Cifuentes rues QPR’s missed chances

QPR boss Marti Cifuentes bemoaned his side’s poor finishing after they went down 2-1 to fellow strugglers Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.

Rangers led, through Ilias Chair’s deflected first-half strike, until the 86th minute when Bailey Cadamarteri finished smartly from a Djeidi Gassama cross.

A win would have taken Rangers out of the bottom three but Anthony Musaba’s 94th-minute strike, after the visitors failed to clear Barry Bannan’s ball into the box, ensured they left south Yorkshire empty handed.

Sam Field and substitute Osman Kakay both missed very good chances late in the game, Field firing straight at Cameron Dawson from close range a minute before the hosts equalised.

Kakay then shot just wide when well placed in the final minute after being teed up by Chair.

“Just before they score to make it 1-1 we have a great chance and if we make it 2-0 then we win the game,” Cifuentes said.

“But the last 10 minutes of the game we were not good enough.

“I thought we were well in control for much of the game but we knew Sheffield have improved a lot and play with an aggressive pressing style and the last few minutes they played more direct.

“But we should have controlled that situation better and had a better grab on the game as it developed.

“We then had a chance when it was 1-1 but if you do not take your opportunities you give the other team hope.”

Cifuentes brought off Reggie Cannon and Sinclair Armstrong at half-time but said the decision was purely tactical.

“We wanted to start with Armstrong because we know about his pace from in behind,” he said.

“But at half-time we felt we needed to be better at keeping the ball so brought on Chrissy and Lyndon and I think they did a good job, but the last 10 minutes we lost control and Sheffield were better than us.

“We dropped too much and didn’t keep the ball well enough.”