The eloquent and erudite Dave Kitson said it during the week: some club was due to get a ‘right spanking’. His prescience was augmented by the immediacy of it – QPR the victims in a 5-1 mauling Saturday at Loftus Road. The chances lamentably missed over the last 5 plus matches were bagged with class. No deceleration, especially after a quick home side goal cut a two goal advantage early in the second half – Boro sensed blood and exploited an overmatched opponent to cruise to the first victory of the Gordon Strachan regime.

Leroy Lita was rewarded for a recent spell of good performances with 2 goals – Gary O’Neil, Mark Yeates and Dave Kitson rounded off the scoring. Yeatsie was simply awesome filling in for Adam Johnson – unable to travel to London due to a serious family illness – with his indefatigability. Pilloried for being out of his depths at this level, this was a shift emblematic of his committed approach so desired and appreciated earlier this season. For Kitson, it’s 3 in 2 games, and understandably the club is focusing considerable effort on trying to extend the Stoke City strikers loan. Expect a Save Our Promotion Ginger Retention Scheme to take off any moment now.

The fiver of goals means extended notes from the match:

• QPR were wasteful early – dominated large spells, primarily w/ north London loanees Adel Taarabt (Spurs) and Jay Simpson (Arsenal)
• Fine first half for Yeates – rattled crossbar, earned the free kick leading to the first goal, and surged forward with regularity
• Lita and Kitson really building on what they enjoyed when at Reading – linked up to create good scoring chances – a redux of the Yak and Duke days when opposing managers were quick in the postgame pressers to admit our strikers were hard to handle?
• Second week running that we have an iron-clad pen waived off??!
• Good stuff from Radek Cerny – former Spurs man has worked hard to deny great scoring chances in the first half – Boro could easily have more than 1
• We get that penalty early in the second half – QPR handles it in a busy box – Lita emphatically dispatches it and promptly gets carded for stripping and taunting the QPR dugout
• 2 goal lead lasted mere moments – more capitulation?
• LL gets his brace – Yeates unlocked the striker for his second goal on 60 minutes
• Arca almost gets the 4^th – multiple bites of the apple for the Argey repelled by Cerny – another QPR hand ball infringement goes unnoticed
• Wayne Routledge blows a golden chance for a QPR lifeline – Jonesey commits his most egregious error of the match but gets away with it
• Lita searching for the hat trick – piledrives the woodwork and GON tucks away – 4-1 Boro
• Tough love shown to Didier Digard before replacing GON – GS2 reported extra firm to his Frenchman before the match too
• Yeatsie selfishly gets his for the 5^th as Boro bag the points!!
• Gary Gill MOM: Leroy Lita

Absolutely chuffed w/ the result – Blackpool on Tuesday – more later…

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