KING CON IS TWO GOOD FOR ROYALS AS R’S WASH AND GO
CONOR WASHINGTON grabbed both goals for QPR as they saw off 10-man Reading at Loftus Road.
The striker headed in from close range in the 22nd minute and slotted home a penalty 14 minutes into the second half after Tiago Ilori had been red-carded for fouling Pawel Wszolek.
And it became an even more miserable afternoon for last season’s beaten play-off finalists when new signing Jon Dadi Bodvarsson went off injured.
Hoops boss Ian Holloway said: “I’m very proud of the players for the work they put in and proud of our crowd.
“I’m also delighted for Conor. He’s a natural goalscorer and could have had a hatful. The pressing of Conor and Jamie Mackie was magnificent. The whole team played really well and worked so hard.”
Rangers went ahead when Luke Freeman’s skill on the right dug the ball out of a tight spot and Wszolek crossed for Washington to add the finish.
And QPR soon almost doubled their lead when Freeman shot narrowly wide following nice
link-up play involving Jamie Mackie and Wszolek. Massimo Luongo went even closer when he fired against the far post.
Washington missed a great chance five minutes before the interval, shooting high and wide after Liam Kelly’s back-pass left the striker with just keeper Vitor Mannone to beat.
Rangers continued to press early in the second half and Freeman sent another effort wide after being set up by Mackie.
The home side were very much on top at that stage but they needed Alex Smithies to produce a brilliant save to maintain their lead following an error by Nedum Onuoha.
After the Rangers captain’s lapse let in sub Mo Barrow, the ball broke to Bodvarsson who was denied by Smithies at point-blank range.
It proved to be a pivotal moment in the match as a couple of minutes later Reading were two behind, down to 10 men and without Bodvarsson, who had been their main threat.
With the striker lying injured on halfway play was allowed to continue and Mackie teed up Wszolek, who was taken down by Ilori.
The Royals defender was sent off for a professional foul and after Bodvarsson was helped off the pitch Washington steered his penalty into the corner of the net.
Reading boss Jaap Stam admitted his side did not play well but felt that the referee should have halted the action in the build-up to the all-important penalty. He said: “I think play should have been stopped. Bodvarsson was on the floor and he was screaming with his knee.
“After that, there were a couple of times when someone was down and the game was stopped. But we were not good enough and if you don’t do what you need to and bring a certain level of aggressiveness, you are not going to beat teams.”