In the absence of our regular match reporter we have a match report double special for you to enjoy! Both Firebrace and Davman from our message board have written their accounts of Tuesday night's draw at Preston and here they are.

FIREBRACE'S REPORT

I always marvel at how Simon, Tracy and Clive among others can give such detailed accounts of our matches, when in many cases the paucity of action at a match probably only warrants a single paragraph. 

Last nights match was one of those.  A poor match between two poor teams and an even worse referee. 

With reports in the Mirror that Harford had gone prior to the match, it was no surprise to this particular reporter that he named an unchanged side from Saturday and that he was indeed there in the dugout, on the touchline, and even on the pitch after the final whistle. 

The team lined up the same as on Saturday, with Camp in goal, Mancienne(LB), Cranie, Stewart, Barker(RB) in defence. Ainsworth(RW), Leigertwood, Bolder, Rowlands(LW) in Midfield, and Vine and Ephraim up front. 

The First half was also almost a carbon copy of Saturday's first half.  With most attempted passing moves from both sides breaking down after one pass or two,  'Drab' doesn't adequately describe it and I was in danger of slipping into a coma in the cold until a penalty decision from the linesman allowed me to keep my body temperature up for the remainder of the half shouting 'cheat' and various other abuse at the linesman, quite unwarranted, as I hadn't even seen the penalty incident, but with practically nothing else happening for the half absolutely necessary to keep my body temperature up in order to stay alive in the cold. 

On about the half hour mark a fairly innocuous cross from the R's right looked to have been cleared by Cranie. Play, and the referee, who had been looking straight at the clearance, had already moved up the pitch until Mr Kettle took notice of his assistant on the line waving his flag like a five year old at the Changing of the Guard. With hardly a whisper heard in appeal by players and fans alike, in Kettle's infinite wisdom, he decided that his assistant's eyesight and judgement was more valid than his own and after a couple of minutes of conversing with his assistant, and shooing some very upset QPR players away, decided booked Vine for his typical petulance, and point to the penalty spot. Personally I didn't see the actual offence, but was happy to give the lino abuse from that point on anyway. By all accounts it was a case of ball to hand, the likes of which is waved away by referees game after game, as it was in this case, until the Lino stepped in. 

Now Preston had already missed two penalties this season.  Their regular penalty taker over the past few seasons, Alexander, had decided to leave for Burnley last season. And with Nugent having gone as well, they are now scrabbling for someone who can actually put the ball in the net. As Gallagher, on loan from Blackburn, was placing the ball, Stewart came back to have a few words with Camp. Whatever he said did the trick, as 'Our Lee' mk 2, went down to his right and held what was ultimately a rather weak penalty, ensuing much cheering and jeering from the decent hoops following. 

The first half then continued on in the same vein it had started with neither side really carving out much of note.  A few attempts at goal but nothing on target and neither keeper really had much to do.  

The second half started in alarming fashion with Camp making a complete hash of what should have been a simple collection and requiring MM to clear of the line.  This seems to be my only gripe with Camp, fantastic shot stopping ability, but does not command his area, and fumbles his fair share of crosses. We were talking about how dodgy Lonergan was in goal for Preston, but to be perfectly honest Camp looked just as dodgy coming for crosses, and I have to say has to be one of the main contributors as to why we look so vulnerable from set pieces. This started off a period of Preston pressure, which given their own inadequacies in front of goal, didn't amount to very much other than one scuffed shot from a far post cross that again had eluded our defence. 

As with Saturday until Harford brought on Nygaard, we had struggled to work any decent scoring opportunities.  Ephraim just wasn't in the hunt down the centre, and Vine, despite a lot of work, and some very nice close ball control, simply can't do it all on his own. We were playing pretty narrow on the left, and with Rowlands not much of an attacking force, Preston were beginning to look as if they might just make their superior possession count. 

Again as with Saturday, the introduction of Nygaard, this time for Ainsworth, on 55 minutes, changed our play, and things started to happen. He might give away a few free kicks for silly fouls, and be harshly treated occasionally on 50-50 balls because of his size, but he does win his fair share of challenges, and last night his first touch and close ball control was almost perfect. Holding on to the ball and passing to a player in black and red without fail. Ephraim moved out to the right and started getting into the game, and all of a sudden it looked as if we could steal it. 

There was a good passage of play at around the 70 minute mark.  A sharp volley from Whalley elicited an equally good save from Camp, who after holding the ball at the second attempt when a goal looked likely, sent the ball out and before you knew it Ephraim was sending in a spinning near post cross. Nygaard was the first to react getting his head to the ball just inside the 6 yard box and sending the ball fizzing just wide of the left hand corner of the goal.  In all likelihood Lonergan would have had it covered, but it was now end to end stuff, and the game was beginning to look up, and within another minute we could have gone 1-0 up.  

Another Nygaard knock down just outside the Preston 18 yard box, from a long clearance, went straight to Vine 5 yards behind him facing goal. Vine controlled it well and sent a pass out wide right to Ephraim just outside the corner of the 18 yard box.  Ephraim cut in level with the penalty spot and a few yards inside the area, with everyone expecting him to stick a cross in to the waiting Nygaard and Vine, young Hogan flicked the ball with the outside of his boot with power pulling a very good save from Lonergan who'd already started to move anticipating a cross and just managed to change direction and get a hand to what would otherwise have been a very well worked and executed goal. 

On the 74th minute Camp pulled off an equally stunning if not better save off a free header from Davidson launching himself to his left at full stretch to tip the ball over the bar for a corner. 

QPR were beginning to look the better side going forward though, with Nygaard, Vine and Ephraim all combining well, but with final efforts just not coming off.  Rowlands started to get more into the game, and could have won it at the death if he'd headed the ball on target rather than a couple of feet wide of the post. 

The Ref:  As expected, he was walking round the pitch with the yellow card in his left hand all game.  Bolder and Vine were both booked for dissent, and in Vine's case rightly so, much as I like him, he is constantly whining. makes John Terry look demure. Other than that, in a game where there was probably only a couple of bad challenges both getting justified yellow cards for Preston player's professional fouls when not the last man, the yellow card total just looks ridiculous.  The game had no chance of being able to flow as even the slightest nudge or 50-50 challenge was blown up for with the players talked to every time meaning nobody was able to re-start the game quickly, despite numerous attempts from QPR and Preston players alike, play was called back at least 9 times.  All that on top of giving a penalty he had already waved away. He truly is an appalling referee.  0/10. 

Player Ratings: 

MoM - Camp 7/10 Pulled off another 3 great saves again today, and another clean sheet can only help confidence. However yet again he failed to control the box, and if he doesn't punch is liable to fumbling the ball which he did on several occasions. If it hadn't been for the fumbles he'd have got an 8. MoM today due to the saves, and the lack of any other viable alternatives with the exception of maybe Cranie and Nygaard.

Mancienne. 6/10 Better today than on Saturday. Defensively sound, and his distribution was much improved. Can always rely on him getting well timed tackles in, but did give away more free kicks than anyone else on the pitch.  Not something you want to be doing in your back third of the pitch. 

Cranie 7/10 Again the best defender on display. Looks calm and assured, and doesn't rush. Is comfortable on the ball. Wasn't quite as dominant as in the last two matches though, and can't be faulted for the ball to hand for the penalty. Brings a calmness and self-assurance to the back four that is much needed. 

Stewart 6/10 Another relatively solid display from Stewpeas. Although I have a nagging suspicion a couple of free Preston headers from set pieces may have been due to him losing his man, it might also just be because our whole back four haven't got defending set-pieces sorted out yet.  

Barker 4/10 Hmm. needs to improve. Caught out of position a couple of time, got turned inside out a couple of times. If he doesn't improve for full fitness over the next few weeks there can be no option but to drop him as he is the most vulnerable link in that back four at the moment. 

Ainsworth 5/10 Another poor game by Gareth's standards and subbed when it looked like he might have lost his rag a little bit. 

Leigertwood 6/10 Another solid performance from him, but without the all inclusive play we saw from him against Ipswich. Got stuck in, broke up Preston play well, but didn't produce much in the way of quality ball. 

Bolder 4/10  Another dreadful display from our captain.  I'm not sure how long this can continue before he's dropped, but he just keeps giving the ball away and the only time he breaks up an opposition move is by giving a foul away. A central culprit for our poor start to the season, and without Rehman and Moore to divert the vitriol and with Nygaard playing well in his two subs appearances so far it won't be long before he starts to get grief from the stands. 

Rowlands 6/10 Is a victim of his own ability. He's been asked to play Left Wing, Right Wing, Right back and Central Midfielder this season, often switching positions during the match and its affecting his performances. It was noticeable in the first half that we were playing narrow on the left with Rowlands tucking in to condense play. It worked from a defensive point of view, but at the expense of Rowlands attacking ability. I've given him a 6 rather than a 5 because of the amount of defensive work he put in having to ensure Barker didn't get overwhelmed, but to be perfectly honest his end product today was negligible coming forward. 

Ephraim. 6/10 Absent when in the middle, mixed when put out wide right. He's not a striker. He's got a good shot on him, great close ball control, and is exciting to watch taking on players, but he looks lost when playing up front.  Logically with his abilities it would be great to see him drop deep to pick up the ball and run at the opposition but without more passing ability in the central midfield area that just isn't going to happen.   Frustrated me tonight when put out right, in that he never once tried to beat his man on the outside, cutting inside every single time, with the ball just going square across our midfield. If he's going to play wide and cut in every single time he gets the ball he's better off playing on the left and Rowlands on the right. 

Vine 7/10 Another frustrating performance in parts.  Worked as hard as Dex. Great first touch, great close control, exciting when he takes players on, and nearly every goal attempt we had involved him at some point. However again, looked petulant, ran into a lot of blind alleys and brick walls, and head dropped a little in the second half when he wasn't getting support from the midfield and the wide men.  Perked up significantly when Nygaard came on, as he started getting some proper service, and a little better understanding between the two could prove to be very fruitful.   

Sub Nygaard: 7/10  Its difficult to give MoM or an 8 to a player on for only 35 minutes unless they really change the game. So I haven't. But we were a much better side with him on the pitch, as he did what Vine and Ephraim had failed to do for the previous 55 minutes.... bring other players into the game.  For once his first touch was faultless.  For once his ball control was faultless, and for once his passing was all but faultless, doing simple accurate passes to our own players without putting them under pressure. He made a general nuisance of himself as usual winning his fair share of headers, but also giving away too many free kicks whilst jockeying for  position.... a victim of his size there in that regard I feel.  I hope to see him start alongside Vine on Sunday against Charlton. 

Harford: 6/10 Having three attackers on the bench makes a nice change... even if one of them is Moore and not St Aimee. Came here with a game plan, playing narrow on the left, spoil the Preston play, and attempt to nick the game. All in all it worked fairly well, but produced a poor spectacle.  That being said, our passing play on the deck, and overall quality of play has improved from under Gregory, as we now have players trying quick short passing moves, 1-2s etc. Again made the right choice in bringing Nygaard on and pushing Ephraim out wide, and can be excused for trying Ephraim up front one more time even though it didn't work against Ipswich. We could have nicked it, but all in all things worked out to plan.

DAVMAN'S REPORT

Right; bear with me now. I’m an Engineering Manager, which means that I now have other people do work for me and the work that I used to do was sums as opposed to written prose like this. Also, bear with me as my memory is shot and I am not very good at the detailed stuff. And, bear with me, as I’ve had a few beers and have just been accosted by two Preston fans, Dan and Jules, who took me under their wing, briefly showed me the highlights of their town including a fine bar named Perfect10, which featured women willing to take their clothes off for a nominal sum – if I close my eyes, the image wobbles (the beer) before focussing on a fine sight… And, finally, details like the opposition’s names just pass me by when I watch a QPR game… 

Anyway, that’s not the point of this article, is it?   

Now the word ‘alright’ can take on a number of meanings depending on the tone of voice employed when uttering it. I am sure that you all will understand exactly my intended tone of voice every single time I use it in the following ‘report’. Recently, we’ve not been awful, we’ve not been brilliant; we’ve just been ‘alright’ – get the picture?

Mick Harford had seen enough from the ‘alright’ display against Ipswich. If you needed a reminder, that was Camp in goal behind a defence of Mancienne, Stewart, Cranie and HMS Barker. The midfield quartet of Ainsworth, Leigertwood, Bolder and Rowlands played behind Loan Rangers Rowan Vine and Hulk Hogan.

Deepdale is one of the oldest grounds in the Football League, but has been given many upgrades over the years. In fact, it is about to under-go a further update, but is currently in limbo as the stand to the left of the away end has been knocked down and doesn’t actually exist at the moment. However, the other three stands are neat enough to state that it will be a fine ground, in the mould of the JJB at Wigan. Preston fans should be happy with their lot at this moment in time; unfortunately, a relegation fight after consist over-performances at the right end of the league in the last few seasons have tainted their view…

Firebrace and I had a little conversation at the start of the game (note: not a bet as I would NEVER take him on in a betting compo) about when Trevor Kettle would open his little black book. Justin reckoned on ten minutes. As his many ports of call around the country would (probably) testify, he was premature; Mr Kettle took 13 minutes. Can’t remember who it was, but I’m going to guess Michael Mancienne who was forced to pass over his ‘phone number in exchange for a view of a little yellow card. It was not warranted and neither were the majority of the nine or ten yellows Kettle produced.

Now, the rules of football outline a number of offences, but cannot explicitly define what severity of offence results in a yellow card. That doesn’t worry Mr. Kettle as he believes that ANY offence deserves a yellow card. Unless, of course, your name is Marc Nygaard, then the just being tall and Danish is enough. Still, he wasn’t quite as bad as Mr I Nolan, our offensive (in both meanings of the word) Assistant Referee, but more on him later.

Our first half display was ‘alright’. As always, we huffed and puffed, but lacked pace and creativity throughout the team. Yes, we now have talented players like Vine, Ephraim, Rowlands, Leigertwood, Mancienne and Cranie, but I can’t help but think, whilst they put in great effort, there is something missing – and that is genuine class. Now, that is the difference between the Premiership and our League, isn’t it? At least Preston were no better than us.

The main incident of the first half was the definitive moment of Mr. I. Nolan’s match. The ball had bounced up in the penalty area and it may have glanced Martin Cranie’s arm, but the path of the ball was not altered in any way, the touch was so light. Trev the Kettle saw the incident and was prepared to let the game continue, but then Mr. Nolan intervened.

Sporting the strangely hanging arm most Assistant Referees employ (think ‘I’m free Mr. Humphries’ and you’d be close), Nolan lifted his flag. We knew that he thought he’d seen the ball strike Cranie’s arm, but surely Kettle had seen the incident for himself as he was looking straight at Cranie? But that didn’t stop Kettle changing his mind – he gave the pen and, as a bargain, he gave Adam Bolder a yellow for some high level whinging. Yes, it was an appalling decision, but when will footballers realise that they will never change the referees mind once it is made up?

The penalty award was harsh, but seeing as Mancienne got away with an earlier handball, Preston could argue justice had occurred. It also gave firebrace and I some Assistant Referee-baiting fun throughout the rest of the match…

QPR loan target, Paul Gallagher, stepped up for the penalty after Stewpeas appeared to have a brief chat with Lee Camp and proceeded to give Lee Camp a gift. Yes, he did the job and that’s all a ‘keeper can do, but it was a poor penalty.

Aside from that, I can’t remember too much about the match; I’m sure there’s loads of other reports on the net you can read if you want that level of detail! Preston hit the bar, Campy dropped the ball once, there was a goal mouth scramble our end and Vine hit a fierce cross shot across the area and none of our guys were prepared to gamble in the goal mouth.

At the superficial level of detail I CAN provide, my recollection of the main points of the game were:

1. Preston’s ‘keeper, Andrew Lonergan, was one of the most dodgy ‘keepers I have seen at this level for quite a while. He seemed incapable of catching a ball and had more flaps than the Pinky Ponk (if you don’t get that, look it up on Google).

2. Lord Malwhinny in Preston’s defence had a right Richard Langley / lead singer from Shalamar hair style. He got booked by Trev the Kettle too…

3. Ephraim impressed when pushed out wide right, but for some strange reason, wanted to cut inside all the time.

4. GET THIS: Marc Nygaard was fantastic when he came on. His touch was, wait for it, Varc, phenomenal on a couple of occasions and his effort was faultless. On a different day, he’d have scored a couple. He got booked I think too, for being a tall, hoopy Danish man.

5. Sean St. Ledger (Preston Centre Back) decided to stay down late on in the game when there was a clash in the Preston penalty area. I can only assume that he was trying to get someone sent off (not a bad policy when TtK is ref), but time wasting at 0-0 at home to the team bottom of the league – hmmm… He got up rather quickly when he realised that, amazingly, Trev the Kettle kept his cards in his pocket.

6. Although MoM was clearly Lee Camp for about three world class saves, that doesn’t paint the overall picture of the game. Whoever scored was going to win it. QPR gave as good as they got.

7. You can see the effort Adam Bolder puts in, but it really just aint happening. On Saturday, Leigertwood put the required effort in for BOTH of them; tonight, he couldn’t cover Bolder.

8. HMS Barker is still unfit. He seemed to gain in confidence as the second half progressed, but was tentative throughout the first half. A left back will not change a game, but will cost us one if he is not on the game – why Biggie / Sammi aren’t in the frame, I’ll never know.

9. Whilst we didn’t test Lonergan that much, the link up play up top looked good at times; it’s a shame that we can’t translate it into an end product in the 18 yard box.

10. At the end of the day, we were ‘alright’.

11. I am not in the same class as Simon (or even Tom(!)) when it comes to match reports. How they remember a whole 90 minutes, I’ll never know…

12. This division is tight. It may not seem like it, but the last three games (5 points, unbeaten and conceded just 1 goal) have bought us right back in to contention with the pack. However, I still fear that the head start that we have given others will come back to haunt us. Shockingly, the season is just under 25% gone and we are where we deserve to be. The teams I expected us to be above are actually way above us (Barnsley, Colchester, Blackpool, Hull and Leicester) and I cannot see PalARSE, Sheff Weds, Preston (even thought they were poor today) or Sheff Utd continuing the way they are. Norwich, maybe, but not those others. This means that credible draws away from home are not enough; we MUST start winning.

Olly’s Plymouth have caught Charlton out at home tonight; we really need to do the same on Saturday…

MoM - Lee Camp - three world class saves and in a better team, he'd go far.