Queens Park Rangers’ new loan signing from Brighton and Hove Albion, Tomer Hemed, gave fans a much-needed cheer as we faced newly promoted Wigan Athletic at Loftus Road on Saturday.
Hosting them at our ground after four straight Championship defeats in the current 2018/19 campaign, the Israeli international scored in the 35th minute of the tie to give us the advantage and thankfully we held on in defence and kept the clean sheet to return the first three points of the year and finally get us off the mark when it came to a victory.
It was, however, far from pretty as the visitors bossed possession and had greater chances across the 90 minutes but we dug in and did enough by the time the final whistle went.
Taking to social media to celebrate the win, new chairman Amit Bhatia was spot on in his summation.
Aaaand we’re finally off !! ⚽️ 🕺🏽 Wasn’t easy viewing at times but we were committed and gutsy and left it all on the pitch…. Thank you so much to the supporters who were loud and proud and carried us over the finish line. pic.twitter.com/5ZmZtBxhiS
— Amit Bhatia (@Amit_Bhatia99) August 25, 2018
It wasn’t, it was ugly, but it was needed and it means some hope and relief can return to the camp itself and the fanbase. Now what is important is building from here and at least maintaining a mini unbeaten run to grow confidence and take the pressure off the players.
I’ll buy a newspaper tomorrow!!!
Tell @tonyfernandes to enjoy this aswell— A j turkish (@ajmelhuish) August 25, 2018
It was a great atmosphere today. Many happy faces leaving the ground today. Glad you are back with us @Amit_Bhatia99
— Sarah (@SarahJane1882) August 25, 2018
Very positive today and it will get better. What there was of the crowd was vocal and hopefully helped our players. Come on you R’s!!
— QPR Pride Of London (@qprprideoflondn) August 25, 2018
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— pen dog (@markpenny5) August 25, 2018
A successful match for a pleasant change. Atmosphere positive. Rare clean sheet. New signings impressive. Finally some optimism.
— Ken Whitelaw (@whitelawkr) August 26, 2018
Let’s get this stadium full again and get behind the boys
— Andy Hey (@Andyhey22Hey) August 26, 2018
This win has hopefully kickstarted our season and we can build on from this, hopefully another CB could come in to add some much needed experience.
— Steve Thomas (@sjthomas_) August 26, 2018
Whilst there were some dissenters with old gripes coming into play, that small sample of tweets explains what the vast majority of those who offered their reactions were saying. It’s a start that we build from.
