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QPR 1, PLYMOUTH 1

Posted on: Tue 03 Aug 2010

Jamie Mackie's 82nd minute strike against his former side meant that honours ended even between QPR and Plymouth Argyle at Loftus Road.

A pre-season friendly of two halves, the R's fell behind early on in the first half when Luke Summerfield struck home from the penalty spot, after Matt Connolly was adjudged to have tugged back Steve McLean in the area.

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Undeterred, Rangers came out the better side after the break, and they were duly rewarded with eight minutes left to play.

Mackie broke free following Bradley Orr's sublime pass from deep, tucking the ball home to give the R's a share of the spoils.

The R's began proceedings at Loftus Road in an unchanged 4-3-3 formation.

Paddy Kenny was in goal for the Hoops.

Orr - who today signed a four-year deal following his switch from Bristol City - was at right-back in defence, with stand-in skipper Fitz Hall and Connolly in the centre and Clint Hill on the left.

Rangers deployed a three-man midfield of Mikele Leigertwood, Alejandro Faurlin and Akos Buzsaky.

Up top, Hogan Ephraim and Mackie played just off Patrick Agyemang.

QPR started brightly with a mixture of neat interplay and controlled passing, though it was Plymouth who had the first effort on goal when Onismor Bhasera's stinging 30-yard free-kick was well held by R's keeper Kenny.

Bhasera was then involved only minutes later when he sent in a vicious corner from the left that was met by the head of Krisztian Timar, who saw his header go just past the left-hand post.

Argyle didn't have to wait a great deal longer for the opening goal of the evening, however, after Connolly brought down Mclean in the area following a ball that was played deep from defence.

Summerfield stepped up from 12 yards and did the rest, tucking the ball into the bottom left-hand corner of the net past Kenny who had no chance.

After the opening strike the game became somewhat of a scrappy affair, though the R's went their closest yet when Buzsaky's in-swinging free-kick from the left was nodded back towards goal by Orr and into the direction of Mackie, who saw his scuffed effort blocked for a corner.

From the resultant set-piece, Buzsaky played a clever centre into Faurlin on the edge of the area, and when the Argentinean playmaker guided an effort towards the target, Agyemang somehow dragged his shot wide from 10-yards out.

Argyle were next on the attack, and after a free-flowing passing move, Summerfield's cross from the right was met at the back post by the head of Rory Fallon, whose effort was straight at Kenny in the R's goal.

Seconds before half-time, the R's went closer still when Faurlin picked up Leigertwood's blocked effort on the edge of the area, though he could only fire a left-footed drive wide of the right-hand post.

R's gaffer Warnock decided to freshen things up at the break, with Kaspars Gorkss, Shaun Derry, Josh Parker and Heidar Helguson replacing Connolly, Leigertwood, Buzsaky and Agyemang respectively.

It was a set of changes that almost instantly brought QPR to life, with Parker in particular making an impression early on with a notable driving run from midfield.

The Hoops were seeing a lot more of the ball in the second half, and substitute keeper Colin Doyle had to be alert to beat Faurlin's thunderous free-kick away from goal at his back post.

Play then switched to the other end, where Bhasera was unlucky to see his stabbed effort go wide following a mix-up in the R's ranks when a ball played from deep bounced in between the Hoops' last man and keeper.

However, Rangers were soon back on the attack, and after Ephraim sent over devastating centre from the right, an unmarked Gorkss could only head wide from 12-yards out.

The R's were edging ever-closer, and only a last-ditch tackle at the near post could prevent Helguson from tapping home after Parker did well to burst down the right and play over a lovely cross from the byline.

Plymouth could - and probably should - have doubled their advantage minutes later when Bhasera broke free down the left and found Fallon unmarked at the back post, but he could only nod agonisingly wide of Kenny's left-hand post.

At the other end, the R's missed a golden chance of their own when Parker's centre from the left handed Ephraim with a free-header 10-yards out, who headed an effort harmlessly over the bar.

QPR weren't to be beaten, however, and after Orr's stunning long-range pass from deep, Mackie nipped in behind the last defender before tucking the ball home into the bottom corner from 10 yards.

QPR: Kenny, Orr, Hill, Connolly (Gorkss 46), Hall (Ramage 72), Leigertwood (Derry 46), Ephraim (Trialist), Mackie, Agyemang (Helguson 46) (German 84), Buzsaky (Parker 46), Faurlin.

Subs: Borrowdale, Cerny.

Goals: Mackie (82)

Plymouth Argyle: Larrieu (Doyle 46), Johnson (Clark 46), Arnason (N'Gala 46), Fallon, Bhasera (Noone 63), Summerfield, Peterlin, Timar (Manuel 78), Molyneux, Zuber (Duguid 46), McLean (Bolasie 63).

Subs: R Patterson, Wright-Phillips, J Patterson, Seip.

Goals: Summerfield (pen 11)

Referee: Mr P Russell

Attendance: 2, 844

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