QPR boss Beale highlights attacking shortcomings in defeat to WBA

By Dan Evans at Loftus Road

QPR manager Mick Beale believed a lack of ingenuity in attack cost his side dearly in their 1-0 defeat to West Brom on Saturday.

After struggling to test visiting goalkeeper Alex Palmer for much of the afternoon at Loftus Road, the R’s conceded a decisive goal to Kyle Bartley deep into the second half.

Beale’s side inability to respond meant they fell to a first home defeat since August, but the 42-year-old still felt there were positives to take from the performance.

“It was a tight game,” he said. “We were never dominant, but I thought we were the slightly better team for long spells.

“We were good without showing a cutting edge in the final third.

“We had opportunities in the box across the game but didn’t show that quality in the final cross or pass.”

Beale was also pleased about the contribution of Chris Willock after the attacking midfielder made his first start after more than a month out with a hamstring injury.

“I think he took part in the game well,” the former Aston Villa and Glasgow Rangers assistant explained.

“You could see that every time he and Ilias (Chair) had the ball West Brom were very aware of their talent because they stood all around them.

“There was nothing wrong with his performance, but we’ve got to give him a chance to find some rhythm.”

Despite Willock’s return, QPR still have a number of first team players unavailable due to injury.

But Beale revealed that his squad should be stronger for the visit of Huddersfield Town on Tuesday even though midfielder Luke Amos was forced off due to muscle tightness on Saturday.

“We lost Luke at a difficult time of the game. He’s a bit tight in his hamstring which is not great but we’ll see how he reports back tomorrow.

“It was good to have Jimmy (Dunne) back on the bench. Jake (Clarke-Salter) will be back in time for Tuesday.

“We’ve got to recover now as I’m sure Huddersfield will come here and provide a stern test.”