QPR's Burnley Victory: Reports and Comments

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TABLE: Just 12 points out of a playoff spot...!
BOTTOM 8Sheff Wed 20 24
Blackpool 21 23
Scunthorpe 21 23
Leicester 21 22
Norwich 21 21
Colchester 21 20
QPR 21 20
Preston 21 18

UPDATE: 11:30 am
QPR OFFICIAL SITE MARCHING ON TOGETHER
Luigi De Canio dedicated the R's vital 2-0 victory at Burnley to the late Ray Jones.
Jones, 18, died in a motor accident in the hours leading up to the original fixture at Turf Moor in August.
"This is a result the lads really wanted for Ray," De Canio told www.qpr.co.uk.
"He's remembered by everyone at the Club with great fondness and this result is for him.
"It's for him and the fans who made the long trip up from London."
Goals from Damion Stewart and Rowan Vine clinched the three points for Rangers, but De Canio praised the efforts of his entire squad.
"It was a demonstration that when we play to the best of our ability we can beat anyone.
"I am very pleased for the players and the supporters.
"We fought very well, as we did at Scunthorpe on Saturday.
"Tactically we were very impressive and that is very encouraging."
Stewart's goal on the hour sparked scenes of mass celebration in the Rangers technical area and De Canio himself was delighted with the togetherness shown by his players.
"Togetherness has never been an issue, but it was nice when the players ran towards me," he said. "It means a great deal to me." QPR

QPR OFFICIAL SITE - Gareth Ainsworth - FOR THE BIG MAN'
Gareth Ainsworth spoke for the entire dressing room in dedicating our 2-0 win against Burnley to the late Ray Jones.
Speaking exclusively to www.qpr.co.uk last night, Ainsworth said: "That was for the big man, Ray.
"We wanted to put on a performance in tribute to him I'm sure he's looking down on us with that lovable, big smile tonight.
"He was a big character and a fantastic prospect and he is still very much part of Queens Park Rangers Football Club and he'll never be forgotten."
Blackburn boy, born and bred, Ainsworth - who was recalled to the side at the expense of the suspended Martin Rowlands - relished the victory in Lancashire.
"It's always nice to come back up North and to win at Turf Moor is magic," he told www.qpr.co.uk. "We needed a victory and we produced the goods and it's a massive fillip ahead of back-to-back home fixtures at Loftus Road." QPR

Burnley Official Site - Gaffer: Defeat A Kick In The Teeth
Owen Coyle described QPR's Turf Moor victory as a kick in the teeth after seeing his unbeaten Burnley record bite the dust.
Rock-bottom Rangers snatched the points in the second half despite the Clarets earning 14 corners as they piled on the pressure.
The gaffer said: "We are all learning and it was a harsh lesson. We have been in football long enough though to know there will always be that kick in the teeth.
"We carried the fight and just needed more guile or a spark from somewhere because if we had equalised I truly believe we would have gone on to win it.
"The game was there to win and we did have opportunities to score goals.
"We got caught with the set play, but I thought from 1-0 we forced the game and had numerous decent opportunities.
"We had corner after corner - 14 in the second half - but it wasn't to be."
He added: "We got caught out when Gabor went up near the end. Such is the spirit that he wanted to go up for the corner and try to salvage something.
"He nearly scored from the first corner and we paid the price for a slack pass for the second goal.
"I don't think the bounce of the ball went for us tonight and I have to say I don't think we achieved the standards we set recently in passing and receiving the ball.
"The effort was fantastic, but this was our sixth game in 17 days and there will be no criticism.
"We will take the kick in the teeth, and that's what it is. All credit to QPR because they worked hard and kept their shape and made it difficult for us.
"But we will learn the lesson and hopefully come back stronger.
In the second half the pressure was incessant for periods. We just know we can get the standards higher, but the margins are minimal and we have to come out on the right side of them."
When quizzed if he felt a sixth successive starting line-up had contributed to a fatigue factor, Coyle replied: "I think it was probably evident that the fight and spirit was there in abundance, but we weren't as fluent or quick as we have been so maybe we have to look at that.
"We will take it on board and look to get the legs rested up so we can be as nice and bright against Preston as we have been." Burnley

SPORTING LIFE - MANAGERIAL COMMENTS
QPR WIN DEDICATED TO JONES - By Ross Heppenstall, PA Sport
QPR manager Luigi De Canio dedicated his side's 2-0 victory at Championship rivals Burnley to former striker Ray Jones, who died tragically in August.
The 18-year-old England youth international and two other people were killed in a car accident in London.
Tuesday's fixture was originally scheduled for August 25 but was postponed due to Jones' death hours before the game was due to take place.
After watching defender Damion Stewart and on-loan Birmingham striker Rowan Vine score second-half goals to secure victory, De Canio paid a moving tribute to Jones, who was a hugely popular figure at Loftus Road.
"This win goes out to Ray Jones," said the Italian.
"He was a great lad and we all remember him really fondly.
"This is from everyone in the dressing room - the players and the management - and everyone at Loftus Road remembers him really fondly."
Jamaica international defender Stewart greeted Scott Sinclair's left-wing corner at the far post with a firm downward header which flew past Clarets goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly.
Stewart, outstanding throughout, celebrated his 60th-minute opener with a wild punch of the air and a celebratory sprint towards the visiting dug-out.
Vine added a second in the 90th minute when he raced clear to fire into an empty net after Kiraly had strayed upfield in desperate search of an equaliser.
It was Rangers' first win in eight Championship outings and that it was achieved at the expense of the Championship's in-form side with genuine play-off aspirations made it all the more impressive.
De Canio added: "We played against an excellent team but we made chances on the counter-attack.
"Damion is an excellent player and will improve even more.
"This is a big win for us, there's no doubt about that."
Owen Coyle has engineered a significant upturn in fortunes at Burnley since being appointed as successor to Steve Cotterill last month.
But second-half pressure after Stewart's opener amounted to nothing and the former Bolton striker was left to reflect on his first defeat since taking the helm.
Coyle's cause was not helped by injuries to defender Clarke Carlisle (hamstring) and midfielder Alan Mahon, who were both forced off in the second half.
Coyle said: "We had to rejig after Clarke went off and those kind of things went against us.
"We got caught at the set-play when their lad, who Clarke had been picking up, headed in.
"But I thought we forced the game really well after that and had some decent opportunities.
"We had corner after corner and Gabor has come up for a corner and nearly scored from the first one and then stayed up for the second one.
"However, we paid the price but I don't think the bounce of the ball went for us.
"There will be no criticism of the players from me because we've had six games in 17 days and need to bounce back against Preston on Saturday now." Sporting Life


The Times - Damion Stewart and Rowan Vine revive QPR’s spirits
Damion Stewart and Rowan Vine claimed second-half goals to haul Queens Park Rangers off the bottom of the Coca-Cola Championship and bring Burnley’s six-match unbeaten run to a halt with a 2-0 victory at Turf Moor. Stewart, the Jamaica defender, met Scott Sinclair’s left-wing corner at the far post with a firm downward header that flew past Gabor Kiraly, the Burnley goalkeeper.
Vine, the striker on loan from Birmingham City, added a second in the 90th minute when he raced clear to score into an empty net after Kiraly had ventured upfield in search of an equaliser.
It was QPR’s first win in eight league outings and that it was achieved at the expense an inform side with play-off aspirations made it all the more impressive. Burnley did not help themselves with a steady stream of misplaced passes, while errant shots from Kyle Lafferty and Andy Gray, their leading goalscorer, failed to trouble Lee Camp, the QPR goalkeeper. The Times

INDEPENDENT - Stewart's strike slams the brakes on Burnley revival - By Gordon Tynan
Damion Stewart brought Owen Coyle back to earth last night forcing a first defeat on the new Burnley manager after six games at the helm. The 2-0 win lifted Queen's Park Rangers off the bottom of the Championship. Rangers clearly failed to read the script at Turf Moor with the Jamaica defender meeting Scott Sinclair's corner at with a firm, downward header on the hour.
The on-loan Birmingham striker, Rowan Vine, then raced clear in stoppage time to fire into an empty net after Gabor Kiraly had strayed upfield in search of an equaliser. Burnley's deflated manager Coyle cited the loss of the defender Clarke Carlisle as a turning point: "We got caught at the set play when their lad, who Clarke had been picking up, headed in," Coyle said. Independent

TELEGRAPH - Burnley revival halted as QPR snatch win - By William Johnson
Queens Park Rangers hauled themselves off the bottom of the Championship table last night with an unexpected win over a Burnley team who had made smooth progress towards the play-off zone since manager Owen Coyle arrived from St Johnstone last month.
Burnley, fielding the same starting line-up in every outing, had won three and drawn the other two of their five previous matches since Coyle took over from Steve Cotterill and were expecting to extend that encouraging run over visitors who had not produced anything like the same positive response since their new manager Luigi di Canio was appointed in October.
The Italian, celebrating his second win in eight attempts, was delighted when his central defender Damion Stewart was left unmarked to meet a Scott Sinclair corner at the far post and direct a simple header past Gabor Kiraly for the 60th-minute breakthrough. That decisive moment came immediately after the lively Sinclair had forced Kiraly into the second of two smart reaction saves during a rare period of Rangers' pressure.
With Burnley pressing desperately to get back on terms near the end, Kiraly found himself stranded in the opposing penalty area and Rowan Vine raced the length of the field to push the ball into an empty net.
Burnley could not complain because they made little of their greater share of possession and 70 minutes had gone by before they forced Lee Camp into his first save, Kyle Lafferty being denied with a low, angled drive.
Falling behind stung the home side into more positive action and substitutes James O'Connor, frustrated by an excellent finger-tip deflection by Camp, and Joey Gudjonsson both went close to equalising while there were frantic screams for a penalty in the closing moments as a Rangers hand appeared to assist in the clearance of a dangerous attack. Telegraph

MIRROR - De Canio: Win was for Ray - Alan Nixon 12/12/2007
Rangers manager Luigi De Canio dedicated his side's shock victory to former striker Ray Jones, who died tragically in August.
The 18-year-old England youth international and two other people were killed in a car accident in London.
Last night's fixture was originally scheduled for August 25 but Jones' death hours before the kick-off caused a postponement.
After watching defender Damion Stewart and on-loan Birmingham striker Rowan Vine score second-half goals to lift Rangers off the bottom of the Championship table, De Canio paid a moving tribute to Jones, who was a hugely popular figure at Loftus Road.
"This win goes out to Ray Jones," said the Italian.
"He was a great lad and we all remember him really fondly. This is from everyone in the dressing room and everyone at Loftus Road."
Jamaica international defender Stewart put Rangers ahead on the hour against Owen Coyle's in-form Clarets.
He greeted Scott Sinclair's left-wing corner at the far post with a firm downward header which flew past keeper Gabor Kiraly.
Stewart, outstanding throughout, celebrated his 60th-minute opener with a wild punch of the air and a celebratory sprint towards the visiting dug-out.
Vine added a second in the 90th minute when he raced clear to fire into an empty net after Kiraly had strayed upfield in desperate search of an equaliser.
It was Rangers' first win in eight Championship outings and that it was achieved at the expense of a side with genuine play-off aspirations made it all the more impressive.
De Canio added: "We played an excellent team but we made chances on the counter-attack.
"Damion is an excellent player and will improve even more.
"This is a big win for us, there's no doubt about that."
Coyle has engineered a significant upturn in fortunes at Burnley since taking over from Steve Cotterill last month.
But heavy second-half pressure after Stewart's opener came to nothing and the former Bolton striker was left to reflect on his first defeat since taking the helm.
Coyle's cause was not helped by injuries to defender Clarke Carlisle (hamstring) and midfielder Alan Mahon, who were both forced off through injury in the second half.
Coyle said: "We had to rejig after Clarke went off and we got caught at the set-play when their lad, who Clarke had been picking up, headed in. There will be no criticism of the players from me." Mirror

Daily Mail - Stewart and Vine lift Rangers off the foot of the table
Damion Stewart and Rowan Vine gave Queens Park Rangers their first win in eight games to lift the west London club off the bottom of the division at Turf Moor.
Jamaica defender Stewart headed home a corner on 60 minutes and Vine put the ball into an empty net in injury time after Burnley keeper Gabor Kiraly had gone forward for a corner.
Burnley set their sights on a first home win under Owen Coyle and a rise to fourth place in the Championship at the expense of opposition who kicked off at Turf Moor in bottom place.
Since Coyle succeeded Steve Cotterill last month he had seen his side win all three away games but only manage draws in front of their own fans against Stoke and Leicester.
Their visitors had also had a change of manager with the Italian Luigi De Canio taking over since the fixture was originally postponed in August following the death of Rangers teenager Ray Jones in a motoring accident.
Rangers had the first serious scoring attempt after 25 minutes when Rowan Vine shot over.
The striker had a much better chance when he forced his way through 12 minutes l ater but again was too high with his shot.
Alan Mahon raised the home side's first threat but put his effort over after 31 minutes.
He was within inches of the opener just before half-time. Robbie Blake knocked the ball to him and he hit a drive from 25 yards that beat Lee Camp, but to the relief of the goalkeeper and his team-mates rebounded from the post to safety.
Burnley stepped up the pace at the start of the second half, pushing for the breakthrough, but had difficulty creating a clear cut chance. Most of the time Rangers were able to cope comfortably.
First Vine forced keeper Kiraly into a defiant save, then Scott Sinclair won a corner for the visitors. Sinclair took the kick and Stewart rose at the far post to give his side the lead.
As Burnley searched for an equaliser in injury time, Kiraly pushed up for the corner but was embarrassed when Rangers broke and Vine fired into the unguarded goal. Mail


Also: Earlier Reports on QPR's Win at Burnley