MX23RW : Friday, December 28 12:07:20
Dec 22, 2018 at 3pm UK at ​The City Ground (Nottingham, Nottinghamshire)
Nott'm ForestNottingham Forest
0-1
QPRQueens Park Rangers
FT(HT: 0-1)
Leistner (45')

McClaren proud of QPR players after historic win

McClaren proud of QPR players after historic win
© Reuters
Rangers secured their first ever victory over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.

Steve McClaren was full of praise for his QPR players after seeing them secure a historic 1-0 victory at Nottingham Forest – their first-ever win at the City Ground.

In 34 previous meetings at the stadium between the two sides, stretching back to 1934, QPR had suffered 20 defeats while collecting 14 draws.

But Toni Leistner helped them end that miserable run as he headed home just before half-time.

QPR goalkeeper Joe Lumley produced a stunning late save to tip a spectacular effort from Adlene Guedioura on to the bar as Rangers held on for another big win to follow on from their success against Middlesbrough last weekend.

"We all know the history. We know that this is a tough place to come and a very good Forest team, but I thought the players were magnificent," said McClaren.

"It was an unbelievable result for us and I'm so proud of the players. It was a win against a very, very good team.

"All you ask for is for a solid performance, and for the players to work for each other and be competitive. We are seeing that. If you do that, you will win eight games out of 10 and probably draw one and lose one beyond that.

"In the last few weeks, against some good teams, we have defended so well. Joe Lumley made a great save that got us the points, but it was a great team effort which got us the points."

McClaren, who had a short spell as Forest manager, believes QPR's strength comes from their togetherness as a team.

"There was not one outstanding individual," he said. "Everyone did their jobs.

"If you do your job you have a chance of winning. Aside from that save we did not look to be in too much danger.

"We are just going one game at a time. I don't know exactly how far this team can go, but you don't want to waste good results like this one. I think we deserved it."

Forest boss Aitor Karanka, who had also seen his side beaten by Preston in their previous outing at home, questioned the attitude of his players following a poor performance that was poles apart from their 0-0 draw at Derby on Monday.

"We need to forget this as soon as possible but also, at the same time, to know that if we continue in this way it will be impossible to win games," said Karanka.

"We had intensity at Derby and it's difficult to understand. The players should be committed, they should be supporting each other, but today we didn't see that.

"Imagine if it's difficult to beat teams here when we play at our best – how difficult will it be when we are 20 or even 50 per cent off our best?

"I hope the players understand that. If we go in this way I do not like it at all. We looked like we had a mid-table team mentality. We need to win games, we need to work to win games from the first minute to the last.

"If we lose games like our last two home games, it will be tougher for us. We need to go home and think about this because if we continue like this it will be difficult.

"I think we started the game thinking it was a friendly or a training session. We didn't approach the game in the way we had to."


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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Leeds UnitedLeeds24156342222051
2Norwich CityNorwich24146444291548
3West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom24136552312145
4Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd24125739281141
5Middlesbrough2410952517839
6Derby CountyDerby2411673328539
7Birmingham CityBirmingham24910537271037
8Queens Park RangersQPR2411493132-137
9Aston Villa249964637936
10Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2481243526936
11Stoke CityStoke2481063029134
12Bristol City248882928132
13Swansea CitySwansea2495102928132
14Blackburn RoversBlackburn2471073137-631
15Hull City2486102833-530
16Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds2486103040-1030
17Preston North EndPreston2477103640-428
18Brentford2468103535026
19Wigan AthleticWigan2474132335-1225
20Millwall2457122939-1022
21Rotherham UnitedRotherham24410102339-1622
22Bolton WanderersBolton2456131732-1521
23Reading2447132737-1019
24Ipswich TownIpswich2429131941-2215

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