Warburton annoyed by ‘sloppy’ QPR defending

QPR manager Mark Warburton bemoaned his team’s “sloppy” defending in the 2-2 draw at home to Birmingham.

Marc Pugh equalised for Rangers and Jordan Hugill put them ahead after Scott Hogan had given the visitors the lead.

But they failed to deal with Dan Crowley’s right-wing corner and Hogan pounced to score from close range after Gary Gardner had beaten Geoff Cameron in the air.

“We didn’t attack the ball well enough and we were sloppy and paid the price,” Rangers manager Warburton admitted.

“The first goal was a soft one to give away and the second was a soft set-piece to give away and then we didn’t defend it well.

“We dropped two points. We were 2-1 up, controlling the game and had big chances.

“We went 1-0 down and needed to change the tempo. We did that and got two quick goals but I think we should have had three or four and we didn’t take the chances.

“When you get in a position like that, when you’re 2-1 up with 10 minutes to go, you’ve got to try and capitalise on it.

“We should have been 3-1 up and out of sight. That third goal would have changed the whole dynamic of the game.

“When it’s 2-1, any team is vulnerable when a side is committing bodies forward. But we should have defended our goal better.”

Rangers are unbeaten in five matches and the result leaves them 14th in the Championship table.

[scriptless]