Ilias Chair Stars in QPR's Victory Over Portsmouth
Ilias Chair walked back into Fratton Park like a man intent on settling a score. Ninety minutes later, Portsmouth knew exactly what they had missed in their scouting reports.
The 28-year-old playmaker scored twice and created another as QPR, under sustained pressure for long spells, ripped through Pompey on the break to claim only their second win at this ground in three decades. For a club that watched last season slide away while Chair spent four months sidelined with a calf injury, this was a sharp reminder of how central he is to their ambitions.
Pompey strike first, and in style
Portsmouth arrived with momentum and expectation in their third season back in the Championship, and they started like a side eager to justify the noise.
Conor Shaughnessy headed over early. Debutant Luke Brooke-Smith forced a save. The tempo was high, the crowd engaged. The goal, when it came on 15 minutes, felt like the natural next step.
QPR failed to deal with a free-kick and the ball rolled loose, begging to be hit. Ebou Adams obliged with the awareness, rolling it into the path of Terry Devlin, loitering in space more than 30 yards out. Devlin didn’t hesitate. His right-footed strike swerved viciously, arcing away from Northern Ireland team-mate Pierce Charles and thudding into the net. A fantastic hit. A lead fully earned.
At that stage, Portsmouth looked in control. They had territory, they had rhythm, and they had QPR pinned back.
Then the game flipped.
Chair takes over
QPR had come to counter. They just needed the moment to spring. It arrived on 33 minutes, wrapped in defensive chaos.
Harvey Vale lifted a delicate ball into the heart of the box. Chair ghosted between static blue shirts and simply helped it on from close range. Goalkeeper Nicolas Schmid and his defence froze. Chair didn’t. One chance, one touch, 1-1.
That equaliser rattled Portsmouth. QPR sensed it and pounced again before the interval with a move that summed up Julien Stephan’s plan: absorb, break, punish.
On 40 minutes, Chair dropped into space, turned, and threaded Koki Saito into the box. The Japan international’s effort took a deflection off Devlin, wrong-footing Schmid and spinning into the corner. Two shots on target for QPR. Two goals. The home crowd, so loud early on, fell into an uneasy murmur.
Portsmouth pushed up to respond. QPR hit them again.
Deep into first-half stoppage time, Amadou Mbengue tore down the right flank, leaving markers trailing. His low cross picked out Chair, unmarked and calm. One composed sweep of the boot, and the ball nestled in the net for his second of the afternoon. Three shots on target in the half, three goals. Clinical barely covers it.
From 1-0 down and under pressure to 3-1 up and cruising, QPR had executed their gameplan with ruthless precision.
Missed chances and a familiar frustration
The second half became a test of Portsmouth’s resolve and QPR’s discipline. The home side created enough to make it interesting. They just couldn’t finish.
Shaughnessy, who had threatened early on, wasted a glorious chance to drag his team back into it, misdirecting a free header wide when he should have tested Charles. Debutant Abu Kamara then found himself with a gift after the QPR goalkeeper kicked the ball straight to him, but his tame shot was easily gathered. A big moment, squandered.
Charles grew in stature as the half wore on, denying Marko Milovanovic and standing firm as QPR’s back line dropped deeper. Rocco Shein carved out an opening but failed to make it count, his shot lacking the conviction the situation demanded.
Josh Murphy, returning from groin surgery, came off the bench to inject urgency and almost found a lifeline, flashing a dangerous effort across goal. It summed up Portsmouth’s afternoon: promising approach play, half-chances, and no final punch.
QPR, by contrast, didn’t need many punches. They had landed theirs before the break and then trusted their shape, their keeper, and their match-winner to see it through.
Chair left the pitch having dragged the game to his tempo, his influence stamped all over a rare and precious away win at Fratton Park. If this is the version of him QPR can keep fit and firing, how far can he drag their season this time?
