Report: Queens Park Rangers 1-3 Rovers

Sam Gallagher's brace either side of Sam Szmodics' strike secured Rovers a third successive Sky Bet Championship win, with Rovers earning a 3-1 victory against Queens Park Rangers.

Gallagher's header put Rovers in front early on before Tim Iroegbunam levelled things up with a good finish at the mid-point of the first period. 

That strike may have knocked the wind out of the sails but Rovers responded well, with Szmodics finishing off an excellent move to ensure Tomasson's men regained the advantage right on the stroke of half time.

Things got better on the hour when Gallagher tapped home from inside the six-yard box after a fantastic surging run from the rampaging Joe Rankin-Costello.

At that point, it looked like the fire went out on Rangers in what was Blackburn-born Gareth Ainsworth's first game in charge following his appointment earlier in the week.

It meant Rovers made it nine points from a possible nine, keep their place in fourth in the table and turn a good week into a great one at Loftus Road.

Tomasson made just one change to the team that started the win against Blackpool in midweek, with Hayden Carter coming into the backline in place of the injured Daniel Ayala.

With Gareth Ainsworth in for his first game as Rangers, the hosts came out of the blocks quickest, with Ilias Chair crashing a free kick into the wall and wide before Chris Martin headed the resulting corner comfortably over Aynsley Pears' goal.

At the other end, Sam Szmodics sent a drive a yard or two past Seny Dieng's right-hand post after Sorba Thomas' free kick was nodded into the path of the former Peterborough United man.

The visitors hit the target soon after though and it was Gallagher who got it when he thumped home a header inside the six-yard box for his 50th career goal. Tyrhys Dolan's cross-shot took a deflection as it was whipped into a dangerous area and the striker was waiting to pounce to nod past Dieng and give Rovers the perfect start after just 14 minutes played.

Great defending from Joe Rankin-Costello saw the right-back fling himself in the way of Stefan Johansen's drive before the equaliser arrived through Iroegbunam with 24 minutes on the clock/

A cross from the right by Osman Kakay was cleared well enough by Carter, with the ball dropping kindly to the Aston Villa loanee to slam home first time to level things up in west London.

It looked as if the sides were about to go into the interval all square, but Szmodics' slick finish put Rovers back in front with just seconds of the first half remaining.

Beautiful play from Lewis Travis saw the skipper control well before playing a perfectly weighted pass through to Szmodics that took three Hoops defenders out of the game. From there, it was down to coolness and composure from Szmodics, who slipped the ball through Dieng's legs and give his team the perfect boost going into the break.

Rovers were showing good organisation and discipline to ensure the hosts didn't build any momentum early on and grabbed their third of the game thanks to another poached Gallagher effort, but it wouldn't have arrived without Rankin-Costello's surging run forward.

Fine footwork from the full-back saw him produce some great skill on the right before powering into the box. Once again, composure was the order of the day and the Rovers defender put in a great ball across the six-yard box that Gallagher made no mistake from to make it 3-1.

The close-range finish knocked the stuffing out of Rangers and the scoreline could have got even better for the visitors, with Gallagher playing through Dolan, who saw Dieng get a touch on his left-footed attempt.

The team saw the remainder of the game out comfortably to turn a good week into a memorable one thanks to a third successive triumph in the Sky Bet Championship.

The focus turns to the Emirates FA Cup for Tomasson's troops on Tuesday night when Rovers make the trip to Leicester City in a bid to secure a spot in the quarter-finals of the competition.

Attendance: 15,715 (1,139 away)