We’re going all the way back to 1975 for the memorable match between QPR and their Tuesday opponents Stoke City, along with the usual record of previous meetings, round-up of recent games, and player connections.
QPR 3: Stoke City 2, Saturday November 29, 1975, First Division
Dave Sexton’s formidable QPR team had started the 1975/76 season in fine style, unbeaten in their first ten league games through August and September. With the likes of Gerry Francis, Stan Bowles and Dave Thomas to the fore, it seemed something special was brewing in W12, but October had been tough on the R’s, with their first defeat of the campaign at Leeds quickly followed by another at Burnley and although Everton had been vanquished 5-0 at Loftus Road, Newcastle had then come and knocked the R’s out of the League Cup 3-1.
Stoke, meanwhile, managed by long-serving Tony Waddington, were in decent touch with eight wins and two draws from their previous 12 games prior to arriving in Shepherd’s Bush at the end of November.
The first half belonged to the Rangers. Mick Leach teed up Dave Clement for a low cross, which made its way through a crowded penalty box to Don Masson, who decided to try his luck from an acute angle and found the back of the net off the inside of the post. He looked as surprised as anybody that the ball had found a way past Peter Shilton.
But Stoke emerged for the second half with renewed purpose and equalised almost immediately. An acrobatic bicycle-kick cross from Jimmy Robertston tight to the byline was rather hopefully helped on towards the goal by Ian Moores, but the trajectory of the ball and late dip on the header were enough to deceive Phil Parkes, and it landed plum in the corner of the net. QPR had hardly had a touch of the ball, and now they had to start all over again.
Parkes, who’d erred in the first half but escaped, continued with an uncharacteristically shakey display thereafter. The keeper rushed from his line to claim a deep free kick midway through the second period but could only drop the ball at the feet of defender Alan Bloor, who needed no second invitation to hammer the chance into the back of the net.
Back came the home team, though and they drew level when Masson splendidly found Thomas wide on the left. The winger took his full back to the byline before standing a cross up to the back post, where Clement called strongly for the ball, so that debutant Phil Nutt, on as a substitute, knew to duck out of the way and allow his teammate to chest it down and volley into the net from close range.
That set up a grand stand-out finish and one of the most iconic images of the old Loft End. Stan Bowles, brutally hacked down in the corner of the field, was still picking himself up when a young supporter emerged onto the pitch from the Ellerslie Road corner of the ground with the football and plonked it down so Rangers could mount a quick final attack with the free kick. They did just that, and although a flicked header from centre back Dave Webb was initially blocked at the near post, the ball fell back to him perfectly, and he lashed it into the roof of the net to bring the house down.
The goal, scored with the last kick of the game, preserved an unbeaten home record that would last all season and brought fans streaming onto the field in celebration.
Rangers, of course, would go on to finish second, narrowly losing out to Liverpool in the title race. Stoke finished twelfth.
QPR: Parkes, Clement, McLintock, Webb, Gillard, Thomas, Beck, Hollins, Leach (Nutt), Bowles, and Masson
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