QPR beaten 4–1 at Southampton as Stéphan points to the “worst 20 minutes” of the season
Sunday 1 November 2026 · By Jessica Doyle
QPR lost 4–1 at Southampton on Saturday, with Julien Stéphan blaming a poor spell at the start of the second half.
Rangers were only 1–0 down at half-time and had chances to level. Kwame Poku fired into the side netting and Paul Smyth headed over from Boy Kemper’s cross. “The first half was OK,” Stéphan said, according to West London Sport. “The beginning of the second half was not OK at all. It was probably the worst 20 minutes collectively since the start of the season.”
Southampton went 2–0 up through Cameron Bragg, and Keven Schlotterbeck made it three, heading in Ryan Manning’s corner after 67 minutes. Richard Kone pulled one back 85 seconds later with a finish in off the post, backing up his hat-trick against Swansea a week before, but Welington added a fourth for the hosts.
Stéphan was also unhappy with the set-piece defending: “We struggled as well on set plays for the first time this season.” On the positives, he said that with enough chances in the first half, “you have to take them”, and called the difference between the sides “the ability when you have good momentum to create chances and score”.
QPR are ninth with 20 points from 13 games, with five wins, five draws and three defeats. They are two points behind eighth-placed West Ham, who hold the last play-off place, so the gap is small.
Burnley visit Loftus Road on Tuesday 3 November (kick-off 19:45 GMT), and it will be Fabio Celestini’s first away game as their head coach. Then QPR host Lincoln on Saturday 7 November (15:00 GMT).
Loftus Road is a tight, fully enclosed West London ground and still the beating heart of Queens Park Rangers. Officially the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium, it holds 18,439 and sits on South Africa Road in Shepherd’s Bush (W12 7PJ). Stands rise close to the touchlines on every side, so even a modest crowd can sound loud. Visiting supporters are almost always placed behind the west goal in the School End, now sponsored as the Achilleus Security Stand.
The usual away allocation is the upper tier, about 1,800 seats. For bigger followings the club can open the lower tier as well and push the total towards 2,500. Access is from the streets around Ellerslie Road and Bloemfontein Road rather than the main South Africa Road frontage, so follow stewarding and your club’s travel notes rather than drifting towards the Superstore and box office. The stand is compact, with a low roof and a video screen above it. Views are close; the pitch is only a few metres away. If you are in the front rows of the lower tier, check sightlines to the near goal before kick-off.
Opposite you is The Loft (Loftus Engineering Stand), the traditional home end. QPR often attack that goal in the second half. Along the north touchline sits the largest stand, the Bhatia Stand on South Africa Road: two tiers split by executive boxes, plus dugouts, tunnel, changing rooms, press seats and hospitality. Facing it across the pitch is the single-tier Stanley Bowles Stand on Ellerslie Road, the lowest roof in the ground and home to some of the more vocal home blocks. All four stands meet in the corners, which is why the place feels boxed in compared with a modern bowl.
White City on the Central line is the nearest Underground station; Shepherd’s Bush (Central and Overground) is a short walk the other way. Buses along Uxbridge Road and Wood Lane are frequent. Matchday parking in the surrounding streets is scarce and often restricted, so rail or Tube is the sensible option. Arrive early if you want a pint: many local pubs operate supporter filters, and the closest options for away fans tend to sit towards Shepherd’s Bush Green rather than immediately outside the School End. Bag rules are tight for a compact ground; travel light and check the club’s current size limits before you leave.
Facilities in the away end are basic but workable: toilets and kiosks under the stand, cashless tills more often than not. Stewards are used to compact allocations and will keep the two sets of supporters apart at the corners. The atmosphere can swing from muted midweek Championship fare to genuinely hostile when the Loft and the R-block areas on Ellerslie Road get going. Because you sit so close to the pitch, you will hear every shout from the technical area. Leave a little extra time after the final whistle; the west-end streets empty slowly and the walk back to White City is easier if you wait for the first crush to pass.
Loftus Road will not dazzle you with concourse megastores or a ring of glass boxes. What it offers visiting supporters is an old-fashioned English ground at close quarters: four stands, two goals, no wasted space, and a short hop from central London. Treat the School End as a proper away end, not an afterthought, and you will get a fair view of one of the last truly tight grounds left in the EFL.