Coca Cola Championship
Tuesday January 27th  
   
Blackpool 0
Queens Park Rangers 3
  H.Helguson (2) (1 pen)
  H.Ephraim
 
   
   
Team Line Up
   
         
1. Lee Camp
16. Matthew Connolly
13. Kaspars Gorkks
3. Damien Stewart
2. Damien Delaney
5. Fitz Hall
       
 
4. Gavin Mahon (c)
 
   
 
7. Wayne Routledge
 
18. Liam Miller
6. Mikele Leigterwood
 
17. Lee Cook
25. Hogan Ephraim
 
   
27. Heider Helguson
 
9. Dexter Blackstock
 
 
Substitutes  


After a ten day break from action to due to our annual blank Saturday at the end of January Rangers travelled to Blackpool for a third away game in a row.

Sousa had plenty of time to work with the players during the break but was forced into two changes from the side that beat Derby. Martin Rowlands is out of the rest of the season with a knee injury so new signing Liam Miller replaced him in midfield.

There was a shock change in goal as Radek Cerny missed out through injury so Lee Camp was back from the cold to make his first QPR start since August.

Camp was busy on his return to the first team and was called into action early as Blackpool started on the front foot buoyed by Saturdays win over Birmingham.

QPR fan DJ Campbell went close early on with a low shot but Camp was equal to it and the fans favourite dealt with the early pressure well to keep Blackpool out although he was rarely extended.

Rangers offered little as an attacking threat until the seventeenth minute when we took the lead. Wayne Routledge broke down the right with a sharp turn of pace and his pinpoint cross found Helguson to head home for his fourth goal of the season.

Routledge was lifted by his role in the goal and caused plenty of problems for his full back throughout the half. His best moment came when he beat three players on a storming run forward, he found Cook who played it into Helguson but he shot over the bar when clean through and was thankful to see the offside flag.

Rangers forced some late corners and free kicks around the box but were unable to add a second goal before half time and went into the break looking pretty good.

The second half started with Blackpool on the front foot but Rangers weathered the storm and quickly took the game to Blackpool and eventually ran away with it.

Routledge was a constant threat down the right and in midfield Leigterwood was again impressing. He went close to his second goal in two goals when a long range volley flew just over the bar.

Sousa made an attacking change bringing on Ephraim for Miller and the second goal was not long in coming.

Rangers got the killer second goal after a foul on Helguson meant Rangers won a penalty. Helguson picked himself up to take it and made no mistake to finish the game off for Rangers.

It could have got better for us as Routledge burst through and was twice denied by the keeper in one on one situations. Dexter Blackstock replaced Helguson and hit the bar with a deflected effort and was denied a penalty after being brought down in the box.

The chances kept coming for Rangers and it was no shock when we got a third goal during injury time as Hogan Ephraim burst clear on the right and finished in style.

So Rangers win 3-0, which is our biggest away win at this level since October 1999 (4-1 against Ipswich) and our biggest at any level since we beat Hartlepool 4-1 in March 2004. The win moves Rangers level on points with the playoffs and two points behind fourth placed Sheffield united whilst extending the league run to one defeat in ten games.

Rangers now face the form teams in the next week with reading and Swansea visiting Loftus Road before a trip to Nottingham Forest. The way Rangers are playing at the moment we certainly shouldn't enter those games with any fear.