QPR 0-0 Bristol City

It was an early start for the Youngs today, getting up at 6.15am for this year’s Tiger Walk, the annual fundraising event for the Tiger Cubs, QPR’s Down syndrome team. (You can donate here.) We had to get to QPR’s training ground in Hounslow by 7.30am, thanks to the early kick-off. We made it to Loftus Road at noon, but after a visit to the pitch for a group photo we only had a few minutes to spare before the match got underway. Luckily, we managed to squeeze in a group selfie with Mark Bircham (see above), who accompanied us on the walk, along with club Chairman Lee Hoose.

Julien Stéphan made just one change to the side that drew 1–1 at Preston on Easter Monday. Jimmy Dunne was out with a knee issue that, according to Hoose, has been troubling him for two seasons – and with four games left, it sounds like he may have played his last match of the campaign. Ronnie Edwards took over the captain’s armband, with Jake Clarke-Salter coming in at centre back in the Irishman’s place. The big news was the return of Rumarn Burrell, who was on the bench – we haven’t seen him since he did his hamstring in January. That meant we lined up in a 4-4-2 formation as follows: Joe Walsh between the sticks; Amadou Mbengue, Edwards, Clarke-Salter and Rhys Norrington-Davies in defence; Harvey Vale, Kieran Morgan, Jonathan Varane and Paul Smyth in midfield; and Rayan Kolli and Richard Kone up front.

The visitors dominated the opening quarter. Between the 13th and 16th minutes, they won four corners in quick succession – an avalanche of set pieces that had the home end shifting uneasily in its seats. The last two involved Scott Twine taking them short, receiving it back, and then advancing for a shot on goal. On the first attempt, Walsh could only palm the ball away when he should have gathered, forcing Varane to boot it back out for another corner. Exactly the kind of unnecessary pressure we didn’t need.

The closest they came to scoring in the first half was on the half hour, when a sharp pass put Twine in behind. He struck the ball cleanly, our keeper got a hand to it, but could only parry – and the ball came agonisingly close to trickling in before Walsh managed to smother it. Then, seven minutes later, he spilled what should have been a routine catch, again scrambling to cover before a red-and-white shirt arrived. He was fortunate on both occasions. The visitors came within a whisker again in the 46th minute, with the ball pinging around the box before Walsh threw himself on it. A poor first half performance from the keeper, although he improved sufficiently in the second period to earn a FotMob rating of 8.5 and be acclaimed Man of the Match. If only he could be a bit more consistent.

It was a boring first half – exactly what you’d expect from an end-of-season dead rubber between two sides who, as the BBC put it, have already seen their play-off hopes evaporate. We had five shots in the first half, two on target; they had nine, with four on target. Kolli and Smyth were largely anonymous and Kone less of a handful than usual. We were the better side in the reverse fixture at Ashton Gate in October – winning 2-1 – but there was little here to suggest a repeat was in the offing.

Things improved after half time. Walsh made a decent save in the 52nd minute, and a minute later Smyth won a free kick in the final third, floating a ball into the box that had the Bristol back line flapping. Then, in the 54th minute, Mbengue was barged off the ball – a foul that should have been awarded to us, but, inexplicably, the referee gave the other way. Cue a chant of “You don’t know what you’re doing”. When Mbengue then glared at the player who’d put him down and slapped the ball in frustration, he was yellow-carded. Not an edifying spectacle, but the bad blood seemed to spur both teams into life.

Our best move of the afternoon came in the 59th minute, ending with a Smyth effort that sailed just over the bar. Then Vale made a bursting run on the right, rolled the ball into the path of Kolli, who beat his man and was in on goal – only to be hauled back by a Bristol defender. Free kick. Corner. Nothing came of it.

Stéphan made two changes in the 68th minute, bringing on Burrell for Kolli and Daniel Bennie for Kone, then replacing Morgan with Kwame Poku in the 75th. Burrell’s arrival was warmly received – “Burrell again, olé olé” – but he had little opportunity to make an impression in the final quarter of an hour.

In the second half, we had six shots, none on target; the Robins had four, two on target. Yet our xG in the second period was 0.58 to their 0.16 – the ball didn’t fall for us, but we at least grew into the game as the afternoon wore on. Across the ninety, we had 45% possession and an overall xG of 0.91 to their 0.87. Eleven shots to their thirteen. Even Steven – and entirely forgettable.

It was, in truth, exactly what you’d expect from two sides at the end of a season with nothing to play for. It burst into life occasionally, but more often than not looked like a friendly between two groups of players who’ve already booked their summer holidays.

The result extends our unbeaten run to five and takes us to 58 points with four games remaining. We finished the afternoon in 11th place, although that probably won’t last given the other results still to trickle in. The play-offs are eight points away with four games left – a pipe dream at this point. What we’re playing for is a top ten finish, which will probably be enough to cement Stéphan in place. Can we then push on to secure a place in the play-offs next season? With Ilias Chair, Nicolas Madsen and Karamoko Dembélé all set to return, some smart business over the summer – new keeper please – and Burrell and Kone on form, we surely have a decent chance, particularly as a top eight finish will be enough in 2026-27.

You can watch the highlights on Sky Sports here.