Queens Park Rangers 2-0 Millwall: Ilias Chair and Sinclair Armstrong secure crucial Hoops win

QPR's Ilias ChairImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Ilias Chair's goal was his third of the season

Ilias Chair scored and set up a second goal for Sinclair Armstrong to revitalise QPR's fight against relegation by seeing off Millwall.

The Morocco international turned in Chris Willock's cross to put the struggling Hoops ahead at Loftus Road.

Chair was also involved in the second, setting up Jack Colback for a shot that Matija Sarkic could only parry and Armstrong gobbled up the rebound.

It was the Hoops' first win in eight games and lifted them to 22nd place.

Rangers, who were forced into a late change - restoring Willock to their starting XI after Paul Smyth picked up an injury in the warm-up - made more of the early running, with Chair denied by Sarkic.

But the QPR playmaker did enough to put his side ahead with his third goal of the season, bundling the ball in at the far post after Lyndon Dykes released Willock for a run and cross from the right.

Willock and Dykes both went close to increasing their side's advantage prior to the break, although Millwall also threatened through leading scorer Kevin Nisbet, whose effort was off target.

However, Rangers - who had lost five of their six previous games, including a 2-0 defeat at the Den on Boxing Day - continued to threaten after the restart, with Dykes testing Sarkic again.

They were indebted to full-back Reggie Cannon, who preserved the home side's advantage by scrambling the ball off the line after Billy Mitchell's drive took a deflection and bamboozled Asmir Begovic.

But Hoops nerves were finally eased five minutes from time, when Chair advanced down the left to tee up Colback for an effort that Sarkic saved, but Armstrong was on hand to tuck away his first league goal since August.

Millwall's defeat nudges them down two places to 18th, although they still eight points clear of QPR.

QPR head coach Marti Cifuentes told BBC London 94.9:

"We had a good performance in the last game against Watford but today the difference was we conceded only one shot on goal, only two shots over the 90 minutes and we had the capacity to score some of the chances we created.

"After the experience we got at Millwall away, we learned a bit on how to play them and the players understood we needed to adjust some things, all credit to them.

"It was a very important victory for us, we needed that. I'm very pleased with not only the guys at the top (of the pitch) but (Steve) Cook for instance, after some games out, played an outstanding game in my opinion with Jake (Clarke-Salter).

"I'm very pleased with Sam (Field) and Jack (Colback) in the middle, they did a good job and also Lyndon Dykes in this role as a number 10, he combined really well and did a lot of good things."

Millwall head coach Joe Edwards told BBC London 94.9:

"We didn't get anything out of the game today because we didn't deserve to. We're better than that and I'm gutted for all the fans that travelled.

"It's a situation where they're under pressure, so you know if you can really step onto them early you can force that anxiety out of them a bit and I thought we settled into the game quickly.

"But then after five to 10 minutes without creating anything, we fell into a bit of lull, lost our clarity and started having a lot of the ball at the back without asking questions at the top end of the pitch.

"It looked a bit predictable for us whereas, when it was going in around Armstrong and Dykes, they were pinning us and allowing people to feed off scraps and I think that was the difference at either end of the pitch."

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