Football Away Days: QPR and Loftus Road

Back around the middle of October we set off for another football escapade, and our first new experience of the 2025/26 season. A democratic vote selected QPR as the recipients of our support for a day, with the opponents to be Millwall FC in a London derby between two Championship play-off hopefuls (at the time). As always, there were no issues with me securing tickets aside from the wait to be able to purchase them via general sale, and I got the five of us sat together in the lower end of the Stan Bowles stand, towards the corner of the stadium containing the safe standing area.

That being said, the price of the tickets were more expensive than nearly all the other away day trips that we've previously enjoyed, coming in at £37 each, but I guess that's London prices for you! Nevertheless, this was one of the most seamless journeys we've taken, considering the distance, with a train from Bristol to Paddington followed by a hop onto the underground and six stops along the Metropolitan line before we got off at Shepherd's Bush market. If my tardiness hadn't resulted in us missing our intended train by forty seconds (sorry lads), we'd have had an extra half hour to play with, but we still arrived about an hour before the early kick-off of 12:30pm.

From the tube station we had a 15 minute walk to Loftus Road and the entrance directly into the Stan Bowles stand. With my customary programme purchase secured, we got in through the turnstiles and were immediately able to appreciate the old school nature of the ground. The back of the stand rose up above us and the narrow concourse behind allowed a width of less than thirty feet between it and the perimeter wall, marking the end of the back gardens of the homes surrounding the stadium. Opened in 1904 and the home of The Hoops since 1917, this is a ground that remains embedded within the local community.

Having decided there wasn't time for a pre-match pint at a local pub, the options on offer at Loftus Road weren't much to write home about sadly. Though QPR are far from the only club to do so it always seems a shame, and an opportunity missed, when local, independent breweries are not represented. It was soon time to get ourselves into the stand, where we could experience first-hand just how snug Loftus Road is. The leg room was tight, once seated, and there was no room for the cameramen to fit around the side of the pitch. Instead they sat on brackets that were attached to the upper tier, looking a little precarious and making for a unique sight.

From the kick-off it was evident that QPR meant business and we so nearly witnessed a superb start. A clever, karate-kick style knockdown by Michael Frey, from five yards inside the Millwall area, was perfectly timed for the onrushing Paul Smyth who hit a great volley across goal, from the edge of the penalty box. However, it was met by an equally good save, as Max Crocombe got down quickly to push the ball away with a strong right hand.

The visitors had their opportunities though, and in the ninth minute Massimo Luongo stole the ball in midfield and surged towards the QPR box before laying it off for Will Smallbone. The loanee from Southampton placed a rising, side-footed drive from the edge of the D, towards the top corner, only to see Paul Nardi tip it over the bar. Nineteen minutes in and QPR came even closer to breaking the deadlock following a slightly chaotic break from the right of midfield, when the ball found its way to Paul Smyth as he skipped to the edge of the penalty box, took one touch into the left side of the area and struck a shot that crashed off of the top of the crossbar.

After looking relatively comfortable, QPR were undone, in a flash, in the thirty-sixth minute. Billy Mitchell directed a fine long ball from deep within the Millwall half, that sailed over the home side's entire midfield and found a rocketing Femi Azeez as he entered the box. His touch lifted the ball up and his left-footed volley was well-saved by Nardi, but rebounded back to the forward, who steadied himself, with three defenders converging on him, and directed it into the goal with his right foot.

It was a goal that felt like a sucker-punch for QPR, and it was easy to think of the old cliche about 'failing to take your chances'. The Lions had their tails up and were looking dangerous, which led to the setback becoming a mountain to climb in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time. Azeez was involved again, when he sent in another left footed, in-swinging cross from just in front of where we were sitting. The ball was marginally over head height but found its way through the crowded penalty area, with a slight deflection off the top of Johnathan Varane's head perfectly guiding it past 3 QPR defenders in one bounce. Mihailo Ivanovic outmuscled Rhys Norrington-Davies and got the space to nod in from barely four yards out.

Gathering our thoughts at half-time, it was clear that our adopted team for the day could feel hard done by to be 2-0 down, but then we got distracted by the huge, and slow, queue for a customary pint. One rapid drink, about ten minutes later, and it was back to the game. The second half was a bit more of a tense affair, with the home side trying to find a way back in and the visitors happy to defend and wait on the counter-attack. QPR were mainly restricted to a couple of half-chances and as the time ticked by it was frustrating to see some promising attacks break down when an extra pass was taken instead of a shot.

Finally, in the eighty-fifth minute, The Hoops made some headway when they regained possession on the halfway line and the ball broke for Karamoko Dembélé, who dribbled towards the Millwall box and turned the defender before slotting an excellent through ball into the path of Kōki Saitō. His pass along the edge of the six-yard box, past the onrushing Crocombe, found an unmarked Rumarn Burrell who adjusted his feet and tapped into an empty net.

There was to be that one last chance at the death, in the 93rd minute, for QPR to snatch a heroic draw. A cross from the right and a couple of headers saw the ball reach Burrell just three yards from goal. Whilst he tried to get over the ball, he was too close and the header rose over the bar. No heroics just what could have been. With their away win Millwall would leapfrog QPR in the table and sit within the play-off spots, a trend that has continued in the month since.

After a fond farewell to Loftus Road (I'm sure I'll be back with my QPR supporting uncle), we headed for a couple of local drinks. Our first stop was at Swakeleys, which from the outside looked like a traditional old pub, but on the inside was more like a sports bar. A new pint meant a new pub and as the rest of the group moved straight there, I scurried back to Shepherd's Bush market for a late lunch quest and got myself an Algerian sandwich. Served by Sam Sandwiches, I got a pitta bread filled with marinated chicken, chips, fried egg, hot sauce and some salad for £7 cash.

Feeling satisfied with my scran, I found my intrepid friends at a Fullers pub named The Crown and Sceptre. This was a smart-looking, classic watering hole, adorned with historical QPR photos and the club badge painted onto the mirror behind the bar. A couple of our party had ordered some good looking food from their Thai kitchen, which looked pretty authentic and apparently didn't scrimp on the spices. The only shame was that we couldn't stay for longer before heading home, but running for a train at the start of the day was not helpful for the football injury suffered by one of our group, and he was literally on his last leg.

As we journeyed back we could reflect on another successful away day etched into the record books, and a long overdue trip back to the capital, where there are plenty more football clubs to choose from for future first-time matchday experiences. That's if we don't make it to mainland Europe first!