This report was written by David Mcintyre at the brilliant football news web site at http://www.footballnews.co.uk.

QPR's defensive injury problems deepened as Nicky Eaden's second-half equaliser gave Barnsley a deserved point at Loftus Road. With Karl Ready and Danny Maddix out, substitute Chris Plummer was forced to play more than half the match through the discomfort of a recent hernia operation and Matthew Rose despite a calf injury which he aggravated and is doubtful for Tuesday's match against Sheffield United.

But Rangers suffered an even bigger setback when Steve Morrow fell awkwardly and severely dislocated a shoulder in the 42nd minute. He too now faces a spell on the sidelines. Rangers' reshuffled defence were shown little sympathy by Barnsley, who caused problems throughout and were arguably unfortunate not to take all three points.

The partnership of Craig Hignett and Mike Sheron was a particular worry for Rangers, before Sheron was replaced - wrongly, as boss Dave Bassett later conceded - by Bruce Dyer early in the second-half. Hignett and Sheron combined to create the first real chance of the match on 8 minutes, when Hignett placed a close-range shot wide of the target after exchanging passes with the ex-Rangers striker.

Three minutes later Barnsley went ahead, when Darren Barnard's free-kick was touched in at the near post by Geoff Thomas. Eaden forced a save from Harper, before Rangers began to assert some pressure of their own. George Kulscar came within inches of marking his return to the QPR side with a goal, when Steiner chested down Darlington's cross to set up Kulscar to fire a shot just over the bar.

But Rangers' equaliser arrived in the 21st minute. Paul Murray swept the ball out to the left for Darlington, who capped an excellent performance by carrying the ball towards the edge of the penalty area before cutting inside and finding the far corner of Kevin Miller's net via a deflection.

Rose almost gifted Sheron a goal on his return to Loftus Road with a careless backpass which Harper had to sprint to clear. Rangers made the most of their escape by going in front in the 37th minute. Steiner bundled his way into the box, before bundling his way further into the box to collect Murray's return pass and bundle the ball past Miller for his 5th goal of the season.

The lead survived barely 6 minutes of the second-half. It came as no surprise when Eaden capitalised on QPR's failure to clear a cross to steer the ball beyond Harper. Harper had produced three second-half saves by the time Eaden struck. First he superbly clawed Sheron's header out from underneath the top right-hand corner of his crossbar, then he denied Hignett who had been allowed to drift into the box and shoot. Harper was also down quickly to keep out Barnard's deflected shot, but was given little chance by Eaden's well taken goal.

Rangers' defensive display was poor, while as an attacking force they would have equally struggled but for the irrepressible Darlington, who came close to scoring his second of the afternoon when he fired over the bar in the 65th minute. Steiner was forced wide and to the by-line before stepping aside to allow Darlington to whip the ball way from two defenders and dart into the danger area before missing the target from 8 yards.

Dyer just failed to connect with John Curtis' driven cross, before Shipperley beat Baraclough to Hignett's 71st minute cross to head just over the bar. With 8 minutes remaining, Gerry Francis opted for a double substitution with Langley and Weare replacing Murray and Wardley, as Rangers switched to three up front in attempt to win the game. But it was Barnsley who came closest to finding a winner in the closing minutes, when Harper marred an otherwise impressive display by spilling a cross, sparking an almighty goalmouth scramble from which Barnsley seemed certain to score before Plummer's last-ditch clearance.