0-0 v Queens Park Rangers - 12 January 2013 - Away

Tottenham Hotspur Badge

Spurs 0

Queens Park Rangers

Queens Park Rangers

0

Details
Match Number

6976

Opposition
Queens park rangers

Queens Park Rangers

Competition
Premier League

Premier League

Season

2012/13

Date

12th January 2013

Kick Off

12:45

Venue

Loftus Road

Attendance

18,018

Referee

Lee Probert

League Position

4th

Opposition League Position

20th

Opposition Form

WLLLLD

Weather at Kick Off

2.7° - Drizzle

Facts & Milestones
  • 6940th overall match (3292 wins, 1531 draws, 2104 losses)

  • 5382nd competitive match (2398 wins, 1268 draws, 1716 losses)

  • team

    135th match vs Queens Park Rangers (61 wins, 40 draws, 34 losses)

  • competition

    794th Premier League match (306 wins, 208 draws, 280 losses)

  • 6369th match in England (2974 wins, 1434 draws, 1948 losses)

  • 45th match at Loftus Road (10 wins, 16 draws, 19 losses)

  • 7th consecutive match without losing

Report

QPR put in a tenacious display as they earned manager Harry Redknapp a draw against his former club, Tottenham.

R's keeper Julio Cesar tipped a Jermain Defoe shot onto the post and saved Emmanuel Adebayor's follow-up early on.

But that was a rare scare for a resolute home side, who went close when Shaun Wright-Phillips had a shot deflected wide by Michael Dawson.

Defoe also had a second-half shot saved by the leg of Cesar but the visitors could not break down their rivals.

The match was Redknapp's first against Spurs since he was sacked by the White Hart Lane outfit last summer.

Having insisted that he bore no animosity either to his former employers or to his successor Andre Villas-Boas, Redknapp might have a slight smile of satisfaction as his relegation-battling side ended Tottenham's run of four successive wins.

The visitors' record of having scored in every away game in the top flight so far this season was also ended as they failed to show the guile and creativity to break down the Hoops, who again showed signs of improvement to suggest they can avoid the drop.

QPR had registered a shock win over Chelsea in their last league outing and the Loftus Road side continued to show the hard-working attitude and resilience that victory was built on to frustrate Spurs.

Fantastic performance pleases Redknapp Employing a 4-5-1 formation with playmaker Adel Taarabt playing as a striker, the home side shut down the time and space the visitors had on the ball with admirable determination and discipline.

When QPR were almost breached, keeper Cesar came to their rescue with a top-class double save.

The Brazilian tipped a 22-yard Defoe shot against the post and, after Adebayor latched on to the rebound, sidestepped defender Clint Hill and got in a low shot from 12 yards, Cesar got a hand to the strike to send it over.

That was as close as Tottenham got to a goal as they struggled to make their superior quality count against the home side's work-rate.

QPR's defensive solidity came at the cost of tempering them offensively, although a rare foray forward from them did almost stun Spurs.

Taarabt stabbed a piercing pass through the Spurs defence into the run of Wright-Phillips, who cut inside before his effort was deflected wide by lunging centre-back Michael Dawson.

The home side were impressively nullifying the threat of Spurs wingers Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon and, while the entire QPR side were playing their part, Stephane Mbia and Jamie Mackie deserve honorary mentions.

QPR 0-0 Tottenham: Andre Villas-Boas 'satisfied' despite draw Midfielder Mbia's strong presence and Mackie's tigerish play set the tone for their side.

Still Tottenham dominated possession but could not capitalise, with fleeting chances seeing Kyle Walker send a free-kick just high and Cesar again rescuing his side when he saved a Defoe shot with his leg.

QPR's best hope of a goal was to catch Tottenham off-guard and they almost did so when Taarabt played a pass through to Wright-Phillips, who was thwarted by Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris rushing out of his goal to clear.

Wright-Phillips nearly created a late chance for himself when he surged at the Spurs defence only to stumble as the match ended in stalemate.

QPR manager Harry Redknapp:

"That was very bit as good as the performance against Chelsea (a 1-0 win) - we worked our socks off against a real top team today. I can't ask for more than that.

"We restricted to them very few opportunities. Nedum Onouha and Fabio nullified two fantastic wingers That was the quietest I've seen Gareth Bale for many a year."

With regard to the transfer window, Redknapp added:

"You hope you can get a couple of players in but if you don't we keep going with what we have.

"If we can get the right players I'll bring them in, I won't bring them in for the sake of it."

Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas:

"They defended very well; we wanted to play with a higher tempo, but they frustrate you.

"Julio Cesar had a great game. We had some big chances; in a game like this it's important to score first.

"It was a difficult game for us, but we got an away point so we are satisfied."

When asked about Redknapp Villas-Boas said:

"I have tried to be respectful and I think Harry is the same. He's been a great example to follow so there are no hard feelings."

Location
League Table
# Team PL W D L GF GA GD PTS
1
Manchester united
21 17 1 3 54 28 26 52
2
Manchester city
21 13 6 2 41 19 22 45
3
Tottenham Hotspur Badge Tottenham Hotspur
21 12 3 6 39 27 12 39
4
Chelsea
20 11 5 4 39 19 20 38
5
Everton
21 9 9 3 35 26 9 36
6
Arsenal
20 9 7 4 40 22 18 34
7
West bromwich albion
21 10 3 8 29 27 2 33
8
Liverpool
21 8 7 6 34 26 8 31
9
Swansea city
21 7 8 6 31 26 5 29
10
Stoke city
21 6 11 4 21 20 1 29
11
West ham united
20 7 5 8 24 24 0 26
12
Norwich city
21 6 7 8 24 34 -10 25
13
Fulham
21 6 6 9 32 37 -5 24
14
Sunderland
21 5 7 9 21 29 -8 22
15
Newcastle united
21 5 5 11 27 39 -12 20
16
Aston villa
21 4 7 10 17 41 -24 19
17
Southampton
20 4 6 10 27 38 -11 18
18
Wigan athletic
21 5 3 13 22 39 -17 18
19
Reading
21 2 7 12 23 40 -17 13
20
Queens park rangers
21 2 7 12 17 36 -19 13
# Team PL W D L GF GA GD PTS
1
Manchester united
22 18 1 3 56 29 27 55
2
Manchester city
22 14 6 2 43 19 24 48
3
Chelsea
21 12 5 4 43 19 24 41
4
Tottenham Hotspur Badge Tottenham Hotspur
22 12 4 6 39 27 12 40
5
Everton
22 9 10 3 35 26 9 37
6
Arsenal
21 9 7 5 40 24 16 34
7
West bromwich albion
22 10 3 9 31 30 1 33
8
Liverpool
22 8 7 7 35 28 7 31
9
Swansea city
22 7 9 6 31 26 5 30
10
Stoke city
22 6 11 5 21 24 -3 29
11
West ham united
21 7 5 9 24 27 -3 26
12
Norwich city
22 6 8 8 24 34 -10 26
13
Fulham
22 6 7 9 33 38 -5 25
14
Sunderland
22 6 7 9 24 29 -5 25
15
Southampton
21 5 6 10 28 38 -10 21
16
Newcastle united
22 5 6 11 27 39 -12 21
17
Wigan athletic
22 5 4 13 23 40 -17 19
18
Aston villa
22 4 7 11 17 42 -25 19
19
Reading
22 3 7 12 26 42 -16 16
20
Queens park rangers
22 2 8 12 17 36 -19 14
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