QPR earn play-off spot

Charlie Austin netted a late winner as QPR
guaranteed a play-off spot after a 2-1
victory over Watford at Loftus Road.
Trailing to Mathias Ranegie's goal six
minutes into the second half, Rangers
laboured before Joey Barton's 76th-minute
free-kick hauled them level.
And top scorer Austin, badly missed during
a recent two-month spell out with a
shoulder injury, gloriously curled home his
16th goal of the season in the closing
stages to clinch a 2-1 victory.
It left Watford's hopes of a top-six finish in
the Sky Bet Championship looking remote,
although they have a game in hand on
most of their rivals.
Rangers boss Harry Redknapp made several
changes in the wake of Saturday's loss at
Leicester, pairing fit-again duo Austin and
Kevin Doyle up front with Ravel Morrison
behind them.
But Watford were the better team for
large spells of the match and were gifted
three chances before the interval - two of
them coming after errors by QPR's veteran
defender Richard Dunne.
Troy Deeney went through after Dunne
mistimed a header, but the striker's low
shot was pushed away by Rob Green.
And the dangerous Lewis McGugan fired
over after pouncing on the loose ball when
Dunne misplaced a pass to Morrison.
Rangers continued to look vulnerable and
another mistake - this time by Tom Carroll
- set up McGugan, whose strike from near
the edge of the penalty area was tipped
over by Green.
Watford were able to open up the home
defence almost at will and Nedum Onuoha
needed to produce a fine last-ditch tackle
to block Deeney before Rangers wide-man
Armand Traore was similarly alert to deny
Daniel Pudil.
At the other end, goalkeeper Manuel
Almunia needed only to hold tame efforts
from Austin and Morrison before diving to
his right to stop Carroll's free-kick in first-
half stoppage time.
It was a similar story after the break as
Green remained the busier keeper,
pushing over Deeney's close-range volley.
But he was unable to rescue Rangers when
Deeney headed down Joel Eskstrand's ball
into the box and Ranegie finished coolly
after turning away from the hapless Dunne
- the Swede's third goal of the campaign.
McGugan cleared Austin's goal-bound
header from Barton's right-wing corner and
Almunia parried a stinging drive from
Austin as Rangers at last began to impose
themselves.
They were buoyed by Barton's fine goal
but looked to have spurned a late chance
when Austin was slow to release the ball
as his team broke forward.
However, when the ball was then returned
to Austin by substitute Bobby Zamora, he
steered his shot beyond Almunia and into
the far corner.
It summed up his importance to QPR, so
they perhaps have reason to be concerned
by the fact that Austin was then
immediately taken off after appearing to
hurt his hamstring.