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It’s been a long time since QPR fans have had something to cling onto.
But thanks to the impact of little-known Spanish coach Marti Cifuentes, Hoops supporters finally have hope again.
Cifuentes – who replaced the sacked Gareth Ainsworth in October – was left frustrated on Wednesday after a goalless draw against 10-man Plymouth Argyle, but there was still plenty of evidence to suggest his side are moving in the right direction.
QPR poached the 41-year-old from Swedish side Hammarby at the end of October and his nomadic coaching career has taken him through Spain’s second tier, Norway, Denmark and Sweden – via a brief stint in Millwall’s youth academy – to the dugout at Loftus Road.
A year ago when Michael Beale joined Rangers, QPR were seventh in the Championship and just four points off third place Blackburn Rovers, with hopes of a promotion push in the second half of the campaign.
There was plenty of evidence to suggest QPR are moving in the right direction at the moment
Cifuentes – who replaced the sacked Gareth Ainsworth in October – was left frustrated
However, a disastrous 10 months saw Neil Critchley then Ainsworth come and fail in the hot seat, with the pair combining for six wins in 40 games and just 27 points that had the West London side teetering on the brink of League One.
Much of the belief had been sucked out of the Loftus Road faithful but after picking up eight points in 14 games pre-Cifuentes, the Hoops now have 12 in seven matches plus three successive clean sheets with him and they are one point from safety.
It could’ve been different though as Steven Schumacher’s enterprising Plymouth Argyle side – who haven’t won a second tier away game since a 2-1 victory over Doncaster on 3 April 2010, a mere 5003 days ago – started brightly.
The exciting Morgan Whittaker went through within 30 seconds but couldn’t make the most of his opportunity.
QPR were guilty of giving the ball away in the early stages and Ryan Hardie initially seized upon their errors, before missing two gilt-edged chances, including firing over a one-on-one when bearing down on Asmir Begovic.
Whittaker then dragged wide after Osman Kakay was again guilty of losing possession in a dangerous area.
QPR began to grow into the game against their youthful opponents – whose starting line up had an average age of 24.2 – and the big moment came midway through the half.
As Ilias Chair broke away, Dan Scarr – who was ironically Argyle’s most experienced player – brought him down in what looked a classic cynical foul to stop a counter attack, but referee Tony Harrington had no hesitation in brandishing his red card straight away.
the Hoops now have 12 points from seven matches plus three successive clean sheets
Plymouth Argyle Manager Steven Schumacher will be dissapointed with Scarr’s red card
Replays showed Scarr caught the Moroccan playmaker on the knee and had both feet off the ground in what was a reckless challenge, although it still left most in the stadium shocked that he had been giving his marching orders.
QPR began to dominate with Conor Hazard making a good stop from the revitalised Chris Willock, before Charlie Kelman hit the post from just a few yards out.
Cifuentes this week likened his side’s progress to rowing a boat and his team kept paddling in the second half but switched the crew members after a triple change that saw Elijah Dixon-Bonner, Reggie Cannon and Ziyad Larkeche introduced.
Plymouth were backed by a superb 1,936 fans despite their Home Park Stadium being more than 200 miles away and showed great resilience in the second half, especially given they had just three points on the road before the game, compared to 19 at home.
They should have gone ahead when Hardie’s cross found Kaine Kesler-Hayden just a few yards out but he somehow headed wide.
Chair was pulling the strings for QPR but they remained frustrated as the final quality continued to elude them, but credit must be given to Plymouth who defended heroically.
Hazard was forced into a succession of saves late on but despite their 21 attempts on goal and 76 per cent possession, QPR couldn’t make their man advantage count.
