QPR DS 2-2 FLEETWOOD TOWN U21S

QPR Development Squad were left ruing missed chances as they twice surrendered the lead in a 2–2 draw at the TSG Training Centre on Tuesday afternoon against Fleetwood Town, with the visitors side striking a 90th-minute equaliser to deny Rangers the win.

Paul Furlong’s men, bolstered by the pre-match announcement of defender Kobe Agbude’s official signing with QPR following his trial, got off to the ideal start on 11 minutes when striker Cian Dillon finished smartly from Kaleb Dyke’s dangerous assist.

The first half was largely one-sided following the goal, with  Trialist A seemingly being involved with everything, striking over, forcing a top save, and setting up Jaylan Pearman for a fantastic chance, however the R’s were unable to get a second before the interval.

Following the restart, Rangers went close yet again to doubling their lead with Jack McDowell eventually heading wide following Dillon’s effort. However, the R’s were punished a couple minutes later as Callum Warbrick levelled affairs for the visitors.

Furlong rolled the dice and went attack with a double substitution as Agbude and McDowell were replaced by Cuthbert and Coomes at the hour mark.

This worked as just over 10 minutes later, Emmerson Sutton’s ran the full length of the pitch and was brought to an abrupt halt, being brought down in the box, with Cian Dillon dispatching the resulting penalty with ease to score his and Rangers’ second.

QPR looked set to see the game out, with Trialist A replaced by O’Brien with 20 minutes to go, and Trujillo then came on for Sutton as Rangers looked to see the game out.

Archie O’Brien went very close but again Hewitson made a fine save to deny him a third goal contribution in successive games.

Several minutes later, Hewitson managed to keep his side in the game again, saving Kaleb Dyke’s attempt after being slipped through on a one on one by Cian Dillon.

Daniel Bennie was booked with a couple minutes left on the clock for time-wasting, and a minute later he set up Jake Coomes for what seemed like it would be the third goal but somehow it was blocked.

With Rangers unable to put the contest beyond doubt, Fleetwood capitalised on a rare lapse from the defence following a corner and Calum Castello bundled home an equaliser right on 90 minutes.

The DS are back in action next Tuesday (2nd September) and travel up to Oakwell to play Barnsley U21s.

QPR DS: Salamon, Agbude (Coomes 60’), Leahy, Wilkie (captain), McDowell (Cuthbert 60’), Dyke, Trialist A (O’Brien 70’), Bennie, Pearman, Sutton (Trujillo 75’), Dillon (11’, 73’ pen)

Image copyright QPR FC. Used with acknowledgement for informational purposes.

OXFORD UNITED U21s 5-1 QPR DS (05/08/2025)

QPR Development Squad fell to a 5-1 defeat to an Oxford United U21s side on Tuesday afternoon which included several first team players, with Cian Dillon’s early goal proving in vain for the R’s.

Paul Furlong’s men came into this fixture off the back of two successive defeats to Hanwell Town and Wealdstone, with this fixture being added late on to finish our pre-season schedule.

The U’s fielded a remarkably experienced U21 side, which included 28-year-old Hidde ter Avest and EFL stalwart Will Vaulks among others. Meanwhile Furlong listed a relatively youthful side with 16-year-olds Alfie Pittall making his DS debut in goal, and Kalen Brunson on the left wing. South African starlet Tylon Smith also made his QPR debut in defence.

Rangers made the perfect start to the game with less than a minute on the clock through Rocco Friel’s threaded pass finding Cian Dillon who slotted away for his second goal in as many games.

However, things took a turn very quickly as Louis Griffiths took advantage of a save from Pittall that fell kindly for him which he tapped home to put the hosts level.

Oxford United took the lead at the 30-minute mark, yet again through Griffiths who curled in an elegant finish from range, and chaos at the back allowed O’Donkor through to add a third on the brink of half time.

Furlong looked to his bench at the break with hot prospect 15-year-old Leon Scarlett replacing Kieran Petrie on the right wing. Tylon Smith and Isaiah Balogun were also switched sides at centre back for the second half.

Unfortunately, the U’s were not relenting any time soon, with Leo Snowden making it four for the hosts with another impressive finish just minutes in.

Further changes were made at the hour mark with Tylon Smith and Kalen Brunson making way for Gabe Cuthbert and Jake Coomes as Rangers looked for fresh inspiration.

However, any hopes of a turnaround were safely put to rest less than five minutes later with O’Donkor emphatically heading home a Snowdon cross to increase the hosts’ lead even further.

The hosts even had a chance to add further gloss to the scoreline late on with Bradney’s strong effort hitting the woodwork.

Paul Furlong’s Development Squad are back in action on Tuesday 12th August as they start off their Professional Development League campaign at the TSG Training Centre, taking on Coventry City U21s at 2pm.

QPR DS: Fittall, Friel, Leahy, Balogun, Smith (Cuthbert 60’), Tuck, Dixon-Bonner, O’Brien, Petrie (Scarlett 45’), Brunson (Coomes 60’), Dillon (1’)

WEALDSTONE 6-2 QPR DS (29/07/2025)

QPR DS were well beaten 6-2 by Wealdstone in a pre-season friendly on Tuesday evening, with former R’s forward Sean Adarkwa netting four against his old side and a duo of Kieran Petrie & Cian Dillon scoring for the R’s

It was a tough night in Ruislip for the young R’s, who struggled to contain a physical Stones outfit that included Adarkwa, who came through the system at QPR, and Deon Woodman, a former R’s defender who remains a popular figure with the fanbase.

After a bright start from the hosts, they took the lead just after the half-hour mark when Adarkwa was picked out in the box and slotted home with a tidy finish.

Rangers responded instantly—literally within a minute. Some sharp buildup play saw Kieran Petrie arrive at the right moment to finish confidently and bring Rangers level.

But Wealdstone continued to push, and they went back in front right before the break—Adarkwa again, this time tapping in from close range to give the hosts a 2-1 lead at the interval.

Things opened up quickly in the second half. Adarkwa completed his hat-trick just minutes after the restart, pouncing on a loose ball inside the box. He added his fourth not long after, latching onto a misplaced pass and slotting past Salamon in a one-on-one to make it 4-1.

Two trialists added further goals for Wealdstone as the hosts took full control, both finishing from crosses that caused chaos in the box.

But there was still a late bright spot for Rangers, as Cian Dillon—making his return from injury—came off the bench and made an instant impact. The Irish youth international broke through the Wealdstone backline and smashed home a consolation goal with seven minutes left on the clock.

A tough result, but valuable minutes in the tank for the squad, as the new season approaches.

Attendance: 615

QPR DS: Salamon, Trialist A, Balogun, McCann, Friel, Coomes, Dixon-Bonner, Trialist B, Pearman, Petrie (37’), Trialist C

SUBS: Halliday, Cuthbert, Neziri, Scarlett, Boddy, Dillon (83’)

HANWELL TOWN 3-2 QPR DS (22/07/2025)

QPR Development Squad fell to a valiant 3-2 defeat in their fourth pre-season fixture of the scheduled five at Hanwell Town on Tuesday evening.

Hanwell Town kick off their Southern League Premier Division campaign away at Poole Town on August 9th and are managed by Chris Moore.

The hosts came out the traps flying, overwhelming Paul Furlong’s men with some quick link up play led to a Geordie trialist finding Jordy Mongoy at the far post and his bullet header flew past Charlie Warren in goal with less than 3 minutes on the clock.

The youthful R’s side headlined by first team regular Elijah Dixon-Bonner attempted to regroup, and Trialist B had the ball in the net at the 10-minute mark following a Rocco Friel cross, but the flag was up.

Unfortunately, this would come back to haunt Rangers as only a couple minutes later Hanwell Town doubled their lead following an emphatic finish from Mongoy at close range.

The R’s continued moving the ball nicely, going very close through Dixon-Bonner’s cross but Trialist B couldn’t dispatch it.

However, it seemed the experienced and seasoned Geordie side won the physical battle of the night, and it wouldn’t be long until they added a third, this one another bullet header, this time from Dwayne Duncan, following a corner at the 30-minute mark.

Matters were getting a touch spicy with engine Lorent Talla involved in almost every duel in the midfield.

QPR were to be given hope at the cusp of the interval as a defensive slip up allowed Trialist B to calmly charge through and slot home to pull a goal back for the Rs.

Throughout the second half, Furlong called upon all seven substitutes as he looked to shake things up.

This appeared to work as Rangers began having far more of the ball. Trialist B came very close to capitalising on a sloppy back pass before clattering with the Beasant in goal, requiring treatment but was fortunately able to continue.

Among the substitutes was 15 year old winger Leon Scarlett, who joined from Arsenal.

Substitute Cory Adjetey-Brew was notably causing chaos down the left flank at wing back, seemingly being involved in every movement, and even came very close with 20 to go to scoring an outrageous goal from 25 yards.

Just as Rangers were finally hitting their stride, a bizarre moment unfolded at the 75-minute mark with referee Neil Fyfield pausing play for a couple minutes to reprimand the Hanwell Town bench, seemingly for some colourful language that hadn’t gone unnoticed.

Second Half captain Aoraha unfortunately pulled up with already substituted Enis Neziri being given dispensation to replace him for the final ten.

Rangers’ persistence paid off as they pulled a second back through a header from Trialist B at the far post deep into stoppage time.

Paul Furlong’s men desperately threw bodies forward to try find a dramatic equaliser and almost got one in the 95th minute as a deep cross marginally eluded Trialist B who was chasing his hat trick.

QPR DS are back in action on Friday during the Soccer7sSeries in Singapore, and play their final regulated pre-season friendly next Tuesday against Wealdstone.

QPR DS: Warren (Halliday 53), Friel, Trialist A, McCann (Balogun 46), Cuthbert (Adjetey-Brew 46), Dyke, Neziri (Trialist C 63), Dixon-Bonner (Boddy 63), Trialist B (42’, 90+3’), Talla (Aoraha 46, Neziri 80), Coomes (Scarlett 63).

WINCHESTER CITY 2-2 QPR DS (19/07/2025)

QPR Development Squad continued their unbeaten start to pre-season in a pulsating 2-2 draw against Winchester City at Charters Community Stadium on Saturday afternoon with two trialists on target for the R’s.

Winchester City arrived with a 100% record in pre-season and will play in the Southern League Division 1 South this season. Alex Wilkie, who featured for roughly an hour in this match, played for the Citizens last season on loan.

Paul Furlong’s men came into the fixture following wins over Oxford City and Chelmsford City, and things started very well as Trialist B continued where he left off and scored a second goal from range in as many weeks on the 12th minute.

The first half was a war of attrition in the midfield with Trialist B, Wilkie, and O’Brien getting into several duels as the ball remained locked down the centre of the pitch.

The R’s protected their advantage well with Joel Halliday in goal not having much to do all half, and it got even better just minutes after the restart with the rapid Rico Kennedy doing very well to finally get Jaiden Putman into the game who provided a perfect cross for Trialist C to convert from close range, doubling Rangers’ advantage.

Wholesale changes were made at the hour mark, and a fresh 11 was on (with the exception of Halliday). Rangers continued to control the tempo with Lorent Talla dominating proceedings in the centre of the pitch.

With 15 minutes left, the R’s were given a golden opportunity to put the game to bed, after a City foul gave the ref no choice but to point to the spot. Talla stepped up but uncharacteristically sent his spot kick wide.

This spurred something in the hosts as they charged down the other end on a counter attack with a cross finding Olly Balmer at the far post who touched it home to set up a grandstand finish.

The R’s attempted to compose themselves and almost made it three but Winchester City dramatically levelled right at the death as Oscar McCulloch went on a solo run, beating off Adjetey-Brew and then tucking it beyond an outstretched Halliday to make 2-2.

QPR Development Squad are back in action on Tuesday as they head over to Hanwell Town. Live coverage will be provided as always on QPR_DS (X).

QPR DS: Halliday, Putman (Friel), Leahy (Adjetey-Brew), Wilkie (McDowell), McCann (Cuthbert), Trialist A (Dyke), Aoraha (Talla), O’Brien (Neziri), Kennedy (Coomes), Trialist B (12’) (Trialist D), Trialist C (52’) (Trialist E)

CHELMSFORD CITY 0-2 QPR DS (12/07/2025)

QPR DS continued their 100% record in pre-season on Saturday afternoon as the R’s defeated National League South side Chelmsford City 2-0 at their Melbourne Stadium with goals from Rohan Vaughan and Trialist B.

Chelmsford had undergone restructuring over the summer with many new signings making their first appearance in claret today, and started the brighter of the two as they created several chances in the opening few minutes.

Meanwhile, the DS, captained by Alex Wilkie for the first time, were set up in their familiar 4-2-3-1 attack formation. All three Trialists from our victory against Oxford City midweek featured and Rohan Vaughan almost opened the scoring on the 7 minute mark with his shot deflected wide of Clark in the goal.

Vaughan wouldn’t have to wait long for his goal as he expertly finished off Lorent Talla’s perfect ball to give the R’s an early lead just after the 15 minute mark.

Joel Halliday played the full 90 yet again and made several top saves in the first half to keep his side ahead and hold his clean sheet, with Rocco Friel and Cory Adjetey-Brew controlling the wing back positions well. Kaleb Dyke, Archie O’Brien and Lorent Talla in particular did very well to marshal the midfield which forced The Clarets to work on the wings.

In the second period, it was a slightly younger side and just like on Tuesday, the half became very cagey.

Jake Coomes and Phil Sanyaolu linked up a lot with Phil being unlucky not to have got on the scoresheet having come very close several times, including an emphatic strike from range which forced their Trialist keeper into a brilliant save, tipping the ball onto the bar.

Though we would eventually find our second with Trialist B, taking matters into his own hands in stoppage time and scored a beautiful goal from 25 yards out!

QPR DS are back in action next Saturday against Winchester City at 3pm, with full coverage as usual on x.com/qpr_ds and this website.

FIRST HALF: Halliday, Friel, Wilkie (c), Balogun, Adjetey-Brew, Dyke, O’Brien, Talla, Petrie, Kennedy, Vaughan (17’)

SECOND HALF: Halliday, Trialist A, Cuthbert, McDowell, Leahy, Trialist B (90’), Neill, Neziri, Sanyaolu, Coomes, Trialist C

QPR DS 3-2 OXFORD CITY (08/07/2025)

QPR DS defeated Oxford City 3-2 to kick of pre-season preparations at a very sun-covered TSG Training Centre on Tuesday evening.

With First Team head coach Julien Stéphan and CEO Christian Nourry in attendance from the sidelines, the DS certainly put on a first half showing for them.

With a different Starting XI either half, three trialists were also featuring in the first half, at right back, midfield and up front respectively,

After a very peaceful first 25 minutes, the match roared into life as some good linkup play led to Jake Leahy pulling the ball back for Trialist C to slot home to the keeper’s near post.

The R’s would not have to wait long for our second, as 7 minutes later Alex Aoraha’s marauding run was stopped as he was hacked down within the area. Alex didn’t think much of it and cooly sent the keeper the wrong way to double his side’s lead.

This is where the fun really began as Oxford City managed to pull one back very quickly following a headed goal from their trialist, but soon after, and immediately after City almost levelled - an expert QPR team move found Jack McDowell who played in our right back Trialist A as he calmly polished off the move with a superb finish.

Less than two minutes later, it was clear that City were not going away that easily with Tom Scott pulling another one back for them to close the first half out.

The second half was on the whole very cagey with Joel Halliday in goal keeping the R’s ahead several times, making some sensational saves with Alfie Tuck keeping good control over the backline behind him. We had a few chances, most notably Rohan Vaughan coming very close at the end of the 90 forcing a top stop from the keeper.

Variations of the 4-2-3-1 formation seemed to be in operation both halves.

The DS are back in action on Saturday against Chelmsford City.

First half: Halliday, Trialist A, Balogun, McDowell, Leahy, Petrie, Trialist B, Aoraha, Talla, Coomes, Trialist C.

Second half: Halliday, Friel, Wilkie, Cuthbert, Adjetey-Brew, Sanyaolu, Dyke, Tuck, O’Brien, Kennedy, Vaughan.