Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
IN THE THICK OF IT.. THANKS TO HAIR LEISTNER!
Toni’s bald head puts QPR into the midst of the playoff chase
IN a hair-raising piece of history, German Toni Leistner’s balding head won Queens Park Rangers their first game at Nottingham Forest in 84 years.
It’s taken Rangers to the fringes of the Championship play-off places ahead of Boxing Day’s game at home to bottom-club Ipswich.
QPR were where Ipswich are now in August and centre-half Leistner was in the side battered 7-1 at West Brom. But Hoops boss Steve Mcclaren is leading a revival that has Rangers in the top 10, four points off sixth.
Struggling Reading are also at Loftus Road before the end of the year, giving QPR the chance to get in among the big hitters.
Leistner scored his first goal in England against Reading and his second came from a Luke Freeman free-kick.
“My head has no hair,” said Leistner. “I think that helped a little bit. It made it a bit slippy, the ball slid in.
“Freeman always puts in good deliveries. It is easy to be in a good position for his freekicks.”
QPR made club history with their win after 35 attempts at the City Ground dating back to 1934 – but it was a milestone for 28-year-old Leistner as well. He has spent his career in the lower divisions of German football and, in eight years, had never scored more than one goal in a season – but now he’s on a roll.
“It’s the first time I have scored twice in a season” said the former Union Berlin defender. “I hope it is not my last goal.
“We have beaten Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest in our last two matches, so you think it is easy to play the bottom teams next, but it is not.
“After these next two home games, we will see where we are for the future.”
Forest, built for a promotion bid, were poor and manager Aitor Karanka is planning changes to his squad in next month’s transfer window.
A trip to Norwich, who are in scorching form, next up suddenly looks daunting.