McClaren salutes QPR after derby win

Posted Sunday, November 11, 2018 by PA

QPR manager Steve McClaren hailed his side’s fighting spirit after they came from behind to beat Brentford 3-2 in the west London derby.

Rangers scored three times in the space of 10 minutes early in the second half at Loftus Road, with goals from Massimo Luongo, Joel Lynch and Nahki Wells giving them the points.

Neal Maupay had put the visitors ahead midway through the first half with his 12th goal of the season.

But the French striker was carried off on a stretcher seconds before the interval, having suffered concussion in an accidental collision with team-mate Sergi Canos.

McClaren’s team took control after the restart and then held on after Henrik Dalsgaard pulled a goal back for Brentford with nine minutes remaining.

Rangers, beaten in their first four league games under McClaren, have lost just three of their subsequent 13 and are one point away from the play-off places.

“The spirit in the dressing room – the responsibility that they’re taking – has really been first class,” McClaren said.

“After the first four games, we never doubted, we stuck together and we’re certainly producing what I’d call spirited performances.

“We knew we’d be OK, that we would stick together and compete, and that’s what we did.

“We got good signings in and changed a few things around, but the players deserve the credit because they’ve been crossing the white line and getting results.”

Rangers’ blistering second-half spell came after they had struggled to create clear-cut chances in the opening period.

They were helped by some poor defending from their opponents and took full advantage, with Luongo and Lynch netting from close range before on-loan Burnley striker Wells got the better of Ezri Konsa and fired into the far corner.

“I thought it was a terrific game of football and Brentford contributed to that. There were two very good teams,” McClaren said.

“It was a great game of football and we were fortunate enough to win the game.

“We showed character at 1-0 down to go 3-1 up – we blew them away for 10 minutes. They came back and we had to hold on, which we did.

“We were hopeless in the final third in the first half but they got it right in the second.

“For 20 minutes it was great football and the place was rocking. I said we’d have to win not just on the field but off the field and the fans certainly helped us get over the line.”

Brentford boss Thomas Frank admitted he will need to take stock during the international break after losing four of his first five matches since taking over from Dean Smith.

Getting key players back from injury and tightening up at the back are the Dane’s top priorities.

Frank said: “I would say we need to regroup. Let’s get them in, get them fresh again. We have some players injured and we need to get them back.

“There are definitely things we are doing right but we need to defend better.

“The first half was OK-good. There were opportunities we could have made more of in the first half, but 1-0 up was OK playing away.

“In the second half we had a blackout more or less for 10 minutes, where we defended way too soft for all three goals. We need to do that better in general.”

Brentford are hopeful Maupay will soon recover, but there is some concern for Saïd Benrahma, who was carried off after suffering an ankle injury in the build up to Dalsgaard’s goal.

Frank said: “Maupay had concussion. We don’t know how long he will be out for. It will hopefully be not long.

“We will assess him on Monday. As far as I know it is not that bad and is only a small concussion.

“Benrahma rolled his ankle. We don’t know exactly how bad it is. On Monday we will know more.”