Thursday 19 January 2012

QPR 1 MK Dons 0 - the end of the dream?

This was a day I was secretly hoping would not come, the moment when I would have to suddenly break free from the safe routine of the working week to travel to some dark football ground in search of a conclusion, an ending, a termination of a tie that would propel the FA Cup from the non league to the Premier League 'business end' of the competition.

A late change to my travel plans was a telling example of my uneasiness about the game, which I had had to take a days annual leave for. Originally hoping to take the train to London, I realised that should the game go to extra time or penalties, I wouldn't make the train home. I drove. Into Central London.

Loftus Road lies at a jagged angle to the long boulevard South Africa Road, its exterior facade almost jutting out onto the road itself. Either side of the road are apartment blocks, a pub, and behind the stadium is a local school. The inside of the stadium is not much better. Loftus Road is mainly famous for being the only ground in top flight English football to have a synthetic pitch,apart from that, it is a truly unremarkable stadium. Away fans enter through the turnstile and walk along a narrow corridor, which opens up onto a long concorse, to the left of which are the stairs outside into the terraces. Lets get something straight. Loftus Road is like a 1970's football stadium with seats. While QPR have been under the leadership of a new wealthy owners for some time now, the School End lower tier remains a place of ugliness, of  pokey piss stained concrete walls and cramped stairways.

One MK fan observed to me that 'no one was sitting in their right seat, so just sit anywhere.' Great. The lower tier were buoyant, and one thing I immediately observed was how claustraphobic it all was, with the roof of the upper tier very close to your head. To my right was an MK fan who can't have been much older than 20, with a mouth that suggested that he had been one of Mick Jagger's lovechildren. On my left was a fan of similar age, wearing a burberry scarf, who looked on the whole far too Joey Essexlike to be seen near a football stadium. To make matters worse, they had Buckinghamshire accents.

The football was predictable. QPR, as the home side, barely touched the ball inside the first 10 minutes, it was a good 20 minutes before they had their first serious chance. MK began the game as they had left off, full of running, eager to establish their slick passing style on the home team. On the whole I was impressed with the Dons, I honestly thought they would struggle away against a Premiership team but QPR did nothing to suggest that they knew what they were doing or where they were going as a club. They looked, to all intents and purposes, like a team struggling to justify their Premier League status. MK, however, were full of confidence, their busy centre forward Ibehre backed up by a busy midfield who knew how to play the ball on the ground.

Once again however, just like in the original tie, MK displayed a punishing weakness in the final third, often wasting a chance by playing one too many passes. They were occasionally guilty of being too casual when trying to play the ball out from the back, modest intentions cut short by a telling reminder that they are after all, no Barcelona. QPR DID go close themselves in the first half, and they have Shaun Wright Phillips to thank for contriving to miss a great chance to put them 1-0 ahead. For the most part though, QPR were pretty dire.

With a 0-0 scoreline at halftime, I was left contemplating the possibility of spending an extra 45 minutes in this rotten poor excuse of a stadium, when I caught sight of a member of the general public, frantically running around an illuminous yellow pole potruding from the ground between the centre circle and the 'D'. The man, after running around the pole 10 times, then attempted to run back towards the penalty spot where he would then try to score past the QPR mascot. The first fan fell over after 3 steps, to the delight of the home fans. The second fan incredibly made it all the way to the ball, slipping over as he made contact. Finally, the last fan managed to overcome the forces of giddiness, scoring a sublime effort. Say what you like about the Premier League, you can't knock half time entertainment.

Soon, the game resumed. MK were on top. Yet again. This was exasperating me, as I was honestly hoping for an end to end game in which both teams would play their part. Instead, MK looked even better after the half time interval, creating several good chances in the first 15 minutes. My evening changed however, as QPR somehow scored a goal from nothing, seemingly condemming the brave Dons to defeat. No one in the grotty lower tier could believe what we were seeing. Rangers had played so poorly in both games, yet were winning with barely 10 minutes left. Their professionalism alone was enough to see them through if nothing else.

In the end, it was a heartbraking, if not ultimately predictable finish to an eventful cup run for the Dons. They can take heart from the fact that they played so well throughout, and national TV audiences have had the pleasure of seeing their own brand of attractive football, that will no doubt see them well through to the end of the season.

 For myself however, this result represents a severe change in my own FA Cup fortunes. QPR are due to play Chelsea in the 4th Round. Of all ties, not only is it in London, but it is also a local derby, and initial inquiries suggest that the game will not even enter general sale. A grotty, cold, piss poor night in Central London, could this be the end of my FA Cup dream?

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