QPR (2) – Cambridge United (1) – ‘Thousands of Exuberant QPR Supporters Flooded the Pitch Two Minutes from Time’

Team: Hucker, Fenwick, Gillard, Waddock, Hazell, Roeder, Currie, Flanagan, Allen, Stainrod, Gregory

Sub: Micklewhite (for Waddock)

Attendance: 10,467

Ahead of QPR’s first FA Cup Final appearance, on 15th May 1982, the R’s took on Cambridge United at Loftus Road in their final league game of the season. The following match report later appeared in the local press:

‘You could have been forgiven for believing Queen’s Park Rangers had already won the FA Cup after some spectacular scenes at the last game of the season at Loftus Road.

Thousands of exuberant QPR supporters flooded the pitch two minutes from time causing a stoppage of ten minutes, and again after the final whistle in a mass explosion of Wembley fever, to pay tribute to Terry Venables and his team who have given these fans and the whole of West London so much to cheer about in recent weeks.

Goals by Clive Allen, a sweeping eight-yard drive in the 27th minute, and a penalty from Terry Fenwick to restore the lead after 59 minutes, were sufficient to overcome Cambridge in a game purely academic to the East Anglian side, who were assured of their Second Division status last week.

But to Rangers it was a last opportunity to flex their Wembley muscles and provide a final run out for the twelve most likely to face Spurs on Saturday.

Gary Waddock took a slight knock and was replaced by Gary Micklewhite, but the ginger-haired dynamo will be fit for the game, while Tony Currie came through with flying colours after an injury scare.’

The match programme revealed the names of the three joint ‘fans of the season’:

(a)     Sean Fallon – Sean lives in West Ham territory but this hasn’t stopped him converting lots of local youngsters into QPR fans (he cleverly bought Rangers kits for his friends’ children last Christmas).

He goes to all our away games – sells our lottery tickets and persuades others to sell them too.

When QPR were playing at Luton in the recent bad winter, he reported to Luton’s ground to help clear the pitch of heavy snow (despite the fact that he had been working all night and had not slept for 24 hours).

(b)    Joe English – Joe is known to everyone at Rangers as he hasn’t missed a First Team game of any sort for eleven years! He attends many Reserve and Junior matches and sells a large amount of lottery tickets every week. In order not to clash with these fixtures, he re-arranged his marriage and honeymoon last year.

(c)     Zacharias Hajikypri – Zacharias specialises in converting fans of other clubs to coming to watch Rangers instead (he persuaded his brother to support QPR instead of Arsenal).                                                                                                                                                     

He is one of our best lottery salesmen – even entering his former school to sell tickets. Zacharias is the perfect supporter: he enjoys every one of our matches – even when we lose!

Nine runners-up were also listed, namely; Carl Higgs, Niall Wainwright, Graeme Metcalf, David Copping, Ron Taylor, Julie Stroud, Tania Hillman, Geoff Lovett and Sue Mary Clarke respectively.

Rangers were sitting at both the top of the Football Combination and the South-East Counties League (ahead of the likes of; West Ham, Tottenham, Arsenal & Chelsea).

Steve Russell