The Hand of Cedric! QPR's 2-2 Draw with West Brom was Overshadowed by a Controversial Handball from photo cum tribute Watch Video

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✓ Published: 07-Mar-2024

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Queen’s Park Rangers head coach Marti Cifuentes joked that he would have his team practice against ‘two goalkeepers’ . after Sam Field was denied the chance to double his lead, when Cedric Kipre deflected his header over the crossbar using his hand.<br/><br/>The defender’s spot of devilry was missed by referee Geoff Eltringham just moments after Alex Palmer denied Michael Frey from the spot, with a 69th-minute strike from Ilias Chair chalked off after he fouled Kipre in the build-up.<br/><br/>The Spanish manager might rue the hand fate had on an evening that might have seen Rangers rise as high as 16th in the scrap to avoid relegation.<br/><br/>But Cifuentes opted not to complain, and instead voiced his desire to make sure his side would not fall victim to such ‘fine margins’.<br/><br/>‘I’ve been told West Brom have played with two ‘keepers for a while,’ the head coach joked.<br/><br/>‘Football is a game with mistakes, and unfortunately, the referees can make mistakes as well.<br/><br/>‘It’s a difficult job, the second-most difficult job, after being a manager.<br/><br/>‘But I’m not going to complain, I’m here to make sure my team is better than that, so if today we had to play against two ‘keepers, we need to practice against two ‘keepers.’<br/><br/>Cifuentes, like Eltringham and his linesmen, didn’t see Kipre’s clearance.<br/><br/>‘I thought the ‘keeper made an amazing save. The real ‘keeper,’ he quipped.<br/><br/>His opposite number Carlos Corberan said that he ‘couldn’t remember the action’.<br/><br/>‘Hopefully, the decisions made by the referees are the correct decisions, but unfortunately, mistakes happen,’ he added.<br/><br/>Rangers were keen to impress on an evening that saw the club pay tribute to late icon Stanley Bowles, and pressure told in the 17th minute.<br/><br/>Having failed to secure an optimistic long-range effort from Chair, Palmer was unable to stop a cross from Andersen being barrelled in by a West Brom academy graduate after getting tangled up with a running Frey in the build-up.<br/><br/>Shaking off early lethargy, West Brom found their equalizer in the 24th minute thanks to a dream-like finish from Mikey Johnston and doubled their lead less than three minutes later through a nerveless shot under fire in the box from Grady Diangnana, scoring his second against the hosts this season.<br/><br/>Rangers’ luck continued to worsen in the second half, but fortune finally smiled on Cifuentes’ side in the 81st minute, with Field heading in a rebounded ball to net once more against his former club.