Thrilling QPR comeback earns them Coventry redemption
- By Dan Evans
- 4 hours ago
- 4 min read
Championship
QPR 2 (0) Kone 66, Madsen 73
Coventry 1 (0) Eccles 53
When Queens Park Rangers last met Coventry City, they suffered one of the heaviest defeats in their history. Only once in 144 years of football have they conceded more than the seven they let in on that August afternoon at the CBS Arena.
Finishing in the top ten of the Championship table just once in the last ten years means they’re been too far under the radar to endure much embarrassment on a national scale in that time, but there is no hiding place when Sky Sports News have to spell out the opposition’s tally on the goal ticker.
Players were confronted by an away end full of angry supporters after the final whistle. It was just the fourth game in charge for head coach Julian Stephan but the sort of debacle that casts doubt about the futures of everyone at the scene of the crime. Stephan apologised to the fans and vowed such a performance would not happen again.
QPR went on a six-game run without defeat after that game. Stephan swapped out some of the more idealistic elements of his tactical approach following an early lesson in how brutal the Championship can be and has rarely looked back.
It has not all been straightforward. Results and performances have fluctuated as the QPR boss and a young team has navigated a heavy schedule and bouts of injury woe, but another abberation on the scale of that initial meeting with Coventry has never looked likely.
The best of Stephan’s QPR was on show as they earned some revenge against the Championship leaders on Saturday. Rangers were direct and physical but still created more chances than Frank Lampard’s side and were well worth just their second win of 2026.
“We knew before the game that we have made a lot of progress since August,” Stephan said post-match. “But this game showed the ambition and the character of this group. We played with fire, with desire, with ambition to create something and hurt them.”
QPR could have been ahead at half-time when an inventive Richard Kone was tipped on to the crossbar by Coventry goalkeeper Carl Rushworth, but looked like they might have to settle for a valiant defeat as Josh Eccles nodded a deep Jack Rudoni cross over the line early in the second half.
The only positive from that late summer mauling in the West Midlands was a consolation goal scored by Kone. It was his first for the club and initiated a run of three in three matches.
Just as the team have been going through a process of development since then, goals have not always been easy to come by for Kone either.
But he was immense in helping the team to this comeback victory. The striker, who was still playing for Athletic Newham in the Essex Senior League as recently as 2024, bullied Coventry’s pair of centre-backs on his own while also displaying plenty of quality in possession despite a significant physical exertion.
A brilliant flicked finish drew Rangers level and capped a fine individual performance in this one. A tally of six goals does not quite stand up to the impressive debut season of fellow summer arrival Rumarn Burrell, but everything Kone displayed beyond finding the net showed why he has become an important part of Stephan’s team.
“Rich is not only about goals but a lot of work on the pitch,” said the QPR boss, exhaling in the same breath as though he had put in a shift to match his strikers’.
“A lot of effort for his team-mates. When he scores a goal like this it’s a great reward for him.
“It’s great for his confidence of course but Rich Kone is more than one goal today. Since the start of the season he’s put in a lot of effort for us and that’s why he’s played a lot of games.”
Nicolas Madsen, another star in this game and a standout in QPR’s season after a difficult first year in England, scored the winner. He lashed in from close range after Rushworth could only parry a Harvey Vale cross, sparking pandemonium at Loftus Road.
QPR were level with the play-off places before their late collapse against Wrexham last time out. They currently sit four points outside of the top six despite this impressive win.
Whether or not they do make a genuine push for promotion may be the only barometer of success for some, but the marked difference in their two meetings with the league leaders should be a sign of definitive progress regardless.
QPR (4-2-3-1): Walsh - Edwards, Dunne, Cook, Norrington-Davies - Hayden (Field 84), Madsen - Dembele (Bennie 24), Vale, Smyth (Saito 71) - Kone
Sky Blues: (4-2-3-1) Rushworth - van Ewijk, Thomas, Kitching, Dasilva - Eccles, Grimes - Sakamoto (Min-Hyeok 80), Rudoni, Mason-Clark (Esse 35) - Simms (Wright 71)
Attendance: 17,321
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