Middlesbrough 0 Queens Park Rangers 3: Mowbray undaunted by his heaviest defeat in charge of the Boro

Boro chief Tony Mowbray insisted his team were not far short of Rangers on a day when they slipped to their first defeat by more than a one-goal margin since he arrived at the club to replace Gordon Strachan in October.

“I didn’t feel we were out-classed,” he said. “They are a good side but for long spells, especially in the first half, we more than matched them. For an hour it was a decent performance.

“It turned out to be a disappointing afternoon but it could have been very different. Scott McDonald had a good chance in the first minute and had that gone in, who knows.

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“But they are a hard team to play against. They attack with four players, four good players, but the rest defend very well and they hold a high line. It is hard to get behind them. What they do, they do well and that’s why they are where they are.

“So we are disappointed but we haven’t had too many results like that of late. We have take it on the chin, learn from it and bounce back on Tuesday against Nottingham Forest.”

QPR chief Neil Warnock said his table-topping side should be playing with a smile on their faces after a steely 3-0 win took them a step closer to the Premier League.

QPR went ahead in the 41st minute with a deflected opener from Heidar Helguson before the striker netted his second in the 60th minute and captain Adel Taarabt wrapped up the points with a late penalty.

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Warnock, close to celebrating his first anniversary in charge, said: “At times there has been a real Northern grit in this Southern team but I’ve told the lads that they should be playing with a smile on their faces because we have the right recipe here now.”

Middlesbrough: Steele, McMahon, Hines, Davies (Haas 82), Bennett, Emnes (Zemmama 59), Arca (Robson 59), Bailey, Taylor, McDonald, Lita. Unused substitutes: Ripley, Boyd, Grounds, Smallwood.

QPR: Kenny, Orr (Connolly 78), Hall, Shittu, Hill, Routledge, Derry, Faurlin, Taarabt, Helguson (Hulse 84), Buzsaky (Ephraim 69). Unused substitutes: Cerny, Gorkss, Moen, Miller.

Referee: K Stroud (Hampshire).

Man of the match: Heidar Helguson.