13 Yrs ago: QPR to Play Witney Ut...Luton FA Cup

Bump: One of those times when I felt QPR didn't do the right thing!

Also on this day: Five years ago: We drew at Home against Luton Town in the FA Cup 3rd Round (2-2).... And 11 Years ago, drew away against Luton Town in the FA Cup (3-3)

The Game vs Luton 13 years ago

Saturday, January 06, 2007
QPR Forced to a Replay in the FA Cup
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QPR were held 2-2 at home to Luton

QPR took the lead through Blackstock in the 32nd minuted. Luton scored twice just before and just after the break. QPR equalized in the 76th minute through substitute Baidoo.

QPR Team:
Royce Bignot Mancienne Stewart Kanyuka Cook Smith Lomas Ward Blackstock Jones
Bench: Cole Rehman Bircham Furlong Baidoo


Dunstable Today - Newell's Reaction
Newell bemoans 'handball' equaliser
Even Gregory admits QPR leveller illegal
Hatters boss Mike Newell was left fuming about the decision that allowed QPR a late leveller in the 2-2 third round FA Cup tie at Loftus Road.
Town had been 2-1 ahead thanks to goals either side of half-time from Rowan Vine and Warren Feeney after Dexter Blackstock's opener for the hosts.
But Rangers earned a replay with a controversial leveller from substitute Shabazz Baidoo 15 minutes from time despite the player appearing to convert with his hand.

A despondent Newell said: "It was handball. But the referee didn't see it so there's nothing you can do about it.

"I don't know how he didn't see it or the linesman didn't see it, but everyone else in the ground did."

Even Rangers manager John Gregory conceded: "I was totally convinced it was handball and I don't think it hit one hand I think it hit two.

"It hit both his hands and ended up in the back of the net.

Luton Town: Beresford, Davis, Coyne, Perrett, Robinson, Vine, Feeney, Morgan, Langley, Brkovic, Barnett.
Subs: Brill, O'Leary, Boyd, Keane, Holmes.


LOst The REplay


GUARDIAN
Luton strike lucky after 20-man brawl as Bailey and ref bang heads

David Ornstein at Kenilworth Road
The Guardian, Tuesday 23 January 2007

Luton's progress to the last 32 of the Cup was soured by a 20-man brawl in which the QPR midfielder Stefan Bailey, sent off for a two-footed lunge on Ahmet Brkovic, appeared to head-butt the referee Mike Jones. As pandemonium ensued, the Cheshire official was seen clutching his face and the incident is certain to be investigated further by the Football Association.

Any punishment will compound QPR's woes, the defeat denying them a lucrative fourth-round tie at home to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday and a £150,000 bounty for the television coverage, a sum already earmarked by the Loftus Road board for new signings.

"That's a big blow to me personally and the club," said QPR's manager John Gregory, who defended Bailey over the bizarre incident with the referee.

"It certainly wouldn't have been intentional," he said. Remarkably, the former Aston Villa manager also backed his player over the horrific two-footed challenge that earned Bailey a red card, describing it as "a great tackle". Brkovic was last night in hospital for x-rays on a suspected broken ankle.

The 74th-minute melee turned this third-round replay on its head and, within six minutes, Luton took a scarcely deserved lead that proved decisive. QPR, in Gregory's words, "should have been 4-0 up at half time and 7-0 by the end". Exaggeration aside, this should have been the visitors' night; instead they were left to rue a catalogue of missed chances.

Chief culprit for Rangers was Marc Nygaard. The Danish striker spurned three opportunities in the first half - twice with his head and once when he failed to connect with a Dexter Blackstock cross. In the second period he was equally wasteful, skimming the crossbar and shooting into the side netting before being replaced.

The departure of both Carlos Edwards and Rowan Vine earlier this month, allied to the knee ligament damage suffered by Warren Feeney last Saturday, has left Luton devoid of attacking options in recent weeks but QPR's profligacy was an open invitation to take advantage.

On 80 minutes the substitute Dean Morgan - on for the injured Brkovic - produced a drive as wayward as any other Luton strike on the night, but the ball cannoned off Zesh Rehmanand beyond a stranded Simon Royce to keep Luton's dreams of Wembley alive.

"I'm a big believer in fate, particularly when it comes to the FA Cup," said the manager Mike Newell, a Blackburn player from 1991-96. "Maybe we were just meant to play Blackburn on Saturday. I know a lot of people at the club and it will be nice because it was where I spent the most successful part of my career."

A victory on Saturday and Luton Town will be his latest success story.


www.theguardian.com/football/2007/jan/24/match.qpr

Read more: qprreport.proboards.com/thread/9406/yrs-ago-play-witney-luton#ixzz5bpKZVKAE

8 Years ago.

In the big picture, it was just a relatively small thing. But said a lot about QPR, how it was run and re some of the "Paladini boys"

Bump 10 Years - That was the era when Gianni (pre-Flavio/Bernie takeover) was running QPR