Queens Park Rangers 2-1 Rotherham United: Chris Willock helps R’s past struggling Millers

Rotherham’s record run without an away win stretched to 30 games after Queens Park Rangers’ comeback victory helped them out of the Championship drop zone.

Paul Smyth levelled, before Chris Willock netted the winner in a crucial game in the Championship relegation battle.

A third successive helps QPR leapfrog Stoke, who drop into the bottom three.

Eaves opened the scoring with his second goal in as many games after just seven minutes, finishing well after being played in by Sam Nombe’s flick-on.

Moments later, QPR almost restored parity but Millers goalkeeper Viktor Johansson made a strong save to deny Michael Frey, whose header was goalbound.

With the half-hour mark looming, Johansson kept Rotherham ahead with another save. This time, he was equal to Steve Cook’s header from Ilias Chair’s cross.

The home side’s pressure just was not telling, despite a 66% share of possession and five shots on target before the break.

It took just over 15 minutes after the restart, but QPR finally hit back. Smyth, a half-time change, latched on to Willock’s through ball to finish emphatically past Johansson.

There was no time to settle for Rotherham, as they narrowly avoided going behind minutes later. First, Johansson denied Chair, before Jimmy Dunne headed wide.

Willock completed the turnaround 15 minutes from time, though. His powerful strike gave Johansson, who had thwarted Rangers throughout, no chance.

The Millers are now 16 points from safety with 12 games remaining, and facing the reality of a return to League One.

QPR head coach Marti Cifuentes told BBC Radio London:

“We knew it would be a difficult game. It is a relegation battle, we saw against Ipswich, Rotherham were battling until the last minute and they had a good performance.

“We didn’t start well and conceded, but credit to the guys. We deserved the win in the second half. At this stage of the season, it will be moments in games that decide them.

“The season is a marathon, I know everyone suffers when you are down there; today we need to enjoy, but we need to be humble and keep working.”

Rotherham boss Leam Richardson speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield:

“We have a horrible habit of going ahead and competing then fine margins tip the other way. We need to stay consistent, our levels need to be better.

“We could have gone 2-0 up and taken the game to them, but credit to QPR for the victory. We’ll keep going and won’t shirk.

“There is still belief and hunger, we won’t give up. We want to turn performances into results. You work for your luck; we’ve got 12 games, we need to win games and stay competitive.”