Loftus Road finally a happy home as Barbet breaks duck
YOANN BARBET took the role of the lone Ranger as he became QPR’s first home goalscorer in 2021.
The centre-half’s scrambled strike in the 54th minute made it four wins in five games for Mark Warburton’s side.
But it was their first at Loftus Road since November and brought to an end a run of five home games without a goal.
Barbet’s second goal for the club since joining from Brentford in June 2019 proved the matchwinner thanks to Rob Dickie’s
64th-minute block from Blackburn star Adam Armstrong’s goal-bound strike.
QPR boss Warburton said: “We’ve played a lot better than that here and not won. But that is the Championship.
“It is about defending your goal. Understanding the moments of the game and getting your rewards.
“We got a scrappy goal, it was no goal-ofthe-month contender that was for sure.
“But it is an important three points.”
After Todd Kane missed an early sitter it became clear that if a goal was going to come, Armstrong or the Hoops’ tricky No.10 Ilias Chair would have something to do with it.
The striker, deployed on the left by Rovers boss Tony Mowbray to expose Rob Dickie’s lack of pace, saw Seny Dieng tip over his
23rd-minute free-kick. At the other end, Chair’s bag of shimmies, drag-backs and deliveries into the box had Rovers’ Jarrad Branthwaite hacking clear in desperation.
Armstrong then hit the post with a deflected cross, teed-up Harvey Elliott who skied his shot, before driving inside three defenders only to drag his strike wide.
The playmakers kept up the pace after the break with Armstrong stinging Dieng’s palm, while Chair’s trickery paved the way for a Charlie Austin strike which was blocked by Lewis Travis.
Moments later Chair’s corner caused havoc, with Barbet owning the decisive touch after the ball pin-balled around the Rovers’ box. Armstrong was denied a leveller by Dickie’s block after Dieng palmed out Sam Gallagher’s volley.
The QPR stopper then tipped over the Blackburn star’s 25-yard strike.
And he was also rescued by Lee Wallace’s timely tackle after he spilled a ball at Gallagher’s feet.
It was the last big scare Rangers faced and, after six minutes of stoppage time for a head injury to Lyndon Dykes, they had a home win to celebrate.
Mowbray said: “It is hard to take when your goalie does not make a save and you lose 1-0.
“After the first 20 minutes we were quite dominant for the rest of the game but you have to score goals when you are on top.”
QPR: Dieng 7; Kane 7, Cameron 7, Dickie 8, Barbet 7, Wallace 7; Johansen 6 (Bettache (74th) 6), Ball 6; Chair 8; Dykes 6 (Adomah 83rd), Austin 6 (Bonne (74th) 6) BLACKBURN: Kaminski 6; Nyambe 6 (Hardwood-Bellis (62nd) 6), Lenihan
7, Branthwaite 7, Bell 6; Travis 7, Rothwell 6 (Dack (62nd) 6), Davenport
6 (Holtby (62nd) 4, Brereton 78th); Gallagher 6 (Dolan (74th) 6), Elliott 6, Armstrong 8