MUTED JOSH IS ON TOP OF THE WORLDIE

RESPECT for your old club is all very well but, when you end your 14-month drought by curling in the best goal of your career, surely you’re entitled to celebrate. Not if you’re Josh Scowen. The momentary elation of scoring a worldie against former club Barnsley was replaced by a muted celebration – even though he was screaming inside.

QPR midfielder Scowen said: “It’s probably the best goal I’ve scored in my career – it’s just a shame it came against Barnsley.

“I’ve never scored a goal like that but I’ve got a lot of respect for Barnsley so I managed to hold back and hopefully they respect me for that. If it had been against anyone else I’d have been off running round the pitch.”

Scowen’s winner eased the relegation concerns of QPR boss Ian Holloway (above), but added to those of Barnsley, who now sit just a point above the drop zone.

Surely the football world has gone mad when you keep quiet about your greatest goal while your team-mates are screaming from the rooftops.

One player definitely not doing any screaming on Saturday was new Barnsley central defender Matt Mills, having damaged his vocal chords in a training-ground accident. Mills took an elbow to the throat on Friday. A day later, he almost had his kneecap removed by QPR substitute Ryan Manning, who deserved the red card he received.

Mills was able to croak: “It’s part and parcel of being a centreback. The referee had a decision to make and, the way my knee’s feeling right now, I think he made the right one.”

QPR: Smithies 6, Perch 6, Onuoha 6, Lynch 8, Robinson 6, Cousins 6 (Manning 68, 2), Scowen 7, Freeman 8, Wszolek 6, Smith 5 (Osayi-Samuel 79, 6), Washington 6 (Bidwell 90)

BARNSLEY: Townsend 7, Yiadom 6, Mills 6, Lindsay 6, Pinillos 6 (Mahoney 80, 6), Moncur 7, Williams 6, Gardner 6, Hamill 7 (Hedges 68, 6), Moore 5 (McBurnie 68, 6), Bradshaw 6

MOTM JOEL LYNCH (QPR)