Nottingham Forest 0 v Queens Park Rangers 1 - EFL Championship

Saturday 22nd December 2018
SkyBet EFLChampionship
at the City Ground
Nottingham Forest (0) 0
Queens Park Rangers (1) 1
Toni Leistner 45
Attendance: 28,177

Nottingham Forest:

Pantilimon, Darikwa, Figueiredo (Hefele 75), Robinson, Janko, Guedioura, Colback, Lolley (Murphy 55), Carvalho, Osborn (C) (Ansarifard 55), Grabban

Unused subs - Steele, Cash, Yacob, Dias

QueensPark Rangers:

Lumley, Cousins, Furlong, Leistner (C), Bidwell, Luongo, Scowen, Eze (Hall 88), Wszolek, Freeman, Wells (Smith 87)

Unused subs - Ingram, Oteh, Chair, Osayi-Samuel, Kakay

I've been turning up here quite a lot just lately. But please don't go thinking that I'm starting to make a habit of it, or that I've abandoned my post elsewhere.
En route to my latest visit to the City Ground, one of the local radio stations had been 'space-filling', asking listeners to get in touch about lyrics that they had misheard, with hilarious consequences. My personal favourite was the caller who said that he had mistaken Cornershop's 'Brimful of Asha' for 'Brain food of Abba'. Which begs the question: Can you hear Tjinder Singh? No! No!

The feature reminded me of the first time that I had heard the Forest fans singing the praises of their current manager, and I'd thought they were singing 'Hardcore Karanka!' instead of 'Aitor Karanka' to the tune of La Bamba. But I've renewed my hearing aid batteries since then. However, I do still actually think that my imagined version is much better than the real one... and I wouldn't charge the singing section in the Bridgford End (formerly the Colwick Road End) if they want to usurp it.

On Monday night, Karanka's side drew 0-0 in their East Midlands derby fixture at Pride Park, against Derby County, while Rangers won 2-1 at Loftus Road last weekend, against promotion hopefuls Middlesbrough, who used to be managed by Steve McClaren, who currently occupies the Rs hot seat... and lets not forget, of course, he was also in charge at the City Ground a few years ago too.
Don't worry too much if McClaren hasn't rolled up for a spell at your own club as of yet; because he's well on his way to completing the whole circuit any time soon.

Queens Park Rangers arrived at the City ground this afternoon, having never won an away game at Nottingham Forest, in any competition whatsoever.
They had drawn fourteen times and lost twenty of their previous thirty four visits to West Bridgford. That run constitutes a record in English football, which stretches back as far as the 1933/34 season, when Second Division Forest saw off Third Division (South) 4-0, after the West London side had beaten Kettering Town and New Brighton (after a replay) in the opening two rounds.

For the record: Forest, who entered the competition in the Third Round that season, as a second tier club, were eliminated at the next stage. when they were beaten 3-0 by Chelsea, in a replay at the City Ground, after drawing the initial game 1-1 at Stamford Bridge. Fast forward eighty five years, and next month, the Reds are playing at Chelsea in the FA Cup again, while QPR entertain Leeds United the following afternoon.

Of course, having written up a draft of the above intro, prior to today's game kicking off, pertaining to the historical significance of results between these two sides, there was inevitably only ever going to be one outcome to this Championship fixture.
As Rangers delighted their fans with a win, while Forest under performed and slumped to their second 0-1 reversal at home in succession, having lost out by the same scoreline against Preston North End a fortnight ago.

Rugged enough... but he's no Errol Flynn

I just hope that the 'Guinness Book Of Records 2019' is still at the printers, because, as of 4:51PM this afternoon, Queens Park Rangers' hoodoo was no more.

There was no question regarding ambiguity of the lyrics, as the home crowd serenaded the visitors manager at regular intervals today, unless my tinnitus really is off the Richter scale these days and they were praising him for being an anchor man. 

But, whatever they were calling him, McClaren's game plan, tactics and well drilled team, suffocated the life out of Forest and prevented them from getting out of second gear for the majority of the afternoon... and even when the Reds did move the ball about among themselves, it was almost invariably in a sideways manner, as opposed to anything overly attack minded.
Forest flourish when they come up against opposition who play open and flowing football, that allows them to play to their strengths.

But they struggled to find solutions to the problems that the Rs tight grip on the game posed them today... and though the highlights package on Quest later tonight won't last very long, McClaren's side worked hard, kept their shape, frustrated the life out of their hosts and the home crowd, but effectively bossed the pace of the game and restricted Karanka's play off hopefuls to  just two efforts on target; while netting one of the two that they created themselves just before half time, that I managed to capture for posterity on my phone and posted on Twitter as the teams went in for the interval break.

HT: @NFFC 0 v @QPR 1 @TonyIncenzo pic.twitter.com/Q5EZnPyyhN

— Rob (@THE66POW) December 22, 2018

The only goal of the game, was a demonstration of simplicity itself, as Luke Freeman whipped a free kick into the Reds six yard box, from out on the right, in first half stoppage time... and Toni Leinster flicked a header just inside the far post. It was QPR's only first half chance on goal too.

The opinion of those sat around me in the upper tier of the Brian Clough Stand, was that Forest were poor today against a run of the mill mid-table side, but I think that perhaps, that doesn't give Rangers the credit that they deserve for making the home side look decidedly average and imposing their will on against a side who would probably have battered them, if QPR had opted to play a more open and end to end style of football.

McClaren evidently had the strengths (and weaknesses) of both sides clearly mapped out... and set out his stall accordingly. It wasn't pretty and wouldn't have won him many new admirers at the City Ground this afternoon,but his beaming smile in the aftermath of victory over one of his former clubs, had an element of 'job done' smugness about it too.

Or maybe he was looking flushed, because he'd just been playing with that 'anchor' of his by way of a celebration.

As the second half clock ticked down, Karanka was up on his feet, imploring his players to stay calm and remain patient, instead of hitting long balls and going direct in a horses for courses fashion. But truth be told, Rangers were restricting his side to long range shots by now that weren't causing their goalkeeper, Joe Lumley, any real problems.

But despite his lengthy spells on inactivity, Lumley remained alert and focused, and inside the last minute of the scheduled ninety, he was alert to the danger of Adlene Guedioura's thirty yard strike and managed to reach the ball with his fingertips, at full stretch and turned it against the bar.

Forest had six minutes of added time in which to try salvaging something out of their disappointing afternoon, but as the crowd raised the tempo, the visitors dug in even deeper and the three points would be heading down the M1 to London tonight.

FT: Nottingham Forest 0 v Queens Park Rangers 1

Forest remain in seventh, a place outside the play off positions, but following today's results, now have Birmingham City (who won 3-0 at Wigan Athlethic), Stoke City (who beat Millwall 1-0 at home), and Queens Park Rangers themselves, snapping at their heels, just a point behind them in the table.

Karanka's team head to Championship leaders Norwich City on Boxing Day, while Birmingham and Stoke play against each other at St. Andrew's and QPR have a home game against Ipswich Town, who are riding on the crest of an unlikely two game unbeaten run at the moment.

It's all happening in that there Championship.