MATT FINISHES OFF TURGID TROTTERS
QPR boss Ian Holloway hailed his side’s ‘professional’ performance as they claimed a crucial three points over ten-man Bolton Wanderers.
Ben Alnwick pulled off a string of quality first-half saves, his fantastic fingertip stop to deny Matt Smith the highlight.
But Mark Little’s straight red for a reckless lunge on Massimo Luongo after the break proved the turning point. Joel Lynch’s tap-in saw QPR take full advantage before Smith added a late second to condemn the Trotters to another away defeat.
“We were professional, we did what we needed to do,” Holloway said. “It was always going to be cagey, you could tell by the atmosphere in the ground.
“We were all driving in looking at the table, looking at the points – ‘Oh my god, what if we don’t win? What if they beat us?’ You know what it’s like.
“Even though we didn’t get what we possibly deserved in the first half, we still kept going.”
Luke Freeman’s corner caused Bolton problems on five minutes, but Jack Robinson’s shot was straight at the keeper.
Wanderers went close after nine minutes, Derik Osede meeting Josh Vela’s corner at the near post and drawing a fine save from Alex Smithies.
Osede almost scored at the other end from Robinson’s long throw two minutes later, but Alnwick reacted sharply.
The keeper kept out Luongo’s cross-cum-shot with his feet shortly after, but his save on 20 minutes was the pick of the bunch, flying across goal to get his fingertips on Smith’s well-placed header.
Rangers then had the ball in the net on 22 minutes when Reece Burke sliced the ball past Alnwick, but it was disallowed for offside.
Smith spurned two good chances before the break, heading another towering Robinson long throw narrowly over after 29 minutes before he sent Freeman’s cross over in added time.
Bolton almost made him pay soon after the restart, David Wheater forcing a good save from Smithies with a powerful low header.
Little’s red card on 54 minutes seemingly put QPR in a good position to take three points, but Bolton nearly took the lead five minutes later when substitute Jem Karacan lofted the ball over the top for Tyler Walker, who drilled his shot just wide of the far post.
The hosts finally broke the deadlock on 72 minutes through Lynch, who could hardly have missed after Smith’s header across goal laid the chance on a plate for him.
And Smith finished the game off in style with a deserved goal of his own, nodding home Paul Smyth’s cross in injury time to secure the three points.
Bolton boss Phil Parkinson said the red card was the “turning point” in the game and accused the referee of being influenced by a half-time chat with Holloway.
“He [Little] has given the ref a decision to make and, away from home when you’ve got the weak officials we had today, it was always going to end up a red,” he said.
“I can see why he’s given that one but the all-round performance of all four officials was very, very poor.
“If it had been a QPR player it would have been a yellow, but sometimes the away team don’t get those decisions.
“You can’t afford lapses of discipline or moments of recklessness.”