Rooney proud of battling performance at QPR

Argyle Head Coach Wayne Rooney was proud of his valiant Pilgrims as they held on for a 1-1 draw away against Queens Park Rangers.  

After fighting back from a goal down, scored by Michael Frey in under three minutes, Argyle played their way back into the game, and scored a deserved equaliser through Morgan Whittaker’s long-range effort.   

However, Adam Forshaw was sent off almost immediately following the restart, meaning the Pilgrims were made to play over an hour without their experienced midfielder.  

The longer the game went on, the more QPR put pressure on the battling Greens, who were further stretched with the loss of Freddie Issaka, sent off in the closing stages.  

Rooney’s team held out, and the boss was proud of what his players had shown him.   

“[I was pleased with] the character we showed,” he said. “The determination, energy, aggression to get to the ball; I thought the back four and the goalkeeper were excellent, heading balls out of the box, getting blocks in. I felt it was a deserved point for the work we put in.   

“The players who step on the pitch, they have to represent me and what I want. I want players to have character, have belief, put tackles in and play with energy. I felt we did that.  

“The start of the game obviously didn't go as planned. We know QPR are a team who put a lot of crosses into the box.  

“We got the equaliser and then the red card changes everything.” 

One emotion for Rooney was pride at the manner of holding on for a point, but it was tinged with a bit of frustration at not being able to kick on at the point in which Whittaker equalised. The Greens had got a foothold in the game by that point, but their immediate numerical disadvantage meant the game altered in its nature.  

“It's a silly tackle from Forsh when he is on the other card. He knows that.” said Rooney. 

“I really felt we’d got full control of the game. We started to dominate in possession. We were getting our attacking players in some really dangerous areas, and I felt the goal was coming. It's a great strike by Morgan to get us back in the game.   

“That's how we envisioned the game beforehand, how we analysed QPR. We felt we could take the ball away from them and get control of the game. It was all really going to plan, but the red card changes that. Even up until half-time, I felt we still played some good stuff with 10 men.  

“We didn't quite manage to take the ball in the second half, but the other side of the game - defending the box. stopping crosses, blocks: I thought it was fantastic. Conor obviously helps us out with some big saves as well.   

“Everyone wants to see entertainment and good football, but that other side of the game is just as good as well when you get that right.” 

For a game broadcast live on Sky Sports, kicking off at 12.30pm, there were 1,750 of the Green Army in a sold-out away end, some of whom will have departed Devon and Cornwall when some Friday-night revellers were still thinking about heading to their beds.  

They erupted at the sound of the full-time whistle and, after the game, Rooney was full of praise for them.   

“The support was absolutely outstanding,” he said. “I think it was 4am this morning that they left. They pushed the players on towards the end when it got difficult.  

“I'm sure every fan who was here watching the game, and fans who were watching the game on TV, would be proud of the team today because I felt we kept going, under difficult circumstances.   

“As a fan, you want to see a team who's together, and a team who are putting the effort in who deserve to wear the shirt. I felt they saw that today. The noise they were making and the reaction at the end to us getting the point. 

“Of course, we wanted to come in and get three points, but with everything that happened in the game, I think the point caps an excellent performance.”