Promising South African defender Tylon Smith made his long-awaited Championship debut for Queens Park Rangers but it was a night to forget.
Smith has been biding his time patiently for his first minutes in the league, having made his EFL Cup debut back in August, shortly after his move from Stellenbosch.
The 20-year-old who won the Africa Cup of Nations Player of the Tournament in their triumphant campaign last year, was on the bench for the last nine games.
And head coach Julien Stéphan offered a baptism of fire in the final five minutes against Middlesbrough as they were 3-0 down and fielding him in an unfamiliar right back role.
He went to concede a penalty as they went on to lose 4-0 but a step forward for Smith who will now be aiming to make an impression in the run-in this season as they build towards the 2026/27 campaign already.
“It’s a tough time, we know why we have to use so many young players at the same time [preparing for the future], they discover the level, they discover the league and when you play in this league in this situation, not in a good run, not in good collective form, it’s important to keep the support and stay close to them and give them the confidence they need to play football,” Stéphan said.
“We have to show improvement and show some better results next time. We have Birmingham and Leicester in the next games, two tough games away, difficult games, so it’s important to recover, psychically and mentally.”
Smith will be aiming to get more minutes in the upcoming games as he looks to cement his place in the starting line-up ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
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