NEIL WARNOCK  returned with all his know-how to Selhurst Park to secure a priceless win that all but guarantees QPR's Championship status.

The former Palace boss was a subdued but happy manager on the touchline - but there again - he had little to worry about other than a subsitution for defender Damion Stewart after just three seconds.

In a bizarre afternoon where the last-but-one in the QPR dugout is now in charge in south London, it's Paul Hart who is now fearing the worse for his new team.

Palace rarely threatened and Warnock was as probably as surprised as the 2,462 travelling faithful by the ease of the win.

Akos Buzsaky (pictured) sarted the rot when he scored his 10th goal of the season when he rifled home right-footed from the edge of the box to leave Julian Speroni in the Palace goal groping thin air.

The Rs lead owed much to the persistence of Hogan Ephraim on the left, and his cross was laid into the path of the Hungarian, who did his chances of getting into Warnock's good books no harm at all.

However, the QPR manager was forced into an early subsitution when a groggy Stewart made way for Jay Simpson after just three seconds.

The first action of the game saw the Hoops centre-back crunch heads with Calvin Andrew, who in turn also limped down the tunnel a little later.

The west Londoners had by far the better of the half, with Buzsaky twice more, and Simpson making Speroni scramble across his goal.

At the other end, another Rs returnee, Radek Cerny did well to turn away a Clint Hill rising shot after 35 minutes - but in truth there was little else for the home faithful to cheer about, until Dusko Tosic was booked.

The Rs debutant was deemed to have tugegd the shirt of Hill to add to the six minutes of added-on time for the early head injuries.

The home crowd grew even more restless when  Kaspars Gorkss was allowed to outjump the defence just past the hour and plant a glancing header beyond Speroni into the corner of the net. 

A fair number of them had already gone when Simpson stabbed just wide as ran onto an Adel Taarabt pass in the final minute.

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