QPR thrash nervy Derby 4-0

Loftus Road Picture by Capital Football UK

Queens Park Rangers 4 Derby County 0

By Julian Taylor at Loftus Road

Stunning and Queens Park Rangers don’t often appear in the same exciting category for very long, but the west Londoners took a confident stride up to 11th in the Championship with a rampant, deserved victory over nervy Derby County.

Marti Cifuentes' side move up a couple of places in the table, keeping their attention upon the play off spots above, albeit with a lot of work to do between now and the end of the season. Yet this was a quite the performance, a guaranteed crowd pleaser for all QPR fans who were in full Friday night voice in the 16,151 attendance.

A brace of first half goals from Ilias Chair and Koki Saito had the west Londoners flying, before further efforts – again by Chair and a header by Ronnie Edwards, comprehensively saw off the tame Rams.

It was to prove an especially difficult night for new Derby boss John Eustace against the club where he finished his career. The kind of outcome he must have dreaded before undertaking the major quest to steer his team from relegation worries.

The R’s approached the encounter with the aim of picking up points towards a play off slot, while the game represented the first in charge for Eustace. Ironically the last match for the former midfielder at previous club Blackburn Rovers was a 2-1 defeat at Loftus Road 10 days earlier.

QPR made two changes to the side which lost 1-0 at Coventry City a few days ago. New January signing Yang Min-Hyeck made his first appearance while Jonathan Varane also featured. Paul Smyth and Jack Colback, meanwhile, had to settle for a place on the bench.

The Rams won the corresponding fixture 2-0 back in October, but their form had fallen off a cliff of late. Without a win since Boxing Day and a run which included eight defeats including an FA Cup exit, and just a point between them and the drop zone, it was easy to see why the club felt a change at the top was necessary. It was just a surprise that Eustace opted to exchange Blackburn, challenging at the higher end of the Championship, for one struggling at the other end.

Eustace deployed the Rams in a 4-2-3-1 formation and they were certainly assertive in the early stages. However it was the hosts who struck first after 21 minutes without having applied too much hitherto pressure.

After good work and an assist from the left by Michael Frey, taking a moment to compose himself from 20 yards out, Chair curled in a superb effort which sailed past Derby keeper Jacob Zetterstrom. It was a characteristic moment from the impish Moroccan to light up Loftus Road.

In the wake of the opening goal, QPR became more emboldened, and a long speculative shot from the centre circle by Frey went just a yard past the nervy - and busy - Zetterstrom.

Nevertheless, the hosts doubled their lead rather effortlessly in the 34th minute.

With more trickery by Chair on the left, his low cross was only parried into Saito’s path a few yards out by Zetterstrom – the Japanese attacker had the easiest of tasks to covert with Derby’s defence far too hesitant.

Events were becoming more fraught by the moment for the Rams, with Eustace getting a quick insight into what he has inherited. QPR had the east Midlands outfit on the rack, and their overall first half response was extremely positive in view of Tuesday’s setback at Coventry.

It was therefore no surprise when the R’s - playing with sublime self-belief - added a third goal in the 56th minute. Loanee from Tottenham, Min-Hyeak, another impressive operator in hoops, did well on the right to make space before crossing into the path of Chair to lash into the roof of the visitors’ net from eight yards out.

And a mere four minutes later QPR added a fourth. Kenneth Paal’s whipped free kick from the right swirled towards the near post which was headed home by an aggressive Edwards. On this occasion Zetterstrom was helpless. As were his woefully static Derby team mates.

The night could hardly have been much worse for the Rams who simply could not cope with QPR’s pace and boldness in all areas of the pitch. Derby’s lack of incision and failure to trouble R’s keeper Paul Nardi ultimately summed up their overall listlessness.

Cifuentes will, naturally, be delighted with the result and performance by his players. A tough set of fixtures in March, against league leaders Leeds United, as well as Middlesbrough, Sheffield United and Middlesbrough will offer far greater examinations than that of County. Yet, if QPR can sustain this kind of form, anything is possible.

R’s: Nardi, Dunne, Cook (Morrison 83), Field (Morgan 63), Chair, Frei, Saito, Edwards, Paal, Varane, Min-Hyeak (Smyth 63)