Source: Northern_Echo
Boro score five as Strachan celebrates first win
MIDDLESBROUGH ran riot at Loftus Road this afternoon to hand Gordon Strachan his first win since replacing Gareth Southgate last month.[LNB] The Teessiders claimed an emphatic 5-1 victory over promotion rivals QPR and produced a performance that answered the critics who had been questioning their promotion credentials on the back of a five-game winless run.[LNB] Leroy Lita claimed a second-half double, with Dave Kitson, Gary O'Neil and Mark Yeates also finding the back of the net, as Boro blitzed their opponents with four goals in 44 minutes.[LNB] While QPR made a bright opening to the game, Middlesbrough were the dominant side from the 25-minute mark onwards.[LNB] The lively Yeates served notice of their intent with a 25-yard strike that beat Radek Cerny but rebounded off the underside of the crossbar, and Kitson went one better when he broke the deadlock shortly after the half-hour mark.[LNB] O'Neil floated a free-kick into the QPR penalty area, and Kitson stretched out a leg to divert the ball into the goal.[LNB] The visitors doubled their lead five minutes after the break, with Lita's first of the game.[LNB] Gary Borrowdale handled after David Wheater headed on a corner, and Lita drilled the spot-kick straight down the middle of the goal.[LNB] Boro's two-goal advantage lasted less than three minutes, with Rowan Vine squaring for fellow substitute Patrick Agyemang to score with his first touch of the game.[LNB] But the Teessiders were 3-1 in front on the hour mark as Lita cut inside Fitz Hall before firing a powerful drive into the corner to claim his second goal of the game.[LNB] Lita, producing his best display in a Boro shirt, came within inches of claiming his hat-trick 15 minutes before the end, but while his drive rebounded off the post, O'Neil was on hand to volley home the rebound.[LNB] Yeates then claimed the goal that his own bright performance deserved with three minutes left.[LNB] The Irishman cut in from the left and curled a deft shot into the bottom corner to record his first goal in a Boro shirt.[LNB] QPR (4-4-2): Cerny; Leigertwood, Hall, Gorkss, Borrowdale; Buzsaky (Vine 52), Watson, Faurlin, Taarabt; Routledge (Pellicori 80), Simpson (Agyemang 52).[LNB] Subs (not used): Taylor (gk), Ramage, Williams, Stewart.[LNB] MIDDLESBROUGH (4-4-2): Jones; R Williams, Wheater, St Ledger, Pogatetz; Arca, O'Neil (Digard 79), Osbourne, Yeates; Lita, Kitson.[LNB] Subs (not used): Coyne (gk), Hoyte, Riggott, McMahon, Emnes, L Williams.[LNB]
