HIGH-flying Rangers travelled to Home Park with a view to remaining near the top of the table as they took on lowly Plymouth Argyle.
Teams: Plymouth Argyle v Queens Park Rangers
Date: Tuesday December 26, 1967
Competition: Football League Division Two.
Venue: Home Park, Plymouth
Derek Ufton`s Plymouth Argyle hosted QPR with little to no expectation of overcoming the league`s front runners.
The R`s were beginning to assert themselves in the Second Division following promotion from the third tier, which culminated in the double, winning the league cup at Wembley.
Alec Stock`s Rangers were three games undefeated having dispatched of Blackburn Rovers and title rivals Portsmouth at home, on their travels a goalless stalemate away to Norwich City kept the R`s momentum going as they looked forward to the big push over the new year.
Argyle themselves were on a five game unbeaten run, culminating in back to back goalless draws against Portsmouth and Cardiff City. As they sat too near to the wrong end of the table they looked to pick up some much-needed points against the R`s on Boxing Day.
The R`s brought in Mick McGovern to play the holding role in midfield in favour of forward Alan Wilkes. This allowed McGovern to slot in alongside Mike Keen, just behind Keith Sanderson.
However it was the aforementioned skipper Keen who handed the R`s all three points from the penalty spot.
His perfectly dispatched penalty was his fifth goal of the season, and was enough to see the R`s coast past their lowly opposition at Home Park.
Four days later Rangers welcomed Argyle back to Loftus Road and duly spanked them 4-1, with Keen again helping himself to a brace to further condemn Plymouth`s demise.
Argyle ended up propping up the second division with 27 points, fully eight points from safety and 20th place Preston North End. Ufton also left Home Park in February 1968, with Billy Bingham taking the reigns at Argyle.
Rangers needed goal average to attain promotion from the second division with them and Blackpool tied at 58 points a piece. However the R`s average of .8611 was considerably higher than the Tangerines .6511 to take the R`s to the promise land of the first division.
The less said about what happened next, the better!
Final Score: Plymouth Argyle 0-1 Queens Park Rangers
QPR: Springett, Clement Hazell Keetch Harris, Morgan, Keen, Sanderson, Morgan, McGovern, Marsh.
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