LONDON, CMC — Bermudian striker Nahki hit his sixth goal of the season as Queens Park Rangers (QPR) eased past bottom club Ipswich Town 3-0 in an English Championship match at Loftus Road yesterday.
Wells, 28, made sure of all three points with QPR’s third goal in the 74th minute as the west Londoners earned a third successive victory to move up to eighth place in the standings, two points from the play-off spots — a remarkable turnaround after they lost their first four matches.
The hosts took the lead when Wells’ shot was parried out to Pawel Wszolek, who tucked in from a tight angle on the rebound on the half-hour mark.
Joel Lynch headed the second from Luke Freeman’s left-wing free-kick four minutes later and Wells, on loan from struggling Premier League outfit Burnley, fired a well-struck third in to the far corner after the break
QPR manager Steve McClaren said: “This was a difficult game for us, a tough game, mentally. We were expected to win at home but Paul Lambert sets Ipswich up to be difficult to beat.
“They had a lot more of the ball than we really wanted them to have, but we needed to be professional.
“I was delighted with the clean sheet and we could have had more goals. We scored the goals at the right time, giving us that cushion.”
Elsewhere in England on Boxing Day, Cambridge United eased their relegation fears with a 2-1 win over Crawley Town, Bermudian winger being denied by a fine Glenn Morris save, but Jabo Ibehre’s late goal earned Colin Calderwood his first win as Cambridge’s new head coach.
In another League Two clash, Jamaican striker Jamille Matt failed to add to his 13-goal tally for the season when 10-man Newport County were thrashed 4-1 by Forest Green Rovers, Welshman George Williams grabbing a hat-trick for the visitors.
