Soccer-Hughes makes his point on return to QPR

By Alan Baldwin LONDON, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Much was made of Mark Hughes proving a point on his return to Queens Park Rangers on Saturday but walking away from his former club with three in the bag would have been far more satisfying for the Stoke City manager. In the end the Welshman, greeted with boos and whistles whenever he ventured out of the dugout, had to settle for a 2-2 draw after Rangers twice came from behind to salvage an important point at home. Victory would have been so much sweeter for Hughes, who departed the west Londoners in November 2012 after 12 successive matches without a win and his managerial reputation in need of major repair. Hughes took much of the blame for the club's subsequent relegation from the Premier League under Harry Redknapp in 2013, with Rangers bouncing back through the playoffs at the end of last season. When that promotion was secured, club chairman Tony Fernandes said pointedly that QPR v Stoke was one game he was particularly looking forward to. In the end, unlike the home side's defending, there was little to get worked up about. The game had barely started before a chant of 'Stand up if you hate Mark Hughes' rang out, met with 'Mark Hughes' Barmy Army' from the away support, but it was more of a token gesture. In truth, both sides have long since moved on. Hughes led the Potters to ninth in the Premier League last season, and they are currently unbeaten away from home, while Redknapp's QPR have struggled to find the net with just one goal in four matches before Saturday. "I expected a little bit of stick and that's understandable but credit to the Rangers fans, they made their feelings known and got on with supporting their team like they should do," Hughes told reporters. On a personal level, preparations for the match had been the same as always. "I set my team up to try and come here and be positive and win the game and we very nearly did do. Other than that, my focus was totally on the game to be honest," added Hughes. "We're reasonably pleased with the point, we're unbeaten on our travels and we've gone to difficult places and picked up points," added the manager, whose side beat champions Manchester City 1-0 away last month. "But today was a missed opportunity, it's fair to say." Former QPR player Peter Crouch played a big part in both Stoke's goals, beating ex-England team mate Rio Ferdinand to a Victor Moses cross and nodding the ball on to Mame Biram Diouf for a simple finish in the 11th. Rangers equalised after 42 minutes with a Steven Caulker header before Crouch then made it 2-1 with a fine left-footed shot in the 51st and Croatia international Niko Kranjcar equalised from an 88th minute free kick. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Pritha Sarkar)