| Post match comments....... 18:33 - Mar 31 with 438 views | Nov77 |
A delighted Mark Hughes heaped praise on his players after QPR’s shock victory against Arsenal.
Samba Diakite’s goal midway through the second half secured three valuable points for Rangers in their battle to stay in the Premier League.
And it vindicated Hughes’ pre-match confidence that his team could upset the Gunners, who were heavy favourites to win.
The R’s boss said: “In the last three home games I would suggest we played well. We were good against Everton and Liverpool but today was the best of the lot.
“To a man I thought we were exceptional. In terms of discipline and shape against a team who, don’t forget, have brushed everyone aside in recent weeks, we were excellent.
“We’ve played okay on occasions and not got the result, whereas today we were exceptional and got our reward.
“If we play at that same level it’s a given that we’ll win more games. Our challenge is to be able to go up against teams that people maybe think we’ve got chance against, because we seem to excel against the top sides.”
Boss Mark Hughes paid tribute to Joey Barton after the QPR midfielder returned to captain the side to their victory over Arsenal.
Dropped for last weekend’s defeat at Sunderland, Barton was restored to the starting line-up and was a key player in Rangers’ shock 2-1 win.
“I thought Joey was different class today,” Hughes declared.
“He got a lot of stick last time out because of his performance and he acknowledged it wasn’t good enough.
“Today the crowd willed him into a top-class performance and that’s what we got from him.
“He stood up and was man enough to say ‘This is who I am and this is what I’m about’.”
Samba Diakite’s winner — his first goal for the club — gave Rangers a potentially crucial three points in their battle to stay up.
It was a sweet moment for the Mali midfielder, who suffered the disappointment of being sent off on his R’s debut
Hughes added: “He (Diakite) is learning to understand the Premier League.
“He came in and was very green and didn’t understand how games here are refereed, but he does now.”
Arsène Wenger could not hide his disappointment after Arsenal’s seven-game winning streak in the league was brought to an abrupt end by Queens Park Rangers on Saturday.
QPR started brightly and deservedly took the lead when Adel Taarabt burst past Thomas Vermaelen and fired home in the 22nd minute.
The Gunners drew level in the 37th minute when Theo Walcott showed good composure to find the net after his first shot had bounced back off the post.
But Samba Diakite’s first goal for QPR in the 66th minute sealed a vital victory for Mark Hughes’ men, who drew level on points with 17th-placed Blackburn Rovers.
“It is a disappointing performance,” said Wenger. “They defended well and I felt we played football without hurting them and we made defensive mistakes that we could not afford to on top of that.
“They had a gameplan where they left us with the ball and it is more suited to playing against the bigger teams.
“I felt that if you had the choice you want a better pitch but I don’t think it explains why we were beaten in too many domains.”
[Post edited 1 Jan 1970 1:00]
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| Post match comments....... on 18:38 - Mar 31 with 403 views | Juzzie |
Is our pitch really that bad or is it just that they're used to, or even expect to, play on billard table like surfaces? Good footballers should be able to play on any reasonable surface.
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| Post match comments....... on 18:44 - Mar 31 with 368 views | Nov77 |
I wonder if we do better at home against the top teams because they all have players who are used to playing fast one touch passing to feet, and aren't used to the ball bouncing around their ears. tottenham struggled at stevenage on a hard bobbly surface.
Against clubs lower down the league, their players don't play the barcelona stuff so the pitch isn't as big a problem to them, they just hoof it anyway.
just a theory. | |
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| Post match comments....... on 19:02 - Mar 31 with 315 views | kropotkin41 |
I didn't notice AT's control suffering too much. |  |
| ‘morbid curiosity about where this is all going’ |
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