QPR and Trabzonspor Fight to 1-1 Draw

In one of the last big pre-season friendlies of the summer, Queens Park Rangers battled back from a deficit to earn a 1-1 draw vs. Turkish club Trabzonspor. Shaun Wright-Phillips had the only QPR goal of the match, latching onto a low ball and blasting it into the bottom corner.  The night almost turned joyous as Diji Cisse` blasted a dangerous shot near the final whistle. But the ball rattled back off the bar, and the Rs were forced to settle for a draw.

The starting line-up was an interesting mix of the old and the new, as new boys Junior Hoilett and Park Ji-Sung got some action and looked decent.  Hoilett especially looked like he might be a solid pick-up, as he clearly has some pace and was worrying the Trabzonspor fullbacks on several occasions.  But the one time he had a good chance to score, he hooked a shot wide of the target, after being sprung loose by a nice pass from Jamie Mackie.  Mackie and Park both looked decent against a pretty tough Trabzonspor back line, although Mackie committed a poor turnover in the first half when he tried to turn too quickly and lost the handle.

Kieron Dyer also played his first match in nearly a year, as a broken foot bone and complications from the resultant rehab kept him out for the entirety of last season.  I’m not counting on much from Dyer this season, but if he can give us a few good minutes at one of those midfield spots, it will be a good bonus.

Cisse` drifted in and out, but when he was in, he looked dangerous.  He hasn’t lost much as far as speed and agility; I wouldn’t be surprised to see him score in double digits this season, especially if our midfield can control possession and feed him regularly.

Some video highlights – this one should have both goals:

The club is back to the training ground this week, with the roster probably set for the season.  There’s still a chance that we make a move for Berbatov, but that looks less likely now (especially since he seems like he might be signing for Sociedad in Spain).  Our roster for opening day vs. Swansea will probably look something like this:

GK

Green

Cerny

DEFENSE

Ferdinand

Onuoha

Traore`

Hill

Luke Young

Connolly (recalled from Reading, I believe)

MIDFIELD / WINGS

Taarabt

Dyer

Faurlin

Derry

Wright-Phillips

Park Ji-Sung

Smith

(Barton to join later … maybe)

FORWARDS

Cisse`

Hoilett

Andy Johnson

Zamora

Campbell ???

Mackie

Check back later this week for a look at the upcoming schedule, and a review of any Berbatov news (probably none).

Category: QPR Team News