05 March 2022

Mark Warburton unhappy with players as QPR fall to Cardiff fightback

05 March 2022

QPR boss Mark Warburton accused his players of complacency after their 2-1 defeat at home to Cardiff.

Rangers, now with just one win in seven Sky Bet Championship matches – a run which has included four defeats, went ahead through Andre Gray’s first-half opener.

But Bluebirds youngsters Isaak Davies and Rubin Colwill scored in the space of four second-half minutes to turn the match on its head.

A furious Warburton said: “We lost it by dropping the tempo and playing at a testimonial pace after 50 minutes.

“We were thinking it was almost too easy to move the ball and giving a good opponent too much time and not enough respect, and we paid the price for that. Plain and simple.

“We were dominant in the first half, got the goal, should have got the second and all we had to do was maintain our tempo.

“I don’t lose my rag often but that was not us in the second half. We can’t be that. We can’t accept that.

“We just dropped to testimonial pace and that’s not acceptable. There’s no excuses.

“That’s ruined the weekend and days beyond that. If it doesn’t hurt, you shouldn’t be in the camp.”

Davies, on as a substitute, equalised with 20 minutes remaining with the help of an error by former Cardiff goalkeeper David Marshall.

Davies brushed defender Rob Dickie aside, cut in from the left and fired in a shot which Marshall got both hands to but the ball looped over the Scotland international and over the line before he was able to claw it away.

And the bustling Davies causing Dickie more problems led to the visitors going ahead in stunning fashion.

Davies again went past Dickie, who shoved him to the ground near the edge of the penalty area, and Colwill brilliantly smashed the resulting free-kick into the top corner.

Warburton said: “They had a clearance and suddenly found themselves through on goal. How? Because we switched off, it was a testimonial and not a problem.

“I see big defenders lose headers to small forwards and I see poor decisions in possession. That wasn’t good. That wasn’t acceptable.”

Cardiff boss Steve Morison was delighted to see two of the club’s academy products in Davies and Colwill make their mark.

“I said we’d use the core group of the academy players and we’re doing that. It was an excellent day all round,” said Morison, who signed a new contract this week.

“We put the pressure on them and should have had a couple more goals. It was a brilliant free-kick from Rubin and an unbelievable moment.

“We didn’t have much of the ball in the first half but we had all the chances and they scored with their one chance, after a poor clearance.

“They were on top of the world but then we changed things and in the second half there was only one team that was going to win that game of football and that was us. It showed how good we are when we’re at it.

“It shows that we’re not going to go through the motions. Everyone probably thought we’d drop our level because I’ve signed a new contract and everyone thinks we’re safe. It puts that to bed.

“We’re going to pick up every point we can and enjoy it as much as we can.”

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