Julien Stephan: QPR’s second half will stay in my mind and heart for a long time

Julien Stephan praised his players and the home crowd after 10-man QPR came back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Preston at Loftus Road.

Johnny Kenny scored an early opener and then doubled North End’s lead after Dennis Cirkin was sent off.

But the hosts fought back, with Kwame Poku pulling a goal back midway through the second half and Paul Smyth smashing home a 90th-minute equaliser.

Rangers head coach Stephan declared: “In the second half we didn’t play with one less player, (it felt like) we played with 11 on the pitch because the fans were unbelievable.

“Honestly, I don’t remember something similar to this in my career. This second half will stay in my mind and my heart for a very long time.

“It’s one point but probably more like three points in the hearts of the fans and the players.”

Stephan had “strong words” for his players at half-time, with Rangers two down and having made an appalling start against a team that began the day bottom of the Sky Bet Championship table.

The early opener came after skipper Jimmy Dunne failed to deal with a long ball and was robbed by Kenny, who raced through and slotted past goalkeeper Pierce Charles.

QPR responded with a barnstorming display after the interval and would have won but for a number of saves from visiting keeper Daniel Iversen.

“I was really disappointed with the lack of personality and character we showed in the first half, so we needed to have some strong words with the players at half-time,” said Stephan.

“It was an outstanding reaction from the players and fans in the second half.

“I’m very proud of that reaction and I want to highlight the positives because I think they did something very, very special.

“You don’t see that in every game – 2-0 down at home with one less player and be able to do that in the second half. It was outstanding.

“When in 15 minutes you concede a goal and have a red card, it’s a lot of bad momentum for us.”

Preston caretaker boss Jason Euell said he found himself “loving and hating” their performance even before they let the two-goal lead slip.

Euell, placed in charge following the recent sacking of manager Paul Heckingbottom, could not have wished for a better start, but Rangers dominated the second half despite being a player short.

“Disappointing, really. I feel that when you’re 2-0 up and you put yourself in that type of position, and playing against 10 men, you want to be coming out of that with more than a point,” Euell admitted.

“Even at half-time, I said to the players that I was loving them and hating them in the same breath – loving the fact that we’re 2-0 up and doing the right things, but hating you right about now because we are putting ourselves in positions where we’re allowing them to get stronger in the game even with the extra player.

“It’s a learning curve for the players, being in this situation where we’re 2-0 up against 10 men and allowing QPR to be the more dominant team for a long period. This is where we need to have that calmness and focus in game management.

“We’re disappointed and I know the fans will be. Great, you’ve got a point, but you know you’ve dropped two.”