In a season where we have hardly made any use of the wings, Thomas has come and shown us all what we've been missing. Every time he gets the ball, something good is guaranteed to follow. His improvement on the team has been immeasurable — he makes the players all around him seem so much better.
Despite starting brightly though, we found ourselves a goal down after just five minutes through Hefferman. Half an hour later the lead was doubled when Baraclough stole in past Shittu to side foot home from 12 yards. Only minutes earlier I wondered if Baraclough would score — ex-players returning to Loftus Road always do. I then dismissed the idea with Baraclough being a left-back… oops.
Perhaps we shouldn't have been surprised by County's impressive start. Having won 5 of their last 6 games (the other being a draw at Brighton), they were a team bang in form and fighting to stay in Division 2. For QPR, it was turning into an almost-performance. We'd created more goalscoring opportunities than County, but the early withdrawal of Thomson was a blow.
We needed a goal before the break to give us a real chance of still winning the game, and it eventually arrived in stoppage time. The two minutes added on were already up when we won a corner — didn't think there would be time to take it, but thankfully there was. Peacock hit it long, and the ball eventually found its way to Thomas who smacked it goal bound and Shittu prodded home from close range.
The second half was almost one-way traffic as QPR launched attack after attack. Rose eventually evened things up, heading home at the far post from Shittu's cross. Shortly before the end, the comeback was complete when Foley struck a well-taken goal after being put through by Langley.
It's a pity this sudden upturn in form has come too late for QPR to makes the play-offs, but everything is starting to look promising for next season. There's just the small matter of the club coming out of administration first…
QPR: 4-4-2 – Evans 6 – Forbes 8, Palmer 7, Shittu 7, Bignot 7 – Langley 7, Peacock 7, Rose 7, Thomas 9 – Gallen 6, Thomson 6 (15mins Foley 7). SNU: Digby, Murphy, Griffiths, Pacquette.