On the pitch QPR slogged it out with ten men to get a point at Bristol City, off the pitch Tracy Stent reflects on a decent day out, and the evil backless chairs.
1 – The Match
Not a bad game if you were an impartial observer at Ashton Gate for this one. The home side started off quite nervy and for the first 15 minutes or so was a real cat and mouse affair. Then with 18 minutes on the clock, the deadlock was broken and it went our way. A nice ball into the box was collected by Dex, he lined up his shot, and with the couple of defenders around him becoming tangled up it looked as though he might have lost his chance but whilst battling with them on the floor he managed to get his foot to the ball first and it went flying home into the back of the net. Cue lots of celebrations by players and fans alike down our end of the ground. A few minutes later though the home side had equalised after a ball into our box wasn’t dealt with and there was Dele Adebola just waiting to strike it home.
The second half was a different kind of game for a different reason because with just five minutes played after the re-start, Emmanuel Ledesma picked up a second yellow card (rash challenge) and off he went for an early bath. This meant us having to re-juggle around with Rowlands coming on for Cook to tighten up a bit and after this we made things very hard for the home side. Talk about backs to the walls but we held firm though right at the end Cerny made an incredible save from the annoying head of Adebola who seemed sure to score. It really was an amazing one handed save and with the game ending 1-1 I would say that was a fair reflection of the afternoon.
7/10
2 – Rangers’ Performance
After the last awayday at Sheffield we didn’t know what to expect. But at Bristol City we were all the things we weren’t at Bramall Lane. Retaining possession, keeping tight to the opponent, some lovely little bits of play between a circle of players etc. The sending off of Ledesma might have been unprofessional by the lad but the rest of the players after this incident, certainly showed their professionalism in all areas. Well done lads.
8/10
3 – Rangers Support
Good support for this one. A much better atmosphere than at Bramall Lane too. The singing was excellent and there was a nice catchy song during the second half which said about us having the best midfield in the world. Whilst the away end wasn’t full, I would say it was over three quarters full.
8/10
4 – The Ground
I have always liked Ashton Gate, and today was no exception. We sat right down the front which for many would have been too near pitchside for their liking, but was perfect to me and Emma. Ashton Gate tends to generate a good atmosphere too. The only problem are those backless seats. Wonder why they still have them there? They lose points because of them!
6/10
5 – Atmosphere
The atmosphere was good for this one. The home fans we could sense were getting frustrated at one point and during the second half we certainly outsung them as it seemed as if we picked up on the players’ determination out there to not lose our minds once the sending off had occurred. Well done to all there.
8/10
6 – Pre Match
Just Emma and myself went to this one after cadging a lift and whilst the rest of the motley crew that we traveled with took themselves off to the pub on arrival at the ground, we hung around the ground area, going into KFC to have a bite to eat before making our way into the ground. A nice chat with a few familiar faces and then time to watch the players warm up. To many, this kind of pre match would seem boring, to us, it was perfect.
8/10
7 - The Journey
As I say, we cadged a lift with a couple of very kind fellow R’s fans - thanks again guys. Two cars were going down and we were all meeting at Hammersmith. By the time we all got going and had a stop en route we reached Bristol around midday. Making our way to the part of the city where the ground is was relatively easy and whilst doing so we listened to the Carling Cup Draw being made live on the Jeff Stelling show which Emma had been able to activate on her phone. Parking, probably because we were early enough was no problem. The problem was afterwards getting out of Bristol. We didn’t hit the M4 until quarter to seven because of the traffic. Still, at least we took a point away with us.
8/10
8 – Police and Stewards
To be perfectly honest I didn’t even notice any stewards or police as such. And then because we spent most of the afternoon down the front of the stand, didn’t really notice a presence as such so it’s quite hard to judge this one really.
7/10
Total – 60/80
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