Ilias Chair Shines as QPR Ends 26-Year Frustration at Fratton Park

Ilias Chair struck twice as QPR ripped up 26 years of frustration at Fratton Park, turning an early onslaught from Portsmouth into a ruthless 3-1 away win.

For half an hour, it looked like a long afternoon for Julien Stephan’s side. John Mousinho’s new-look Pompey flew out of the blocks, roared on by almost 21,000 in the south-coast sun, and pinned Rangers deep.

Adrian Segecic’s corner was nodded just wide by Conor Shaughnessy. Luke Brooke-Smith then stepped in from distance and thumped a 25-yard drive straight at debutant goalkeeper Pierce Charles, who gratefully clutched the ball.

The pressure told in style.

On 15 minutes, Terry Devlin collected the ball some 30 yards out and unleashed a stunning curler into the corner of Charles’ net. The Northern Ireland international’s strike was pure, vicious, and fully in tune with the way the game was going.

QPR looked rattled. They had already seen Boy Kemper forced off injured inside 20 minutes, and Portsmouth sensed vulnerability. Abu Kamara, the £2.5m summer signing, almost doubled the lead when he slid in at the far post and just failed to connect with Zak Swanson’s teasing cross.

Segecic was everywhere. He darted onto Colby Bishop’s clever flick and whipped in a cross that Brooke-Smith couldn’t quite get right. Then, after Kamara threaded him through on goal, Segecic dragged his shot wide under pressure from Jake Clarke-Salter. Fratton Park crackled. Portsmouth were enjoying themselves.

And then the game flipped.

QPR’s first real chance had come earlier when Pompey failed to clear a corner and Chair’s effort was blocked on the line by Ebou Adams. It was a warning. It went unheeded.

Twelve minutes before half-time, Rangers levelled against the run of play. Harvey Vale found space on the left and whipped in a low cross. Chair, completely unmarked, arrived to toe-poke home from point-blank range. One chance, one goal, and suddenly the swagger drained from the home side.

The turnaround was brutal.

Seven minutes later, Koki Saito took aim from just inside the area. His shot was going nowhere special until it cannoned off Devlin, then Rocco Shein, and wrong-footed Nicolas Schmid. The double deflection left the Portsmouth goalkeeper helpless and the home fans stunned. From dominance to disbelief in minutes: 2-1 QPR.

Portsmouth’s defending fell apart again in first-half stoppage time. Amadou Mbengue burst down the right and fired in a low cross. Chair, once more in the right place, applied another simple finish. A second goal for the Moroccan, a third for Rangers, and a stunned silence around Fratton Park. Three goals conceded in 15 chaotic minutes.

From total control to total collapse.

Stephan’s men emerged after the break with a clear plan: manage the game, quieten the crowd, and pick off the spaces. For a while, they did it expertly.

Portsmouth still carved out chances. They had to. Ten minutes into the second half, Charles almost handed them a lifeline when he passed straight to Kamara. With the goal half-open, Kamara could only fire tamely back at the keeper. It felt like a pivotal moment.

Chair remained at the heart of everything QPR did. Drifting between the lines, he almost completed a dream opening-day hat-trick, denied only by Schmid’s sharp save with his legs at the near post.

Mousinho turned to his bench and threw on Josh Murphy to spark a response. The winger flashed one shot into the side netting and twice drove dangerous balls across the face of goal, but the real sense of threat had gone. Portsmouth huffed, probed, and pushed numbers forward, yet never truly looked like hauling themselves back.

QPR, by contrast, grew calmer as the clock ticked down. Charles, on his league debut, recovered from his early scare to help steady things. Clarke-Salter and the defence tightened up. The midfield stuck to Stephan’s plan, slowing the tempo whenever Portsmouth tried to raise it.

By the final whistle, the story was clear. Pompey’s blistering start had been undone by a ruthless, composed response from a Rangers side that refused to panic in a hostile arena.

A first QPR win at Fratton Park since May 2000, delivered by a man-of-the-match display from Chair, a new manager’s cool blueprint, and a reminder that early-season momentum can swing in the space of a quarter of an hour.