Marti Cifuentes issues red card verdict and makes 'very disappointing' claim after Blackburn Rovers vs QPR

QPR suffered their second defeat of the Championship season on Saturday, losing to high-flying Blackburn Rovers away from home. The Hoops saw summer signing Jonathan Varane sent off during first-half stoppage time and were put to the sword by Rovers, who scored seven minutes after half-time and again in the 63rd minute.

While the clash was somewhat conditioned by the red card, it was an afternoon to forget for Marti Cifuentes’ men, who struggled to create at the top end of the pitch, commanding less then 35% possession and managing only one shot on target.

Speaking about the defeat, Hoops boss Cifuentes told the club website: “It was one of those days. I thought we actually started quite well and had a clear chance from Smythy (Paul Smyth).

“Then we received the red card which is a game-changer. We tried to adjust things at half-time; we knew the second half would be about showing resilience and waiting for our opportunity to get some chances. It’s true Blackburn had a good chance just before they scored, but their first goal is because of a deflection. Then the second is a set-piece from which we should usually never concede. Credit to the boys, though, because they never gave up.”

Cifuentes had no complaints over the red card, admitting it was Varane’s mistake. “Obviously it’s very disappointing and to get a red card just before half-time is really bad timing,” he added. “It’s very frustrating because of the timing and because there was no need. Unfortunately, Jonathan made the wrong decision.”

Looking ahead to Hull

The Hoops are next in action on Tuesday night as the mid-week fixtures get going in the Championship. Cifuentes’ men will take on Hull City at home, hoping to get back to winning ways and to final get that elusive second win of their league campaign.

Cifuentes said of that clash: “It’s very disappointing but we need to move on and think about Tuesday. We have things to improve on and we need to make sure we put in a strong performance against Hull.

“Good teams always react after a defeat. Now we need to show what we are made of. We still need to improve a lot. We’re missing a few players and we’ve got a lot of new players who are trying to gel, but we can’t feel sorry for ourselves - we need to accept the reality that we need to be better.”