Bolton Wanderers 1-1 QPR: Immediate Reaction

‘Twas a dark and stormy afternoon at the Macron where Wanderers made it 4 points in 2 games. Despite leading from the 22nd minute until the 78th, I come away not at all disappointing with a draw. QPR dominated throughout much of the game but we were steadfast in our defending. Sure it isn’t the 3 points we wanted (maybe needed), but a point is a point at the bottom of the table.

The line-up was unchanged from the team that got out first win of the season against Sheffield Wednesday. Wanderers looked lively early on and Adam Armstrong saw some decent chances go begging. We took the lead 22 minutes in coming from a corner won by Armstrong. Captain Pratley getting the goal with a close range header. It was mostly QPR for the rest of the mach although Wanderers did occasionally get a chance. Despite the resolute defending we finally broke 12 minutes from the end. It finished 1-1 despite more pressure after the goal. A more detailed match report is coming soon.

First of all, I’m happy with this. It is annoying we couldn’t see out the win but the fact is we played pretty bad compared with QPR today. We have played far better this season and lost so can we complain when we play poorly and still get a point? Why not be mad at the player performance then? Well Vela and Ameobi are still in the process of returning from injury with both having injury scares last week. It was obvious that Ameobi specifically wasn’t at his best. Give the team some time to get in to 5th gear and we should see performances pick up.

The weather was truly awful today and that shouldn’t be overlooked. Whilst it doesn’t benefit any style of play to have torrential rain and driving winds, our outlet of going long to Madine was somewhat hindered by the elements. This was compounded with the referee giving him absolutely sod all when he wrestled with the QPR defence.

Reserving praise for Ben Alnwick who had a good game today. Kept us in it a couple of times. Likewise for David Wheater who dealt well with most QPR threats all afternoon. Parky deserves some credit for making the right substitutions. Unfortunately the result couldn’t be helped.

To finish, a small piece of criticism. Adam Armstrong seems like a decent footballer but isn’t getting much luck in front of goal at the moment. Adam Le Fondre massively changed his game under Parkinson and became an aggressive, work horse, offering far more than goals. Given that he does offer so much more than lethal finishing, it surely has to be time to start him. Give Armstrong a break and give ALF a crack to play off Madine.