Rate it!

0 votes

The win meant Mick Harford's men gave up the unwanted title of the only professional team in England without a win, although piled the pressure on an under-performing Norwich side that was quite frankly poor throughout.

Mikele Leigertwood went agonisingly close on eight minutes when he sidefooted a superb low centre from on-loan Birmingham striker Rowan Vine inches wide of the left hand post in bright start for the newly-glamourous QPR, who were watched from the stands by supermodel Naomi Campbell and it-girl Tamara Beckwith as guests of owners Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore.

Recent Harford loan signings Vine and Martin Cranie complemented Chelsea youngster Ben Sahar, who gave the Hoops another opportunity when he found space on the left but saw his rising shot blocked behind for a corner.

Norwich worked their way back into the game but were missing the spark of injured forward Jamie Cureton, Darren Huckerby chasing the long balls down but lacking support and genuine service.

Darel Russell almost set the impressive Lee Croft free but the former Manchester City man could not round keeper Lee Camp in time, while Hogan Ephraim went straight down the other end and forced the Canaries defence into thrashing the ball clear.

Noting the high line of QPR's defence, Norwich adopted a counter-attacking policy of threading balls through to Huckerby, which saw the ex-Leeds and Coventry man caught offside on a few occasions but fire warning shots to the Championship's bottom club.

A super run by Sahar on the half hour saw him go to ground as he tried to get his cut-back away to Vine, the Israel youngster asking for a penalty after having his shirt clearly pulled by Jason Shackell but his appeals ignored by the referee.

Ephraim then forced a very good save from David Marshall with a right foot drive that the Scotland keeper palmed away and eventually put out for a corner, while on-loan Portsmouth defender Cranie kept Norwich at bay on a few occasions, including late in the first half when he foiled Huckerby, Dion Dublin going close with the subsequent corner.

The second half started with a bang for Rangers, Rowlands surging forwards from right back and hammering a low drive off the left hand post in the best chance of the match. QPR were sensing blood, Vine sending Sahar through with a flick-on but denied by the alert Marshall.

QPR had a second cast-iron spot kick turned down when Vine was tugged down by Shackell again, but the referee somehow missed the foul. Makeshift right back Rowlands had overcome an uneasy start in the match and went close again when he forced a good save from Marshall with a long range free kick on the hour mark.

The hosts finally did get their penalty, although ironically it was less clear-cut than the previous shouts. It was still a foul, Vine caught slightly in the midriff while bursting into the right hand side of the area by Ian Murray. Rowlands stepped up and hammered the spot-kick into the bottom left for his second goal of the season and QPR's first lead of the 2007/8 campaign.

Rangers sensed blood and did not look like a club propping up England's second tier, although perhaps unsurprisingly given the fact that no less than five of their team have some Premier League experience.

It was former Brentford winger Rowlands drawing the singing voice of the Loftus Road crowd, however, and the man playing in his place on the right midfield, Gareth Ainsworth, forced a corner with a superb drive deflected just wide.

The corner that followed almost saw the Hoops double their lead, Jamaica defender Damion Stewart seeing his powerful header tipped over by Marshall who earned his coin again when the next corner was not fully cleared, sub Stefan Moore flapped at the loose ball and Vine hammered a brilliant spinning volley that the former Celtic man somehow saved.

Norwich had their first meaningful opportunity of the second half on 77 minutes when Russell hammered a half volley from distance that Camp parried away. Peter Grant's men attempted to turn the screw, forcing a corner that saw QPR show their old nervy selves in struggling to clear.

They got their stranglehold back though, impressive midfielder Leigertwood calling Marshall into action again. While Norwich used the surprise five minutes of injury time to pump some long balls in on the QPR goal, and David Strihavka almost ran clean through at the death, there was only going to be one winner and the home side got their first three points of the season although still stay bottom on goal difference.

Reda Maher / Eurosport