Two-nil after less than 20 minutes, making our chants of "Premier League/You're having a laugh" ring hollow.

Edwards picked up a yellow card two minutes later — the second booking for the visitors in the first half, with the hapless Mbengue being carded in the 31st minute.

In the 24th, Clarke-Salter and Walsh were both beaten and the ball sailed just over the bar — a narrow escape. At the other end, Smyth got the ball on the edge of the area in the 39th minute and, instead of having a shot, tried a pass, only for the ball to roll over the touch line. Then, in first-half stoppage time, the ball fell kindly for Smyth again and the misfiring Ulsterman hit it high into the Cold Blow Lane stand.

It was a poor first-half display and, to his credit, Stéphan responded decisively at half time, making four changes: Isaac Hayden, Rumarn Burrell, Madsen and Steve Cook all came on, with Mbengue, Varane, Smyth and Morgan making way. Given Mbengue’s booking and general liability, and Varane’s defensive errors, it wasn't that surprising to see them hooked, although I was sorry to see Smyth come off, not least because I had a fiver on him to score any time.

We were better in the second half, although never looked like clawing one back, with the Hoops only managing one shot on target in the entire match. That came from Madsen in the 89th minute and needed saving, although it didn't do much to test Anthony Patterson, who batted it away.

Hayden put a decent cross into the box in the 55th minute but Burrell just missed getting his head on it. In the 58th minute, Norrington-Davies had what might have been a shot or might have been a pass — either way, it sailed over the bar. Chair came on for Poku in the 60th minute, and it was good to see the little Moroccan back in a QPR shirt. He had a shot from 25 yards in the 67th minute, which ended up brushing the wrong side of the near post — the closest we came to scoring all afternoon.

Vale had a bad day at the office, over-hitting his crosses and repeatedly putting the ball into touch. Burrell got on the end of a Madsen pass in the box in the 84th minute but couldn’t get his feet right and the chance fizzled out.

In added time, as our fans began steaming out, hoping to avoid being kettled, the Lions faithful began chanting “Fuck off/You might as well fuck off" — a fitting send-off, given how easily their lads had put us to the sword

The full-time statistics tell the story. We had five shots in total, just one on target; Millwall had eleven, four on target. We had 57% of the possession — never a good sign — and an xG of just 0.13 to Millwall’s 1.08. We created no big chances.

That means Millwall have done the double over us this season, the first time since the 1988-89 season, according to the BBC. At the final whistle, they were in the automatics, although Ipswich play on Sunday and could reclaim that spot. As for us, we ended the afternoon in 12th, just managing to cling on to our top half place. We're 13 points off sixth placed Hull, so with three games left, the play-offs are out of reach.

You can watch the highlights on Sky Sports here.