Queens Park Rangers vs Middlesbrough. Sky Bet Championship.
Loftus Road StadiumAttendance14,182.
Saturday 20 January 2018 19:10, UK
Adama Traore scored his first goal for Middlesbrough as they beat QPR 3-0 at Loftus Road - their third consecutive away victory.
Daniel Ayala's header and George Friend's brilliant strike put Boro in control by half-time and Traore sealed their win with five minutes remaining.
They went ahead when Ben Gibson flicked on Grant Leadbitter's 24th-minute corner and Ayala nodded home unchallenged at the far post.
Friend doubled the visitors' lead 11 minutes later, smashing a left-footed shot from 25 yards beyond 'keeper Alex Smithies and into the top corner of the net.
It prompted Ian Holloway to send centre-back Joel Lynch up front until half-time, when the QPR boss made a double substitution, bringing on target man Matt Smith and winger Bright Osayi-Samuel.
But Middlesbrough, in their fifth match under manager Tony Pulis, rarely looked troubled. And Traore made sure of the points by slotting past Smithies after being put through by Rudy Gestede.
Boro are the only side in the Sky Bet Championship yet to drop points from a winning position this season - and they never looked like doing so once in control against the R's.
Early on, QPR's Jack Robinson and Traore fired wide during a cagey start to the game. However, once they went in front the visitors were largely comfortable.
Conor Washington did have a decent chance to pull a goal back shortly before the interval but shot straight at 'keeper Darren Randolph after being found by Robinson's long ball.
Boro would have added a third goal with 13 minutes remaining but for Robinson's goal-line clearance. Gestede, on as a substitute, shot past Smithies after being set up by Jonny Howson, but Robinson was on hand to deny the striker what would have been his first league goal since August.
Both 'keepers produced late stops shortly before Traore's cool finish. Randolph was down quickly to deny Lynch at close range before Smithies dived to his left to keep out a header from the lively Gestede, whose clever assist led to the third goal.
It was only the third goal of Spanish winger Traore's senior career - and his first in the league.
Ian Holloway: "In the first 15 minutes we were causing them all sorts of trouble and I can assure you that Tony Pulis, who's a friend of mine, wasn't too happy. But unfortunately we got undone by a corner, which they're brilliant at and we're normally good at.
"We lost a flick at the near post and then Ayala is standing there and heads it in. It's a mountain to climb after that. That gave them a lift, they started popping it around, and when George Friend gets it 25 yards out and he shoots and it goes straight in my net, I'm fuming."
Tony Pulis: "[Traore] can be frustrating at times, but I'm telling you if he works it out then he could be anything. You look at the top clubs in the Premier League and they've all got that electric pace and no-one's as quick as this boy is.
"He's starting to work it out a bit now and hopefully the penny drops. All we're asking him to do is what he's good at, which is to run forward with the ball and run forward without the ball. When he does that, as you saw today, he's unplayable."
