QPR 2 Walsall 1
Saturday 20th November 1999
Loftus Road
Attendance:10,058
Ref:CHRIS FOY (ST. HELENS)
| RANGERS | 2 |
| Wardley30, Kiwomya32 | |
| WALSALL | 1 |
| Ricketts40 | |
RANGERS rediscovered the winning scent, but they made life difficult for themselves as they scraped a narrow 2-1 victory over lowly Walsall. First half goals from Stuart Wardley and Chris Kiwomya were enough to secure the points as Gerry Francis' me banished the blues of last week's defeat at Crystal Palace. In a rather uninspiring opening half hour, neither side was able to establish any real rhythm or pattern of dominance, but that was until the game dramatically burst into life. Striker Rob Steiner, clipped a delightful ball through for Wardley, and the marauding midfielder made no mistake when faced by Walker as he coolly placed the ball into the back of the net. Just three minutes later and Rangers had doubled their lead after a neat move. Wardley laid the ball out to Tim Breacker on the right hand side. The full-back then whipped in a cross, and Kiwomya darted in to head the ball down past a bewildered Walker in the visitor's goal. Four minutes before half-time though and Walsall grabbed themselves a lifeline. Michael Ricketts pounced on a mistake by Steve Morrow as the Northern Ireland international slipped, and the Saddlers striker tucked the ball past Lee Harper. Before the interval, Rangers had a further opportunity to increase their lead again, but Gavin Peacock's header thudded against the crossbar. After the break, Ricketts proved to be a livewire for the visitors as he shot over, and then saw his shot deflected narrowly wide of the Rangers goal. The R's hit back with Wardley's header parried by Walker following Rowland's free-kick, and then Steiner and Breacker both blazed wide of the target. All in all, manager, Francis, was delighted with the victory especially as the R's were shorn of several key players, most notably Danny Maddix and Karl Ready. Although they made heavy weather of disposing of a workmanlike Walsall outfit, they return to the winning trail and reignite their promotion dreams.
 Matt's QPR Page Man Of The Match- Chris Kiwomya |
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