QPR's Burnley Loss - Further Reports

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Sunday Mirror/Mike Allen -Super-sub Mahon sinks sorry Hoops
Life is just grand on Billionaire's Row for Burnley, having humbled the two of the world's wealthiest clubs over a magical spell of four days.
The Clarets proved they are serious contenders to join the Premier League's rich-list next season, after leaping to fourth place in the Championship at the expense of QPR.
Following the midweek Carling Cup victory at Chelsea, Burnley travelled across West London to Loftus Road to tackle 'moneybags' QPR.
F1 supremos Flavio Briattori and Bernie Ecclestone, two of QPR's billionaire backers, were among the bumper crowd.
But Burnley's contingent was not as impressive as the 6,500 fans who made the trek to Stamford Bridge. Thankfully, they also kept their change in their pockets this time after sub Alan Mahon netted a well-taken winner.
"I'll take more enjoyment and pleasure from this game as it showed that it wasn't an accident at Chelsea," said Burnley boss Owen Coyle.
A visit from Arsenal in the last eight of the Carling Cup is the reward for Coyle after beating Luiz Felipe Scolari's team on penalties.
And QPR had also been impressive in the Carling Cup, having held Manchester United for 70 minutes before bowing out graciously at Old Trafford.
Having mixed it with the elite, it was QPR who looked more ready for the hard slog of escaping the Championship.
Rangers deserved to take the lead after some half-hearted tackling allowed Dexter Blackstock to rifle a shot past keeper Brian Jensen.
But the hosts failed to build on the lead and paid the penalty when Robbie Blake hammered a thunderous 20-yard effort past stunned shot stopper Radek Cerny.
Blake even kept his now infamous 'Bad Beat Bob' red underpants covered as he celebrated, but twice his team-mates nearly caught QPR with their trousers down as Chris Eagles and Chris McCann came close.
At the other end, QPR were twice denied penalty shouts for infringements on Blackstock.
Yet when the influential Eagles was stretched off, what appeared to be a cloud over Burnley's chances turned out to have a silver lining.
Mahon, his replacement, had only been on the pitch for four minutes when he drilled a low shot past Cerny to secure all three points....Mirror


The Times/Brian Doogan - Burnley enjoy perfect week in West London
QPR 1 Burnley 2: Robbie Blake’s brilliant equalising goal and Alan Mahon’s well-taken winner seal a deserved victory
- Robbie Blake’s brilliant equalising goal and Alan Mahon’s well-taken winner sealed a perfect week for Burnley in west London. “The quality of our passing, the strength of character we showed after falling behind and the high tempo with which we played were all extremely pleasing,” said Owen Coyle, the Burnley manager.
- For QPR, it will soon be time for the ’world’s richest club’ to spend some money. Having eliminated Chelsea from the Carling Cup in midweek, Burnley’s confidence was soaring but their passing and penetration was surpassed by QPR’s early on. Hogan Ephraim and Lee Cook provided the home team with width and a succession of crosses left Clarke Carlisle and Michael Duff scrambling at the heart of the visitors’ defence. For a 20-minute spell, this was the best that QPR have played all season.
- The opening goal came from Cook’s aggressive play on the left and an incisive pass to Dexter Blackstock, who shook off his marker inside the penalty area and whipped his shot past Burnley goalkeeper Brian Jensen inside the far post. QPR’s downfall was that they did not score a second goal while Burnley were on the ropes. Jensen managed to tip a header by Blackstock from Ephraim’s corner kick over the bar, Carlisle headed the ball away from Samuel Di Carmine at the back post and Martin Rowlands’ 25-yard shot was saved by Jensen.
- But from the moment Robbie Blake equalised with a stunning strike out of the blue, there was a striking inevitability about Burnley’s performance. Joey Gudjonsson played the ball to the striker and in one quick movement he set up his left-footed shot and fired it like an Exocet missile into the top right corner. Suddenly, Burnley were in control, with Chris Eagles harassing QPR’s defenders and just clearing the crossbar with a 20-yard shot. Cerny saved another effort from Chris McCann and had to make a sharp stop again at the beginning of the second half from a shot by Blake.
- QPR managed to break quickly and had a claim for a penalty turned down when Blackstock fell to the ground under Carlisle’s challenge. The referee also dismissed another appeal when Blackstock was challenged by Stephen Jordan. “For me, that was a stonewall penalty,” said Gareth Ainsworth, QPR’s caretaker manager.
- When Fitz Hall could only head Blake’s cross as far as Mahon, the substitute directed an excellent left-footed shot, struck first-time, past Cerny. The QPR goalkeeper made a point-blank save to deny Blake a second goal but Ainsworth’s team showed character, too, with Blackstock heading narrowly wide from Halls’ cross and substitute Patrick Agyemang forcing Jensen to tip his shot over in the dying minutes. “Despite beating Chelsea, it would have left a sour taste in the mouth if we had not won today, so I’m delighted,” said Coyle.
STAR MAN: Robbie Blake (Burnley)
QPR (4-4-2): Cerny 6, Ramage 6, Hall 7, Stewart 6, Connolly 6, Ephraim 6 (Agyemang 63, 6), Tommasi 6 (Mahon 54, 6), Rowlands 7, Cook 7, Di Carmine 6, Blackstock 7 Goal: Blackstock 14
Burnley (4-4-2): Jensen 7, Alexander 6, Carlisle 7, Duff 7, Jordan 6, Elliott 6, Gudjonsson 7, McCann 7, Eagles 7 (Mahon 56, 7), Blake 8 (McDonald 79, 5), Thompson 6 (Akinbiyi 85) Goals: Blake 34, Mahon 60 Booked: Jordan 80, McDonald 83
Referee: K Woolmer Attendance: 13,286 The Times


News of The World - QPR 1, BURNLEY 2 - Blake's heaven for happy Coyle
- BURNLEY made a triumphant return to West London just days after putting Premier League giants Chelsea to the sword.
Spectacular goals from Robbie Blake and substitute Alan Mahon saw off play-off rivals QPR, who had taken an early lead through Dexter Blackstock.
- It capped a perfect day for Owen Coyle’s men, who had earlier been handed a money-spinning home draw with Arsenal in the Carling Cup quarter-finals.
- Blackstock gave managerless Rangers a 13th-minute lead, as he hit his seventh goal of the season.
- He picked up a Lee Cook pass and fired the ball into the far corner.
- Clarets keeper Brian Jensen then had to deny Samuel Di Carmine and Martin Rowlands.
- But Blake levelled on 34 minutes, seizing on to Joey Gudjonsson’s through ball before turning and firing a stunning 15-yarder into the top corner.
- Mahon struck on the hour, having been on the field just five minutes.
- He rounded off a great move by lashing in Blake’s deflected cross from 20 yards out.
- Referee Andy Woolmer enraged QPR fans by rejecting two penalty claims.
- But overall Burnley were good value for a win which has lifted them to a handy fourth place in the table. News of The World

- See Also: Earlier Reports and comments on QPR's loss to Burnley

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