Middlesbrough boosted their promotion aspirations with a 4-0 away victory against QPR at Loftus Road.
David Strelec bundled Middlesbrough into a 20th-minute lead from Morgan Whittaker’s shot, before Alan Browne doubled their lead with his 68th-minute header on the rebound after Luke Ayling’s cross struck the crossbar.
Hayden Hackney curled in a 72nd-minute finish before Tommy Conway sealed victory with a 89th-minute penalty, having been brought down by Tylon Smith.
Middlesbrough now sit four points clear of third-placed Millwall in second place, whilst QPR stayed 16th in the table.
Having seen Millwall move to within one point of themselves on Saturday, Middlesbrough began this tricky trip to West London engaged in a scrappy opening phase in which Morgan Whittaker put a fifth-minute shot wide of the right corner.
Neither team managed to carve out real notable chances in that period until Hayden Hackney teed up Riley McGree whose 20th-minute cutback pass was flicked onto a QPR defender by Whittaker, but rebounded off Rhys Norrington Davies for the 25-year old to fire in off the hip of teammate, David Strelec.
The goal was initially awarded to Whittaker but following review, Strelec was instead credited as the goalscorer.
Middlesbrough however almost conceded an equaliser just four minutes later as a cross was knocked on to Isaac Hayden, but the midfielder’s header was saved by Sol Brynn.
If Boro thought that they could proceed to control the remainder of the half, they were dealt a setback as Dael Fry had to be substituted due to a minor hamstring injury concern, which led to the introduction of Adilson Malanda as his replacement in the 31st minute.
That enforced change however didn’t affect the visitors as they controlled the half until the finish, as Hayden Hackney curled a low shot wide of the far-bottom right corner in the 33rd minute.
In need of a response, QPR began the second half on the front foot until the 55th minute saw Joe Walsh save Strelec’s shot, which saw QPR break quickly but Richard Kone fumbled his shot, which allowed Boro to burst back up the other end but Matt Targett volleyed wide from a deflected shot.
Boro soon began to apply more pressure as QPR pressed for an equaliser and managed to put the game beyond the hosts’ reach in the 68th minute, as Luke Ayling played a dinking cross which bounced off the bar for Browne to nod in from close range.
Middlesbrough eventually secured five consecutive wins over QPR for the first time in the fixture’s history just four minutes later, as McGree’s shot was blocked out by Walsh to Tommy Conway, who found Hackney with a side pass which the midfielder curled into the far right corner.
QPR refused to give up in the final stages as Harvey Vale struck the inside of the left post in the 85th minute, but Daniel Bennie lashed the rebound shot over the bar to Sol Brynn’s relief.
Boro ultimately punished that chance as a pass from Morris towards Conway drew a foul on the latter from Smith, and the Scottish forward subsequently dispatched his penalty into the bottom-right corner beyond Walsh’s reach to settle the contest.
What’s Next?
QPR now face two away trips in the space of three days in the Midlands, as they head to Birmingham on Wednesday 11 March (7:45pm GMT) then Leicester on Saturday 14 March (3pm).
Middlesbrough meanwhile have a home double-header as they entertain Charlton on Wednesday 11 March at 7:45pm, before meeting Bristol City on Saturday 14 March at 12:30pm.
Teams
QPR: Joe Walsh, Amadou Mbengue (Smith 85′), Jimmy Dunne, Ronnie Edwards, Rhys Norrington-Davies (Esquerdinha 85′), Kieran Morgan (Smyth 71′), Harvey Vale, Isaac Hayden, Jonathan Varane (Bennie 80′), Koki Saito (Clarke-Salter 80′), Richard Kone
Substitutes: Kealey Adamson, Jake Clarke-Salter, Steve Cook, Ben Hamer, Daniel Bennie, Rayan Kolli, Esquerdinha, Tylon Smith, Paul Smyth
Middlesbrough: Sol Brynn, Callum Brittain, Dael Fry (Malanda 31′), Luke Ayling, Matt Targett, Aidan Morris, Morgan Whittaker (Sarmiento 66′), Hayden Hackney (Gilbert 83′), Alan Browne, Riley McGree (Castledine 83′), David Strelec (Conway 66′)
Substitutes: Leo Castledine, Tommy Conway, George Edmundson, Alex Gilbert, Sontje Hansen, Adilson Malanda, Jeremy Sarmiento, Kaly Sene, Joe Wildsmith
Referee – Josh Smith
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