Birmingham v QPR player ratings
QPR had to settle for a point despite being the better side for much of the game at St Andrews. Here’s how we rated each Rangers player in the 0-0 draw against Birmingham.
Joe Lumley: 6
Misjudged a first-half free-kick from former Brentford man Maxime Colin, which thankfully for Rangers drifted out of play. Other than that let-off, the keeper looked assured.
Angel Rangel: 7
Did well at right-back. Looked every inch the veteran he is in defensive situations, when he dealt with things calmly. And looked younger than his 35 years when going forward, playing a great ball into Nahki Wells in the first half and creating another chance for the striker with a storming run down the flank in the second.
Toni Leistner: 7
Composed at the back but missed two good opportunities to score. The second – a header from Luke Freeman’s free-kick – was a big chance.
QPR boss Steve McClaren: “I thought Leistner and Lynch were very good. Leistner is dominant and with Lynch they can have a good partnership, but there’s still a lot of work to do.”
Joel Lynch: 7
A good performance from Lynch, typified by a superb block to deny Lukas Jutkiewicz. His partnership with Leistner looked immeasurably more trustworthy than during the recent 7-1 debacle at West Brom.
Jake Bidwell: 7
Offered nothing of note going forward, but contained his former Brentford team-mate Jota.
Ebere Eze: 7
The young forward offers much less attacking impetus out on the right but he deserves great credit for the way he tried to embrace the defensive side of a winger’s role. He did his best to offer Rangel good cover.
Jordan Cousins: 6
An important challenge on Jota during a Birmingham counter-attack was the highlight of a steady performance.
Massimo Luongo: 5
Struggling for form at the moment. Again was prone to giving away possession and appeared to be low on confidence. Did show a glimpse of the real Luongo, though, when he combined nicely with Tomer Hemed to create a late chance for Freeman.
Luke Freeman: 7
Ineffective in some ways when playing out wide but he remains an asset for Rangers for two main reasons: his set-piece delivery – Freeman set up two great chances for Leistner – and his ability to cleverly move in from the left and find space.
Nahki Wells: 7
His pace and alertness was always a worry for the home side but he was unable to find the goal his effort probably deserved.
Tomer Hemed: 7
Also threatened without managing to find the net. Was denied by a couple of saves from former QPR keeper Lee Camp, with one of his shots coming after a sublime piece of control. Also combined beautifully with Luongo for Freeman’s second-half chance.
