QPR back in business with latest win over London rivals Millwall

What a difference a month can make. This time in August, QPR had just lost a whopping 7-1 to West Brom, completing their worst start to a season, ever. Millwall, on the other hand, were still unbeaten.

But here it was quite a different story, the hosts winning a comfortable 2-0. The R’s started the game sitting above their South London rivals. They’d taken seven points from the last three games. They’d loaned in three new players, all with Premier League experience. Steve McClaren was finally happy with his squad. And they looked equally content on the field.

It was no surprise, then, that it was QPR asking all the questions early on, with former Swansea full-back Angel Rangel doing well as he pushed up the right-hand side. They kept the tempo high when they know their visitors like to keep it slower and under control.

Nonetheless, the atmosphere at Loftus Road was still lacking, and although Millwall failed to get a hold of possession, the travelling fans were still the ones making all the noise in the away end.

The first real chance came for the home side just before the half-hour mark, when a scooped ball over the Millwall defence found Jordan Cousins, who beat the offside trap with speed, forcing Ben Amos to come out and make a fine save. But the damage was yet to come from the following corner. Luke Freeman’s quick ball along the ground found an unmarked Nakhi Wells, whose shot was deflected upwards, and Massimo Luongo’s header touched it just over Amos, bouncing into the corner.

Their confidence diminishing fast, Millwall were making mistakes, and three minutes later they conceded again. Conor McLaughlin failed to control an over-hit cross on the far side of the box, and as left-back Jake Bidwell intercepted, he curled a knee-high ball over to Ebere Eze. The Lions defence were too slow to react, and the marking wasn’t tight enough. Although Eze's swinging left boot didn’t make the cleanest connection, it was enough to put it past Amos for QPR’s second and the 20-year-old's third of the season.

It was the “explosive” start McClaren had asked for from his side, but a moment for Neil Harris' recruitment team to scratch their heads, as Eze was in fact a youth player at Millwall they'd dismissed two years prior.

Millwall hadn’t won here since 1989, and were headed fast for a third decade without breaking that record. Switching things up, Harris cut short Tom Bradshaw’s first start for the club at half time, the experience of Steve Morison taking his place. The striker’s impact was immediate, getting the Lions' first shot on target – albeit 50 minutes in.

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As the visitors switched to a more direct style of play, they should’ve had a goal back shortly after from a corner, Jake Cooper rising above the crowd to head it against the bar, before R’s keeper Joe Lumley luckily found it safely in his grasp.

A usually water-tight Millwall defence were giving space away for free again in the second half, as they were in the first, allowing their opponents to glide down the right on the counter. Amos did well to save from Wells as he cut inside into the box, and then from From Freeman on the rebound.

QPR started to play with more freedom, which they’ve not been so used to so far in this campaign. Luongo trying a quick one-two with Eze, who flicked a back-heel through to the Australian, but his shot was low and straight at Amos, with Jordan Cousins’ follow-up effort blocked.

With a few options on the bench for McClaren, you can see why he’s a bit more comfortable. As substitute Tomer Hemed came on, it added an extra bit of pace up front. His curling free-kick in the final 10 minutes was denied by Amos again, who was Millwall’s best player on the night.

Chances came in the final few minutes as the visitors pushed for a consolation goal. Tom Elliot offered an aerial threat, as he has done in the latter stages of previous games for the Lions, but similarly to all of those games, his efforts just weren’t enough. The away support made clear their frustrations as Jed Wallace’s skied an effort in the final minutes. Neil Harris’ side have only taken a point from their last five games.