Burnley 2-1 Queens Park Rangers
- Published
Burnley out of the relegation zone
QPR fall into bottom three
Rangers still without an away point all season
Burnley unbeaten in three league games
QPR's dismal away form continued against relegation rivals Burnley, who made it 10 defeats in 10 away games this season for Harry Redknapp's side - a new Premier League record.
All three goals came before half-time, with Charlie Austin's penalty cancelling out Scott Arfield's fine solo goal for the hosts, before Danny Ings grabbed the winner with a neat finish.
Burnley missed several chances to add more goals after the break but they still briefly climbed to 16th place, their highest position of the season, before Crystal Palace went back above them with their win over Tottenham.
QPR, meanwhile, slide into the bottom three after another disastrous defensive performance on the road.
Arfield's goal after 12 minutes set the tone for Rangers' uncertainty at the back as he cut in from the left and easily weaved past Joey Barton, Mauricio Isla and Richard Dunne before firing into the opposite corner.
The visitors were faring better at the other end, and former Clarets striker Austin hit the post from Isla's cutback before winning the spot-kick that provided his equaliser.
Austin scored 41 goals in 69 league starts for Burnley before moving to QPR in 2013, but his former club's fans reacted angrily when he went down under Dean Marney's challenge, even though it looked a clear-cut decision for referee Andre Marriner.
Match facts | |
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QPR have only kept one clean sheet in their last 18 Premier League away games. | Burnley scored twice in a home top-flight game for the first time since the final game of their first spell in the Premier League. |
Queens Park Rangers have become the first team to lose their first 10 away games of a top-flight season since Sunderland in 1964/65. | Charlie Austin has scored four of QPR's five away league goals this term. |
Chants of "cheat" rang out before Austin stepped up to fire the penalty into the bottom corner for his 13th goal of the season and he was still being targeted when Burnley restored their lead minutes later.
Again, QPR's defence was at fault, with Steven Caulker unable to deal with a high ball into the box, allowing Ings to take it down and beat Rob Green with a low finish.
Burnley's six-goal top scorer is out of contract at the end of the season,, external but he vowed to stay this week, external with Clarets manager Sean Dyche and co-chairman Mike Garlick also insisting he will not be sold in January.
Ings's immediate future appears key to the Clarets' survival hopes but he was not the only player capable of causing QPR problems.
Ashley Barnes had a volley pushed away by Green, who also kept out Michael Keane's header.
The home side thought they had a third goal when Barnes held off the QPR keeper to hook home from close range, but Marriner eventually awarded a foul.
That kept QPR in the game but, even when they came forward, they struggled to test Burnley keeper Tom Heaton except from long range.
Their final chance of snatching a point came and went when Heaton tipped over Caulker's header in stoppage time, leaving Redknapp to contemplate their latest away defeat on their long coach ride home.
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