QPR thrashed again as pressure on Ainsworth increases
QPR 0 Blackburn 4
The pressure on Gareth Ainsworth increased as QPR were thumped again.
Arnor Sigurdsson scored twice and there were also goals for Tyrhys Dolan and Sammie Szmodics in a thumping away victory for Blackburn, who had lost their previous four league matches.
Ainsworth’s future as boss is in doubt after another diabolical performance at Loftus Road, where Rangers have won just once since last October and have lost five of their six home matches so far this season.
And an 11th home match without a win set a new club record.
The R’s are in the bottom three, have gone six games without a win, and look both defensively vulnerable and devoid of attacking ideas.
They almost went down under Ainsworth last season and have so far fully justified being among the favourites for relegation this term.
Blackburn took control of the game by punishing woeful QPR defending to score twice in the space of four minutes midway through the first half.
The opener came on 19 minutes, when Joe Rankin-Costello drifted away from Jack Colback to collect Dilan Markanday’s pass and pull the ball back from the right for Dolan score his first goal of the season.
Rangers were carved open again soon afterwards, with Markanday once more involved in the build-up on the right-hand side.
This time Szmodics was found by Markanday and laid the ball across to Sigurdsson, who got in front of Ziyad Larkeche to apply the finish.
Rangers had made a decent start, with Sinclair Armstrong bringing a near-post save from keeper Leopold Wahlstedt after combining with Ilias Chair, before Wahlstedt gathered Lyndon Dykes’ header from Larkeche’s right-wing corner.
After finding themselves two down, the hosts tried in vain to reduce the deficit before the interval, with Andre Dozzell seeing a shot saved by Wahlstedt shortly before crossing for Dykes, who headed wide.
Any realistic chance of a Rangers comeback evaporated when Sigurdsson struck again on 59 minutes, collecting Dolan’s pass near the left of the penalty area and curling a low shot beyond keeper Asmir Begovic and into the far corner of the net.
Andy Moran should have made it four but missed the target from close range after Begovic had parried Szmodics’ shot.
But Szmodics added the fourth on 66 minutes following an error by Larkeche.
Left-back Larkeche, operating as a makeshift right-back in place of the dropped Osman Kakay, made a mess of an attempted clearance and presented the ball straight to Szmodics, who calmly slotted past Begovic.
QPR (4-3-1-2): Begovic; Larkeche (Kakay 74), Dunne, Clarke-Salter, Paal; Duke-McKenna (Dixon-Bonner 79), Colback (Smyth 74), Dozzell; Chair; Dykes, Armstrong (Kolli 79).
Subs not used: Archer, Willock, Cannon, Kelman, Adomah.
09/10/2023 @ 12:31 pm
These are basically the same players with quality additions who were sitting at the top of the league (or thereabouts) this time last season. Whats changed, Ah yes, the management
09/10/2023 @ 12:59 am
Personally I blame the players. Defenders who cannot defend, midfielders – one of whom is inept and strikers who cannot score!
Doesn’t matter who manages these fraud professionals who take their pay and cannot do the job they are paid to do !! They should be ashamed enough to hand over half their pay – this week and every week they lose – to those who are working hard and getting no reward! These loafers are not working hard and yet getting paid for loafing around!! In any other profession they would be on a written warning and docked pay!!
07/10/2023 @ 5:24 pm
Ainsworth has to go, and look who’s available immediately: Michael Beale. Maybe he can finish the project he was working-on at Loftus Road eventually. It can’t be any worse.
07/10/2023 @ 5:23 pm
“Gareth Ainsworth, he’s one of our own” rang out from the away end. Nothing more to say, time to go !
07/10/2023 @ 5:14 pm
Looks like the bench should have played from the off and half the starting team should have been on the bench. We needed to score so off came Smyth andAarmstrong to be replaced with Kolli & Colback (with Dykes staying on). Willock on the bench full time. The mans completely lost his marbles, whats the betting we all get fed the usual crap about immediately climbing up the table, he said we would win our last two games, but the aggregate was 0-5 you just could not make this up.Come back Neil – please!
07/10/2023 @ 5:09 pm
Bye bye QPR. Will never stay in the Championship with the current squad. Absolutely awful in every department. Clueless manager to compliment that.