QPR 1-2 Everton
Adel Taarabt wasted a glorious chance for a point when he lashed the bar three minutes into added time and condemn Rs to a fifth straight defeat.
It was cruel. For long periods, Hoops took the game to the visitors. But like three of the four games before them, opportunities came and went, with only one converted.
Eduardo Vargas scored his second goal for Rs when Sandro had a wild slash at the ball from a corner. Charlie Austin shielded a foot from the line, and the Chilean mopped up to lash the ball high into the roof of the net.
Twelve minutes later, Aaron Lennon broke hooped hearts when he picked up a half clearance in the box to ruin Rob Green’s day, after the QPR keeper was called into the England squad.
Early on, the assistant referee spared Bobby Zamora’s blushes on seven minutes. The striker was in the clear but a half-hearted hook over the bar was a poor end product to a clever back header from Austin. Fortunately, the flag was raised for offside.
Zamora then lost out on a neck-and-neck foot race with John Stones. The two wrestled their way to the edge of the box, and Phil Jagielka was eventually on hand to hack clear.
Rangers were to regret it.
Arouna Koune had the freedom of the left to centre for Leon Osman to receive, shunt the ball right, and allow Seamus Coleman to side-foot on the run and in off the far post beyond Rob Green.
Nedum Onuoha was a toe away from a goal; likewise Austin as the speed of a cross saw him only able to stab over.
Twenty seconds into the second half, Rangers had the ball into the net.
Yet again the flag was up to deny Junior Hoilett’s fine curling hit against the far post, with Zamora following up. Matt Phillis was the man adjudged to be off. if he was it was by a torso, and not an inch more.
When Austin was onside and through just shy of the hour, but inexplicably he stopped running. What’s that about playing to the whistle?
No offside this time, and a very good chance gone begging.
Vargas levelled and then Zamora, everything seemed to be going through him, fired widely over as he sprinted through the centre of the pitch.
Taarabt missed by a whisker, but a miss it was.
Rangers are truly staring down the barrel. Four points shy of safety, and now they have only eight games to save themselves from a straight return to the Championship.
Rs: 4-4-2: Green; Isla, Onuoha, Caulker, Yun; Phillips, Barton, Sandro (Henry 71), Hoilett (Vargas 60); Austin, Zamora (Taarabt 81), subs not used: McCarthy, Hill, Ferdinand, Kranjcar
Att: 17,706 (away: 1,809)
