Ilias Chair Shines in QPR Victory Over Portsmouth
Ilias Chair announced his return as QPR’s leading man with a ruthless display at Fratton Park, scoring twice and creating another as Rangers stunned Portsmouth to claim only their second win on the south coast in three decades.
Last season, QPR’s campaign sagged when Chair disappeared for four months with a calf injury. Here, he showed exactly what they had been missing.
Portsmouth strike first, and in style
Portsmouth arrived with ambition and started like a side intent on backing it up. They pressed high, moved the ball quickly and forced QPR onto the back foot.
Conor Shaughnessy headed over in the early exchanges, and debutant Luke Brooke-Smith drew a save from Pierce Charles. The noise rose, the pressure built – and then Terry Devlin lit up the afternoon.
On 15 minutes, QPR failed to clear a free-kick and the ball fell to Ebou Adams, who calmly rolled it into Devlin’s path, more than 30 yards from goal. Devlin took aim and unleashed a vicious right-footed drive that swerved away from his Northern Ireland team-mate Charles and ripped into the net. A stunning strike. A deserved lead.
At that point, Portsmouth looked in control.
Chair turns the game on its head
QPR didn’t panic. They sat in, absorbed the pressure and waited for Portsmouth to lose their shape. When the chance came, they pounced.
On 33 minutes, Harvey Vale lifted a hopeful-looking ball into the heart of the box. It should have been routine. Instead, Portsmouth’s defence froze, goalkeeper Nicolas Schmid stayed rooted, and Chair ghosted in to stab home from close range. One ball, one touch, one equaliser. Fratton Park fell flat.
The goal rattled Portsmouth and energised Julien Stephan’s side. QPR suddenly looked sharper, quicker in transition, and utterly clinical.
Five minutes before the break, they broke again. Chair carried the ball and slipped it to Koki Saito, who drove into space and let fly. His effort clipped Devlin and wrong-footed Schmid before rolling in. Two shots on target, two goals. The away end could scarcely believe it.
QPR weren’t finished.
Deep into first-half stoppage time, Amadou Mbengue surged down the right and was allowed to run far too easily. His low cross found Chair completely unmarked in the box. The 28-year-old took his time and guided in his second of the afternoon. Portsmouth’s defenders stood staring at each other. QPR’s game plan – soak up, spring out, punish – was working to perfection.
Three shots on target in the first half. Three goals. Brutal.
Portsmouth waste their lifeline
John Mousinho’s side still had time to respond after the interval, and chances did come. They just never found the composure QPR had shown.
Shaughnessy, who had threatened early on, squandered a free header, glancing wide when he should have hit the target. Substitute Abu Kamara then found himself gifted an opening when Charles kicked the ball straight to him, but his tame shot allowed the QPR goalkeeper to recover and save.
The pattern continued. Marko Milovanovic was denied by Charles. Rocco Shein worked a good position but failed to make it count. The door was open; Portsmouth kept fumbling at the handle.
Josh Murphy, back after groin surgery, came off the bench and at least injected some urgency, flashing one effort across goal. It summed up Portsmouth’s afternoon – promising approach play, no final punch.
QPR, by contrast, didn’t need to force anything. They had already done the damage, with Chair at the heart of it all.
On a ground where Rangers so rarely leave with anything, their playmaker turned a difficult assignment into a statement. If this is the version of Chair they keep fit, what does that do to the ceiling of their season?
