The Lads headed to the capital for the third time in eighteen days, to one of our happier hunting grounds (well, I thought it was until I checked the stats...let's just say "happier than Arsenal") and made it definitely one of our happy hunting grounds.
A first half goal from the best heart'n'soul footballer there'll ever be, followed by a late brace from Clarke, won the day. QPR might have been poop, but you still have to scoop poop - and we did.
Having had three days to have a giggle at Jeff Brown putting the squirms into Paul "the Guv'nor" Ince, and wondering what Alex Rae's response would have been, I still can't see what it is that makes working with Incey Wincey so attractive to our former midfield radgie. It can't be success, or pots of cash - ideas on a postage stamp, please. The afternoon got off to a bad start with a sign in the window of The Lamb proclaiming "due to construction work we'll be opening at 5pm", so it was a quick cal to Rob, Winch, Ronnie, and Mr Winks to adjust the meeting point by 400 yards to the Old Red Lion and swoon at London prices. Levelling up? No thanks! There was then a chance to compare room sizes at our various hotels (I use the word "hotel" advisedly) via photographs, as we met up with John from Richmond (a Man U fan, but currently OK as they're facing them up the road soon and he was only there for a catch-up anyway) in Hammersmith for our final debrief. Pick the team, basically.
Then the team news came in, with expected changes but perhaps not all of those we'd expected..
Patterson
Hume Batth Ballard Alese
O'Nien Pritchard
Roberts Ba Clarke
Gelhardt
...and a bench of Bass, Bennette, Ekwah, Neil, Cirkin, Amad, and Lihadji. Canny set to pick from there.
In our stripes, and at the ground where Jarvis the dog first made the headlines, we faced the far end and Joffa kicked off.
Clarke and Gelhardt were up top initially as we reckoned we'd swap lads around, which we did - as much to QPR's confusion as us fans'. Pritch sat deeper as we showcased the versatility of our players and O9 backed this up by defying anyone to define his position. Ballard was superb in mopping up while t'other Dan, Batth, bonked away the high stuff. Solid at the back, expansive further up the field - it was nice to watch, but our natural SAFC fans' pessimism (well, mine anyway) had me worried that we hadn't scored - especially when it was the home side who had the first real opportunity. Thankfully, when Chair (more of him later) found Lowe, the home forward pulled his shot wide as the 2,500 visitors howled their thoughts at him. Careful, Lads - twenty minutes, and we'd not troubled their keeper, but patience turned out to be a key factor as we grew into the game.
First, Gelhardt shot into the side netting after being picked out by Hume's terrific ball over the defence, then Luke found space on the edge of the area, but he couldn't curl his effort enough and the keeper tipped it away for a corner. This was more like it, Lads, and the travelling folks upped the noise in response.
Without Amad, Ba had to be the third part of the right-side with Roberts and Hume, and produced a backheel worthy of that trio to set up Roberts - but their keeper was equal to the shot at the expense of a corner. Up went our big guns, and Batth won the initial header for the ball to drop in the box. It was a long way away from our fans, so it looked very confused, but Alese got to the loose ball first, only for his effort to be blocked. However, we were first to the bouncing ball in the form of O9, who did the necessary by poking it over the line.
Get in, Lukey boy! It'd taken 34 minutes, but we had made the crucial breakthrough and it was no more than we deserved.
We kept pressing for the remaining ten minutes, plus the two added, but couldn't better our advantage. I got the feeling that, once ahead, we'd breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed - but we still needed Ballard to be his dominant self in the air and on the ground to keep Patto safe.
No changes for the second half for us, but you got the feeling that QPR must have seen who we had on the bench and had a little cry as they replaced a defender. That might well have been the reason for them getting a bit petulant and kicking us a lot in the early part of the half, but we remained calm(ish) as the yellow cards mounted up for the home side.
There was plenty of forward movement from us without us getting close to the clinching second that we needed and that we fans felt we deserved. Roberts was teasing his fullback, showing that if needed he could probably nutmeg a mermaid, and he had us on our feet whenever he got the ball The noise from the School End must have been great to hear from the players' perspective as they battled away, and you could see how they reacted to us when they got the ball out wide. Clarke was becoming more of a menace, as the game wore on, but we needed something a bit different to increase our advantage so just after the hour Mowbray swapped Ba for Amad, sparking more singing. A new song as well.
Immediately it looked like a positive change, but then QPR were quite literally handed the advantage when Alese timed his leap in our box incorrectly and his hand got in the way. Penalty. Easy, Chair, thought the home fans, but we thought different. "Go left, Patto!" I shouted, and he did - but it was his right foot that made the vital connection (watch the replay, his eyes were on the ball the whole time) and he volleyed it to safety.
Marvellous, just marvellous, young Anth. A save like that lifts the whole team, and the fans, as we should really have been more than just the one goal ahead. QPR visibly wilted for a while, and Amad nearly took advantage. He showed his usual body-swerves to find room to lay it to Roberts, and Paddy's hard, low cross was met in the middle by Joff - but his shot smacked the bar. No matter, that effort kept the fans in good spirits and when Pritch made way for Neil soon after we could see somebody more comfortable in that deeper midfield role - not that Pritchard had done owt wrong, just that by getting a third Dan on the pitch we had the square pegs in the square holes. The yellows were racking up for the Hoops as they realised that they couldn't match us football-wise and resorted to more agricultural methods to contain us.
It was then a case of when and not if we'd get another, although rumoured target Chris Martin (well, he is a forward) did head a half-decent chance wide for them before we brought Cirkin and Ekwah on for Alese and Gelhardt. The first swap was pretty obvious, the second not so, but on size alone Ekwah worried the home defence as he positioned himself centrally.
Within minutes, the changed paid off as a very fresh Cirkin got to a home pass ahead of a less than fresh opponent and found Amad. He simply got it back left to Clarke, who carried it into the box and placed it carefully across the keeper and low into the far corner. Wahey! No more than we deserved, and the sighs of relief in our section of the ground could probably be heard back home.
I'm not sure what QPR thought they could get from two goals behind, with less than ten minutes to go, but they did pile forward - giving us more space to keep us fans entertained. Dan Neil was using his late cameo appearance to strut his stuff and pull the strings, and helped set Ekwah free - but the home keeper flung himself in the way to keep it at two.
No matter, in the five added minutes Neil took his time to cut it back to Clarke and the finish was emphatic. 3-0, just lovely, and the fans applauded as Luke led the Lads as they celebrated below us, conducting the appreciation with his shinpads. How good must it feel to make so many people so happy?
A grand day out indeed.
Man of the Match? Full marks to big Tony for resting players without upsetting our formation - showing the strength and versatility of our squad. It was one of those displays when I could pick any one of a dozen and be correct, but for opening the scoring and just being Luke, it's O"Nien for me.
Off we went to celebrate with more hideously pricy ale in the Westfield Sports Bar, before melting into the night with big, daft smiles all over our faces. No prizes for guessing who we support. Even after so many years, a win like that can still make you feel like a bairn on Christmas day.
