That was probably the best start of season scenario that any man and his dog could have imagined for the Rangers, as we put 2 without reply past Forest. No bets were made this time though, as we played it safe with a wildly inconsistent Rangers side against a team who missed out on playoffs last season by a margin less than that of a mouse’s eyelash.
QPR kicked off with Bright Osayi-Samuel starting but no Ryan Manning whatsoever, probably down to a contract fiasco. (Ryan, Bright, if you’re reading this, sign the damn contract!)
We started the game off with a statement of intent going forward, as we looked lively on the ball and testing the Forest defence. Our defence was also alert to the situation, as we kept the Forest attackers relatively quiet throughout the match.
We then had a goal disallowed after 8 or so minutes, as there was adjudged to have been a foul on a Forest defender before Rob Dickie struck it in for a goal that simply wasn’t to be.
Although our defence was living on borrowed times for quite a bit of the game, we mostly looked resolute throughout, and restricted Forest to a grand total of 0 shots on target.
We went in 0-0 at half time.
Then, the major turning point occurred 8-9 minutes after the restart. Dykes surged into the box like a runaway train and was clamped by Figueiredo. Dykes then made no mistake from the spot, hammering it in top bins.
1-0 Rangers, brilliant pen.
The game was end to end, but both sides stood very firm.
Then, after a mistake from Osman Kakay, Grabban was away. His effort could only find the side netting.
We then made a sub to run down the clock.
We then work it up the other end, and, as I shout “Take it to the corner!”, we keep going. Dykes has a dig. Saved. Chair scored the rebound. Pandemonium in my household.
Forest barely had time to kick off before the ref blew the final whistle. Celebrations erupt. We go to the top of the league.
Dub given.
I think we can really push on now and get a good run of momentum together.
Brilliant start to the season, long may this continue! Onwards and upwards from here.
