ROVERS boss Sean O'Driscoll heaped praise on his battling side despite them slipping to their first Coca Cola Championship, at Loftus Road on Saturday.
First-half goals from Dexter Blackstock and Emmanuel Ledesma proved the difference as Rangers deservedly grabbed the points.
Rovers had only themselves to blame. Slopping defending from two set-plays was crucial as the visitors failed to fire on their trip to London.
"They've got eight players over 6ft 2in, so it's not rocket science that you've got to defend well on set-plays," reflected O'Driscoll.
"I'm disappointed with that, we should have done better.
"They've (QPR) got some flair in parts of the pitch where you need flair, so it's difficult to break them down. But I thought we managed to stem their counter-attacks at times with some hard work and some good defending.
"That was the first physical test we've had in this division - and we've struggled to find a way to get a result.
"I thought when we tried to play through them they were nice and organised, they got everybody behind the ball.
"They picked up a lot of second balls and they were dangerous going forward. They broke with a bit of quality."
Rovers found themselves on the back foot early on and were soon a goal down. The visitors conceded a needless free-kick on the left edge of the penalty area - and Rangers took full advantage.
Daniel Parejo whipped in a right-foot cross and Blackstock, unmarked at the back post, had all the time in the world to place the ball past Neil Sullivan into the far corner.
Blackstock could have a second moments later but fired his shot wide of the target. Full-back Damien Delaney should have done better with a left-foot volley, but he fired over inside the area.
James Hayter broke at the other end of the field but saw his shot charged down, but the half belonged to the hosts.
Peter Ramage delivered an inch-perfect cross from the right in the 25th minute, but Parejo headed over with a close-range bullet header.
Parejo then had a penalty appeal turned down by referee Mike Thorpe after a collision with Gareth Roberts on the right side of the penalty area. But the pressure was telling on Rovers and moments later they conceded for a second time.
Mikele Leigertwood floated a precision free-kick into the path of Ledesma as he raced towards goal. The midfielder kept his cool and calmly slotted past a helpless Sullivan.
Richie Wellens had a good chance for Rovers shortly after the restart, but his 35-yard right-foot drive lacked power and was easily gathered by Rangers keeper Radek Cerny.
Rovers were then dealt a blow when defender Matthew Mills was forced off after a nasty knock to the face following a clash with Blackstock.
That left the door open for new Dutch signing Jos van Nieuwstadt to make his second appearance as a substitute. With both Gordon Greer and Sean McDaid out, it was a wise move from O'Driscoll to have cover on the bench.
A minute after the hour mark, midfielder James Coppinger stole the ball of full-back Delaney, but he frustratingly fired a right-foot shot into the side netting.
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FeaturesMore Rotherham newsMore Doncaster newsMore Barnsley newsLatest sport.The full article contains 583 words and appears in Sheffield Star newspaper.
