Queens Park Rangers vs Blackburn Rovers. Sky Bet Championship.
Loftus Road StadiumAttendance15,715.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between QPR and Blackburn Rovers at Loftus Road as Gareth Ainsworth saw his reign at Rangers begin with a defeat on Saturday afternoon.
Saturday 25 February 2023 18:43, UK
Sam Gallagher scored twice as Blackburn condemned QPR to a 3-1 home defeat in Gareth Ainsworth's first match as boss.
Ainsworth's side levelled through Tim Iroegbunam's goal after Gallagher's opener, but promotion-chasing Rovers responded to clinch a third consecutive win and extend their unbeaten league run to six matches.
Sammie Szmodics put them back in front and Gallagher's second goal of the match meant there was no way back for Rangers, who have now won just one of their past 19 matches.
After a predictably rousing reception for Ainsworth - a hugely popular figure from his seven-year spell as a QPR player - and high-tempo start by the home side, they found themselves behind after 14 minutes.
Tyrhys Dolan's shot took a deflection and the ball looped towards Gallagher, who headed in from close range - his 50th career goal.
Rangers hit back 10 minutes later when on-loan Aston Villa midfielder Iroegbunam scored the first goal of his senior career.
Rovers were unable to clear Osman Kakay's cross and the ball fell to Iroegbunam, who calmly side-footed home the equaliser.
But the tide turned against QPR again, with playmaker Ilias Chair going off with what looked like a nasty hamstring injury 10 minutes before the interval and Szmodics restoring Blackburn's lead in the final moments of the first half.
Lewis Travis opened up Rangers' defence with a lovely pass and Szmodics drifted in behind Kakay to slot past goalkeeper Seny Dieng.
Worse followed for QPR when Gallagher struck again on the hour mark after being brilliantly set up by Joe Rankin-Costello, who evaded two challenges before presenting the striker with a simple finish.
While Blackburn's promotion challenge appears to be gathering pace, QPR - who were top of the table in October - continue to drop towards the relegation zone.
The injury to Chair, whose attacking partnership with Chris Willock underpinned the team earlier in the season, is potentially a huge blow for Ainsworth, who replaced the sacked Neil Critchley this week.
With Willock sidelined by hamstring trouble which has marred his season, the loss of Chair to a hamstring problem of his own will be a huge concern as Ainsworth tries to halt the slide.
With striker Lyndon Dykes likely to remain unavailable for some time as he recovers from pneumonia, Rangers' woes are mounting and the new head coach clearly has a big job on his hands.
QPR's Gareth Ainsworth:
"I'm pleased with the boys. After two days' training with me, I saw plenty of stuff in there that I can work with. In the first half we showed exactly what I wanted them to show; the belief, desire and the battling. It showed today that there's plenty of spirit and plenty to work with. But we were a bit deflated in the second half because Blackburn's third goal put them out of sight and in control of the game.
"It's my job now to raise these spirits and make sure the boys play with intensity and be fearless. They're a great set of boys and gave me everything today, and that's what I asked of them. The main thing is that the boys took on board my message about belief, work-rate and what it means to play for QPR, which is what I wanted to see. I'm firmly of the belief that we can turn this around and get this club moving in the right direction again. I'd say to the fans: that win is coming, I've got some good boys in there and I'm sure we're going to be super-competitive very shortly."
Blackburn's Jon Dahl Tomasson:
"I'm delighted with the result and I think we can all agree that we thoroughly deserved to win this game. We scored three excellent goals and created more chances. We conceded an unnecessary goal but that was more or less the only shot they had on goal. We all know this is a tough stadium to come to and with a new manager there was a lot of energy there as well, so I'm delighted with the way the players coped with the situation.
"In the second half we controlled the game totally. We have a great spirit and togetherness in the squad and after a result like this there should be more confidence in the players. The players are in good shape and when they're called up they're ready to perform and they perform extremely well. Credit to the players for coping with the demands and intensity of this league."
