On Saturday, we went to the QPR-Fulham match at Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium. Even prior to attending the match, the name of the stadium caught my attention. After a quick google search, I found that Kiyan Prince was a football player in QPR’s Academy who was fatally stabbed at the age of 15. This tragedy called for the creation of the Kiyan Prince Foundation, created by Kiyan’s father. The Foundation raises money against youth violence and takes part in many admirable and charitable events. Therefore, I am impressed that QPR gifted the naming rights of their stadium to such an honorable cause, as it therefore loses out on potential revenue.
In terms of the stadium itself, I was a bit unimpressed. There was little order to get through the turnstiles despite the large crowd. In the venue, there was a tiny scoreboard that only displayed the QPR logo during play. At halftime, there were a few ads/birthday wishes and a video of a man speaking. The small, rectangle scoreboards that showed the time and score were on each end between the first and second deck. The only other electronic signage was around the field level, displaying brands such as Asheville holdings, gowing pursey and sky ex, which appeared to me to take up 95% of their advertising space.
For the actual match, I was excited to see what the London derby had in store. Prior to play, Fulham sat top of the table, ahead of second place Bournemouth by 8 points. QPR sat at number 9, having lost their last two games. Although the match was vital for both teams, it was arguably more crucial for QPR who are still fighting for a playoff spot in hopes to return to the Premier League.
Our seats at the match were wonderful; we were a few rows up on the side of the pitch nearest the away fans. There was plenty of banter between the two sides, and at one point there was an incident with a woman in the Fulham stand; however, I never found out the cause of this jeering. The environment as a whole was astounding - you were forced to become quite friendly with your neighbors, as each seat left little leg and arm room. Everyone was into the action (some people a bit too much, throwing out some nasty insults at the nearby Fulham right back), and I think the atmosphere trumped many other matches I’d been to.
Fulham ended up winning the match 2-0, with a goal in each half by Aleksandar Mitrovic, continuing his record breaking campaign of goals in one season. The first goal was a wonderfully worked team goal consisting of a cross to Mitrovic who casually finished from about 6 yards out. The second goal was awarded to Fulham by a controversial handball call in the box, resulting in a penalty kick. Fulham went wild after both goals, throwing smoke bombs onto the pitch. The QPR fans were not amused; a nearby man claimed, “they’ll be back in the Championship in a couple years to play us.”
I was unsure of what to expect from my first derby but I was quite happy with the results. The atmosphere, the score (I was secretly supporting Fulham from the QPR side because of my past allegiance with them) and the quality of play were all there. It was a great match to attend and I’m excited to see Fulham in the Premier League next year (barring catastrophe).
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