Gallen’s late strike floors Wrexham and keeps faint play-off hope alive – History Thursday, 22nd Jan 2026 13:27 by Clive Whittingham Back to the strange new world of 2001/02 for this week’s History column, as QPR go into the third tier for the first time since the 1960s and start facing exotic opposition like Wrexham for the first time in a generation. Memorable MatchQPR 2 Wrexham 1, Saturday February 16, 2002, Second Division There was a good deal of novelty value around QPR’s 2001/02 season, their first in the third tier of English football since 1967. Trips to First Division mainstays like Sheff Utd, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest were replaced with first trips in at least a generation to the likes of Northampton, Cambridge and Chesterfield. Ian Holloway was building a new squad from scratch, while in administration. He began with just eight contracted players, and that number included Richard Langley and Clarke Carlisle nursing busted ACLs. With Kenny Jackett and Mel Johnson brought in from Watford the brains trust set about piecing together an ad hoc squad of friends, favours and free transfers. The likes of Chris Day, Steve Palmer and Alex Bonnot followed from Vicarage Road, non-league punts like Hamid Barr and Leroy Griffiths were given a swing, Premier League fall outs Dave McEwen, Rhys Evans and Terrell Forbes, and off Rangers set into a brave new world. The initial months were a lot of fun. New grounds, new players, and positive results. After the long slow death of the club under Chris Wright’s ownership it was nice to be winning again. The hot goalscoring form of Andy Thomson (still the last R to get to 20 goals in a regular league season) brought good early results against Stoke, Bury, Port Vale, Huddersfield and others. Coupled with a famous pre-season victory against Chelsea, where Griffiths tortured Marcel Desailly on debut, there was a good deal of optimism around that our stay might be brief. However, as winter bit, Rangers went into a steep decline. A run of four straight defeats, including a 1-0 loss at relegation haunted Wrexham, and embarrassing LDV Vans exit at Yeovil and a 4-1 humping at Peterborough set the tone. Rangers lost six and won won of eight, culminating in a 4-0 loss at Swansea in the FA Cup – at that point the Swans were bottom of the whole Football League. The return of Kevin Gallen straight after the game lifted the mood once more and Rangers lost one of the next ten games. Their form at Loftus Road was particularly good – just two defeats all season, five the season after and none in 2003/04 which meant the R’s were beaten just seven times in three years and 69 matches at “our cave” during our time in the lower division. That dip in form, and too many draws, kept Ollie’s side frustratingly shy of the play-offs. Bournemouth and Cambridge both left W12 with shut-up-shop points in another five-game winless run through Jan and Feb which meant when Wrexham turned up for the return fixture – by now staring relegation to the Third Division square in the face – it was something of a must win if promotion was to be achieved. Not the game to go 1-0 down in after a minute then, which is exactly what Rangers did by conceding a dangerous free kick straight from the kick off which Steve Thomas calmly whipped into the top corner of the Loft End net past Fraser Digby. The Red Dragons, now under the management of Denis Smith after Brian Carey was dismissed in November, hung on until well into the second half, but this was to be a game of two Loft End free kicks. Richard Langley went low with his, but to the same side of the goal and over the wall. Marius Rodve’s turn to remain motionless, staring straight into the sun, as the ball flashed into the bottom corner for 1-1. That looked to be it. A point did little for either cause but 1-1 it stayed until a minute from the end. Holloway’s double substitution introducing Doudou and Richard Pacquette almost paid dividends for the manager when the former crossed for the latter but Rodve just beat him to a low ball right in the goalmouth. Wrexham never got properly set again which meant when Doudou returned with a second devilish delivery Kevin Gallen was able to peel off and guide a header into the corner past the unsighted and flat footed Wrexham keeper. Sadly, just one win from the next six, which meant by the time Jerome Thomas arrived on loan from Arsenal to inspire a four-game winning streak the R’s were too far behind to catch up. They finished a fairly creditable eighth while Wrexham were relegated with games to spare – six points adrift in second bottom. QPR: F Digby, T Forbes (Doudou, 57), D Shittu, S Palmer, M Bignot, R Langley, M Rose, G Peacock, L Griffiths (R Pacquette, 57), K Gallen, K Connolly (A Bonnot, 78) Subs not used: B Askar, R Evans Goals: Langley 59, Gallen 89 Wrexham: M Rovde, J Whitley, D Lawrence, S Roberts (B Carey, 53), S Holmes, K Russell, S Thomas, W Phillips, L Trundle (M Blackwood, 86), C Faulconbridge, H Sam (A Morrell, 64) Subs not used: K Rodgers, M Chalk Goals: Thomas 2 Referee: P Rejer Attendance: 9,706 Classic EncountersLFW regular and AKUTR’s columnist Dave Barton has set up a QPR Memories YouTube channel, with a mixture of clips, classic games, and old highlights packages. His Wrexham packages are embedded below, give him a subscribe on YouTube or follow @QPR_Memories on Twitter. Recent MeetingsWrexham 1 QPR 3, Saturday September 13, 2025, Championship QPR’s recovery from a dreadful start to the season picked up pace with a comfortable win away at big spending Wrexham. Rumarn Burrell’s pace in behind caused the Welsh side problems all afternoon, with the Jamaican striker bundling an opening goal in off Conor Coady and then exposing the former Wolves centre backs lack of speed with a scorching third in the second half. In between Richard Kone had banged in a third goal in as many games from the edge of the box and Kieffer Moore had briefly made it 2-1 with a typical header. Karamoko Dembele’s lake lob of goalkeeper Okonkwo came back into play off the post. Wrexham:Okonkwo 5, Cleworth 5, Coady 3 (Broadhead 82, 5), Doyle 5, Longman 6, Dobson 6, James 5 (Sheaf 61, 5), O’Brien 6, McClean 5 (Barnett 61, 6), Moore 6, Hardie 5 (Smith 61, 5) Subs Not Used: Ashfield, Brunt, Burton, Hyam, Kabore Goals: Moore 67 (assisted O’Brien) Yellow Cards: Dobson 82 (foul) QPR: Nardi 6, Dunne 7, Morrison 7, Mbengue 8, Norrington- Davis 7 (Esquerdinha 72, 6), Varane 6, Madsen 6 (Field 84, -), Vale 8 (Hayden 84,-), Saito 7 (Dembele 72, 6), Kone 8, Burrell 8 (Frey 77, 6) Subs Not Used: Cook, Kolli, Morgan, Salamon Goals: Coady og 33, Kone 44 (assisted Madsen), Burrell 75 (assisted Dunne) QPR 2 Wrexham 0, Tuesday March 16, 2004, Second Division Rangers completed a double of 2-0 wins over Wrexham as they surged towards promotion from the Second Division, but were again made to work hard by their Welsh visitors. With Bristol City breathing down QPR’s necks on an extraordinary run of 11 consecutive victories, things were tense under the lights at Loftus Road until Clarke Carlisle finally broke the deadlock with 20 minutes left. Kevin McLeod then atoned for his red card at The Racecourse Ground with a game sealer two minutes from time. QPR: L Camp, T Forbes, C Carlisle, A Gnohere, M Rose (T Thorpe, 37), M Rowlands, M Bircham, R Johnson, K McLeod, K Gallen, P Furlong Subs not used: J Cureton, R Pacquette, M Bean, S Palmer Goals: Carlisle 67, McLeod 88 Wrexham: M Ingham, C Edwards, S Roberts, B Carey, D Lawrence, P Edwards, J Whitley (M Crowell, 84), D Ferguson, S Thomas, C Armstrong, C Llewellyn (L Jones, 76) Subs Not Used: S Holmes, P Whitfield, S Pejic Yellow Cards: Jones Attendance – 13,363 Wrexham 0 QPR 2, Tuesday September 16, 2003, Second Division A memorable night on the road for Ian Holloway’s promotion-bound R’s. Marcus Bean’s early opener seemed to set the Londoners on course for a comfortable victory, but Kevin McLeod got himself sent off and Wrexham laid siege to the Rangers goal in the second half – drawing one of the most extraordinary saves you’ll ever see from Chris Day. With tension building to unbearable levels in the away end Martin Rowlands broke clear in stoppage time and beat two men on his way from the halfway line to a fabulous, game-sealing second goal. Wrexham: A Dibble, S Pejic, B Carey (S Holmes, 79), D Lawrence, C Edwards, J Whitley, D Ferguson, P Edwards (C Morgan, 79), L Jones, A One (H Sam, 61), C Llewellyn Subs not used: S Thomas, P Whitfield Yellow Cards: Carey, Whitley, Edwards QPR: C Day, M Rowlands, A Gnohere, D Shittu, G Padula, G Ainsworth (E Sabin, 69), M Bean, S Palmer, K McLeod, P Furlong (R Edghill, 45), K Gallen Subs not used: R Pacquette, D Oli, N Culkin Goals: Bean 7, Rowlands 90 Red Cards: McLeod 77 Yellow Cards: Gnohere, Sabin, McLeod, Furlong, Gallen Attendance – 4,539 Wrexham 1 QPR 0, Saturday October 13, 2001, Second Division Despite their struggles, Wrexham did win the first meeting that season at The Racecourse Ground as financially stricken QPR struggled to get to grips with a first season in the third tier of English football since the 1960s. Michael Blackwood’s goal just before half time was enough for the hosts despite Steve Thomas being sent off on the hour and having to play the final third of the game a man light. Wrexham: K Rodgers, J Whitley, K Hill, S Roberts, S Holmes, R Gibson, S Thomas, D Ferguson, M Blackwood, C Faulconbridge, L Trundle Subs not used: K Russell, D Walsh, A Moody, C Edwards, H Sam Goals: Blackwood 43 Red Cards: Thomas 63 QPR: C Day, T Forbes, B Askar, S Palmer, P Bruce, M Bignot (S Wardley, 76), M Rose, A Bonnot, K Connolly (M Perry, 76), A Thomson, L Griffiths (Doudou, 54) Subs not used: F Digby, C Warren Attendance – 4,474 Results/ScorersHead to Head >>> QPR wins 10 >>> Draws 4 >>> Wrexham wins 5 2025/26 Wrexham 1 QPR 3 (Coady og, Kone, Burrell) Player ConnectionsKarl Connolly >>> Wrexham 1991-2000 >>> QPR 2000-2003 There weren’t many hints of the storm to come at QPR when they finished the 1999/00 First Division season in tenth position, with just one defeat in the final half dozen games and a memorable 3-1 home victory against eventually promoted Ipswich into the bargain. But behind the scenes the implosion at the end of the Chris Wright era was well underway. Relegation and administration awaited 12 months later as club legend Gerry Francis’ miracle rescue act of 1998-2000 ran out of steam. Chris Kiwomya and Rob Steiner had formed an effective strike partnership for 1999/00 and their almost complete absence the following year had a dreadful effect on the team. A loan move for Paul Furlong also ended in injury, and the R’s infamously lost star England U21 duo Clarke Carlisle and Richard Langley to the same ACL blow out within half an hour of each other in a home game with Fulham. Part of that summer’s intake had included Wrexham veteran Karl Connolly. With a mercurial left foot, and the pace of a district nurse in the outside lane of the A316, he was at times a peculiar watch, and a bit of a throwback. A scorer of great goals, rather than a great scorer of goals, he is perhaps best remembered at Rangers for a long range volley in a 3-1 pre-season victory over monied Chelsea at Loftus Road. Initially spotted playing for Napoli (Liverpool local league version, not Serie A) he spent nearly a decade with Wrexham where he was far, far more prolific in front of goal. He scored 114 times for the Welsh side in 449 appearances. Signed initially as a left winger, he played much of his time at Wrexham as the main striker and the side he led from the front developed a giant killer reputation in cup competitions - including a 2–1 win against mighty Arsenal, another 2–1 victory against Ipswich, the magnificent cup run of 1996–97 which led them to a quarter final, and the 2–1 victory over Middlesbrough in 1999. Connolly was one of the few who survived the mass cull at QPR in the summer of 2001 following relegation and financial collapse. He’d scored four times in the forlorn attempt to stay in the First Division, including an equaliser against Huddersfield on the day Kevin Gallen returned to Loftus Road, scored for the visitors, and then later missed a penalty. Our group from The Goldhawk were the match sponsors that day in memory of my father which meant the task of selecting a man of the match fell to us in the sponsors lounge. Everybody was under strict instruction to write Jude The Cat on the nomination form but when the club refused to ratify the decision Connolly was sent in instead to what was effectively my dad’s wake. A tough gig, which he dealt with with good grace. Another four goals followed in the division below as Ian Holloway rebuilt the team, and club, in his own barmy image. Good times were just around the corner again in Shepherd’s Bush, but Connolly’s career was drawing to a close via brief spells with Swansea and Prescott Cables. Others >>> Lee Camp, Wrexham 2022, QPR 2007-2009, (loan) 2004 >>> Rhys Taylor, Wrexham (loan) 2015-2016, QPR (loan) 2009-2010 >>> Gareth Taylor, Wrexham 2009-2011, QPR (loan) 2000 >>> John Curtis, Wrexham 2009, QPR 2007 >>> Aaron Brown, Wrexham 2010, QPR 2004-2006 >>> Jason Jarrett, QPR (loan) 2007-2008, Wrexham 1999-2000 >>> Anthony Williams, Wrexham (loan) 2007, QPR (loan) 1998 >>> Tommy Anderson, Wrexham 1962-1963, QPR 1958-1959 >>> Bernard Evans, QPR 1960-1962, Wrexham 1954-1960 >>> Chris Ferguson, Wrexham 1931-1932, QPR 1930-1931 >>> Jack Mustard, Wrexham 1930-1932, QPR 1926-1929 If you enjoy LoftforWords, please consider supporting the site through a subscription to our Patreon or tip us via our PayPal account loftforwords@yahoo.co.uk. Pictures - Reuters Connect Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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