ONUOHA GEM ENDS THE 15-YEAR WAIT
AS a teak-tough defender, Nedum Onuoha does not usually need to dazzle with his feet – but he did just that in firing QPR to victory.
The win was Rangers’ first at Wigan for 15 years and Hasselbaink revealed afterwards it owed much to work done on the training ground.
Delighted Hasselbaink said: “We have been doing a lot of work in training, trying to get the defenders to be a little more calm when they are in the opposition box.
“We want them to believe that they have what it takes to score although, I have to be honest, most of that work has been in the air – not with the feet.
“But Nedum’s shot showed that he has not only the skill to finish like that but also the belief.
“It is that kind of belief I want us to show all through the team – and we did just that after such a disappointing defeat to Preston last week.
“We did not play well, we were not together and our defending which has been so solid for most of this season was not up to standard.
“At Barnsley we were unlucky, not against Preston. But this win, these points, we really worked for.”
And the hard work paid off for skipper Onuoha three minutes into the second half. Gary Caldwell’s defenders failed to properly clear a free-kick from Jake Bidwell. Waiting, as the ball dropped, was the ex – Manchester City centre half and he volleyed home a low right-footer in imperious fashion.
That goal – and a lot of the work Onuoha and his fellow defenders did at the other end of the pitch – sent the R’s soaring to fifth in the table.
Hasselbaink added: “For us it was important we came here and made sure our platform and organisation was right and we made it difficult for them.
“We knew how dominant they can be in attack but we pushed them all over the pitch.
“This was a grinder, a very solid performance – we pushed ourselves and we stayed together as a team.”
Rangers rode their luck in the closing moments as Gary Caldwell’s men suddenly found some rhythm.
Max Power pulled a shot wide, with Latics dangerman Will Grigg poised to collect his fifth goal in six games but he headed over unmarked.
And in the fourth and last minute of added time Alex Smithies clawed Power’s low cross away from the on – rushing Grigg.
Until that point last season’s League One champions had threatened only twice.
Skipper Craig Morgan saw a close-range header land in the net but the effort was ruled out for offside.
And on the hour Smithies got down low to parry a strike from Luke Garbutt, who was making his home debut after arriving on loan from Everton.
But boss Gary Caldwell acknowledged: “We are going to have to work at putting things right.
“Yes, we had chances late on, but we did nowhere near enough to make opportunities earlier and that is a disappointment.
“Right at the end it was a great cross for Will and he would normally put chances like that away. But the fact is that we were not good enough.
“I’m just glad we’ve got the international break now because it gives us a lot of time to sort ourselves out – we have to.
“Coming up as champions is one thing, but we want to stay in this league now that we are here.”