Tue 9th Apr
Kick-off 19:45

PLY Argyle

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QPR QPR

QPR vs Argyle

The Game  
Argyle v Queens Park Rangers. Home Park. Tuesday, 9 April. 7.45pm. Sky Bet Championship. 

The Opposition 
QPR are 17th in the Championship, with 46 points from their 41 games. They are two places and two points ahead of Argyle, who could go above Rangers with a win.  

Having struggled for most of the season, QPR’s form has picked up dramatically in the last two or three months. They have lost just three of their last 14 games, winning seven of them. Their most recent game, though, was at home to Sheffield Wednesday, which the visitors won 2-0.  

The Gaffer 
Marti Cifuentes took over as QPR manager at the end of October, following the departure of Gareth Ainsworth.  

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Marti Cifuentes

 

The 41-year-old Catalonian managed several lower league teams in his native Spain before joining Sandefjord in Norway, AaB in Denmark and Hammarby in Sweden, who were playing in the UEFA Europa Conference League when he switched Scandinavia for West London.  

The Squad 
Usually playing either from an inside left position, Ilias Chair (below) is QPR’s focal point. Born in Belgium, he has 12 caps for the team of his father's birth, Morocco. He has now played 231 games for the R’s, scoring five goals this season.  

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Ilias Chair

 

Chris Willock is likely to play on the right of a QPR front three. The 26-year-old began his career at Arsenal, moving to Benfica in 2017. After a loan at Huddersfield Town, Willock moved to QPR in 2020 and has played 139 times for the Hoops. He is the older brother of Newcastle United’s Joe Willock.  

Ever present in the QPR goal this season has been  Asmir Begovic. Now 36, Begovic is a vastly experienced player, having represented, most notably, Stoke City, Chelsea and Bournemouth. He has played 63 times for Bosnia and Herzegovina. He left Everton in 2023, where he had spent two seasons as backup goalkeeper, to sign for QPR.  

Earlier This Season  
The sides met at MATRADE Loftus Road earlier this season, in December, and played out a 0-0 draw. Argyle started the game very strongly, with multiple chances to take the lead, but could not get themselves in front. 

Before half-time, Dan Scarr was sent off, meaning Argyle were forced to be more defensive, with ten men, but they held out superbly and earned a valuable point.  

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QPR vs Argyle

 

Her Game Too

Argyle’s game against QPR is this season’s dedicated Her Game Too fixture. 

Activities will take place to celebrate the opportunities for young girls and women at the club, alongside a  special donation point to collect items for women’s charity - Trevi.

Click here for more information.

Tickets 
If you have a season ticket and cannot attend the match, you can make your ticket available via the Ticket Exchange and receive face value credit if your ticket is resold.  Find out more about the Ticket Exchange. 

Argyle TV 
Commentary for the game will be provided by Charlie Price and Brian McGlinchey. 

Argyle TV’spre-match show, hosted by Erin Black and former Argyle defender Marc Edworthy, will begin at 6.45pm and is available to watch for free on YouTube. 

Match passes to watch this game, wherever you are in the world, can be purchased  here. 

Argyle v QPR

Argyle 1 
Adomah o.g. 85 

QPR 1 
Field 74 

A late own goal handed Argyle another valuable point in the increasingly fraught fight against relegation from the Sky Bet Championship. 

QPR are facing the same tense season finale as the Pilgrims, and it showed in a game that was full of tension. The deadlock was broken by a bundled goal from Sam Field with 16 minutes remaining and the Greens were staring at a damaging defeat. 

The response was full of character and, matching the scruffiness of the QPR goal, the Pilgrims earned a point when a corner from Adam Randell was deflected into his own net by Albert Adomah. 

Argyle named the same side that secured a crucial 1-0 victory at Rotherham on Friday night and the atmosphere inside Home Park was electric. 

Greeted by an unbelievable wall of noise, both sets of players were at full throttle in the opening exchanges. Home captain Joe Edwards positioned himself perfectly for a vital clearance from a Paul Smyth cross and then Ilias Chair lashed over from 20 yards for the visitors. 

Argyle settled into their attacking rhythm with a delicious passing move that had QPR briefly chasing shadows. Ashley Phillips drove forward and into space before feeding the ball to Morgan Whittaker, who fizzed his 25-yarder narrowly wide.    

Despite the early enthusiasm from the terraces, it was, in truth, a tense opening half-hour. Callum Wright injected some creativity with a clever exchange of passes with Edwards, but the final shot was too high to test QPR ‘keeper Asmir Begovic. 

Chair replied with a delightful jink into the box but Dan Scarr, continuing his excellence from Rotherham, read the danger to clear. The lively Chair then floated a deep cross toward Smyth, who took a touch before firing into the side-netting. 

No goals at half-time but a massive amount to play for. 

The enterprising Chair almost pounced after Phillips lost his footing early in the second period, thankfully steering his shot into the side-netting. The Greens replied with a cheeky free-kick from Whittaker, aimed at the near post and just about pawed away by Begovic. 

Space and chances were beginning to open up, Argyle breaking at pace after an initial challenge from Scarr. The pace of Hardie almost caught up with the ball but Rangers were able to see out the danger. 

Back to QPR, and they should have scored. Lyndon Dykes broke into space and fed the ball to Smyth, who perhaps more time than he realised, and the eventual shot was brilliantly saved by Michael Cooper. 

Begovic then matched his opposite number, using all his experience and wingspan to deny Mumba before the Greens introduced Matty Sorinola and Adam Forshaw for Edwards and Jordan Houghton. 

QPR continued to ask questions, substitute Chris Willock cross for Dykes, and his nod back only just eluded the run of Field. Argyle came back with successive crosses from the right flank, quickly followed by the introduction of Ben Waine and Mustapha Bundu for Hardie and Wright. 

With 20 minutes left on the clock, Scarr found an inspired goal-saving clearance after the ball had deflected over Cooper. 

Sadly for Argyle, the next attack ended in a goal. 

Cooper produced a top save to thwart the initial header from Jimmy Dunne, but Dykes reacted well to the loose ball and Field emerged from the melee to force the ball over the line. 

Pleguezuelo for Phillips was the final Argyle change, as the Greens responded to the setback with a Mumba cross aimed at Bundu, who headed over. Mumba was next to have a pop, lashing a rising drive that was turned over by Begovic. 

After plenty of knocking, the door opened for Argyle with five minutes left on the clock. It was scruffy, ugly and so important. Adam Randell delivered the corner and the ball bounced into the net off substitute Adomah to level the scores. 

Fittingly, the game ended with man-of-the-match Randell driving through midfield and winning a free-kick. It was a point shared but this sort of hometown commitment will be critical over the final four games. 

Argyle: 1 Michael Cooper; 2 Bali Mumba, 4 Jordan Houghton (27 Adam Forshaw 59), 6 Dan Scarr, 8 Joe Edwards (capt) (29 Matthew Sorinola 59), 9 Ryan Hardie (23 Ben Waine 66), 10 Morgan Whittaker, 11 Callum Wright (15 Mustapha Bundu 66), 17 Lewis Gibson, 20 Adam Randell, 26 Ashley Phillips (5 Julio Pleguezuelo 75). Substitutes (not used): 21 Conor Hazard (gk), 14 Mickel Miller, 16 Alfie Devine, 22 Brendan Galloway. 

Booked: 

QPR: 1 Asmir Begovic (capt), 3 Jimmy Dunne, 5 Steve Cook, 8 Sam Field, 9 Lyndon Dykes, 10 Ilias Chair (37 Albert Adomah 77), 11 Paul Smyth, 14 Isaac Hayden, 15 Morgan Fox, 22 Kenneth Paal, 25 Lucas Andersen (7 Chris Willock 63). Substitutes (not used): 32 Joe Walsh (gk), 6 Jake Clarke-Salter, 16 Joe Hodge, 19 Elijah Dixon-Bonner, 20 Reggie Cannon, 21 Ziyad Larkeche, 30 Sinclair Armstrong. 

Booked: Dykes 42 

Referee: Jeremy Simpson 

Attendance: 16,928 (1,727 away)