Junior Hoilett was voted man of the match for his performance in the 3-0 win over Rotherham on Saturday - but reckons QPR were far from missing number one keeper Rob Green.
Alex Smithies stepped in having recovered from a shoulder injury, and produced his best display since a summer move from Huddersfield.
Smithies has been starved of chances, but with Rangers weighing up whether to trigger a new deal for Green once he reaches 30 performances - it's currently 25 - the second choice has stepped into the limelight.
Hoilett amplified the feeling in the Rs camp.
“The back four and Alex deserve huge credit,” he said. “Keeping clean sheets is so important and I thought we defended realty well as a unit throughout the match.
“Alex came back into team and did very well. I’m pleased for him. He made a good save in the first half and dealt with everything really well.
“Hopefully we can push on now.”
Hoilett scored while falling. Matt Phillips adjusted well to fire a second and a burning run from Sebastian Polter tapped in to wrap a first win in nine.
It might have been different but for a great sliding tackle by Nedum Onuoha on Matt Derbyshire in the first half when the score was 0-0, and Hoilett admitted Rs had been up against it before they took control.
“We came under the cosh a little, but having come in on level terms, that gave us great confidence and we showed our quality in the second half,” he said.
“The two goals at the start of the second half really put us in control.
“We haven’t had that two goal advantage very often this season, and you could see once we got the second that we started to believe a bit more.
“We played with great confidence after that and saw it out in some style,” he told the club’s website.
