'I wasn't surprised...' - Praise for Sheffield Wednesday from QPR boss as young Owls grab another point
QPR manager Julien Stephan had praise for Sheffield Wednesday as his side were forced to come from behind to pick up a point at Hillsborough
QPR manager Julien Stephan recognised that his side were made to work hard for a point that he ultimately accepted after a testing battle with Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.
The Owls had the best of the first half and went in 1-0 at the break thanks to Dominic Iorfa’s header from Barry Bannan’s pin-point free kick.
However, after making three changes for the second half, the visitors rallied and were back in the game within a few minutes of the restart when Bailey Cadamarteri was adjudged to have handled in the box and Nicolas Madsen stepped up to equalise.
QPR had won their previous three matches going into this one, while the Owls had picked up their first victory of the season last week at Portsmouth, but it was an even encounter on S6 and Stephan was more than content to go back to the capital with a draw.
What Julien Stephan said about Sheffield Wednesday 1 QPR 1
“Our intensity, quality and end product was not good enough in the first half,” said the QPR boss. “I wasn’t surprised at how well Wednesday played. We had a plan and we didn’t respect it and that’s why we had to change some things for the second half.
“It was completely different at the start of second half. We scored an early goal and had 20 minutes where we had plenty of chances to score but it wasn’t to be.
“At the end of the game we just had to survive. They were trying more long balls and putting set-pieces into the box and it’s good to see we can compete with these things.
“In the end it’s a point we have to be happy with. I have to give credit to Sheffield Wednesday; they worked hard and were very good in the first half.
“This is a difficult league and we know how quickly momentum can change. When your intensity drops and you’re the away team, the atmosphere can change and the opposition can take advantage and score.
“We try not to think about what’s happening with the Sheffield Wednesday protest. It’s important to just try and stay focused on what we’re doing.
“Maybe we lose this game four or five weeks ago. I think this shows my team is making good progress. We have got 10 points in four games which is a good return.”