Birmingham City suffered a devastating blow in the Sky Bet Championship relegation fight with a painful late 2-1 defeat to fellow battlers Queens Park Rangers on Good Friday. Gary Rowett had a few hopeful minutes on the hour mark as Blues took the lead through a Juninho Bacuna stunner but the dream return to the dugout was soon wiped out as QPR equalised via a deflected Steve Cook effort. Jimmy Dunne then scored a wonder goal in second-half stoppage time to condemn Birmingham to a fourth straight defeat.
Blues looked the more productive in the initial, frenetic exchanges but QPR, on the counter-attack in the 10th minute, had the first big opportunity. Ilias Chair's close-range header was saved excellently by John Ruddy as he dived down to his right before captain Dion Sanderson reacted rapidly to clear away the rebound. The hosts then had another chance as Lucas Andersen met Kenneth Paal's deep delivery but the ricocheted effort flicked off the top of the crossbar.
Birmingham's first clear-cut opening was a huge one as Juninho Bacuna played a terrific outside-of-the-boot pass through to Jay Stansfield but he took too heavy of a touch around QPR goalkeeper Asmir Begovic. Before the young striker could regain control of the ball, the opportunity was gone, leaving Rowett in despair on the touchline. Marti Cifuentes' men carved out a few more half chances before the break but the teams went down the tunnel level at 0-0.
Rowett must've asked his forwards to up the tempo at half time as Stansfield and Tyler Roberts came out the blocks full of energy, pressing the QPR backline relentlessly. Blues sometimes played themselves into trouble at the back with Chair and Andersen blowing chances but attacks looked more progressive and the away support was soon given an opening goal to celebrate.
Bacuna started and finished the goalscoring move, playing a one-two with Ethan Laird before curling a delightful 15-yard finish into the top right-hand corner. The ball kissed the woodwork on the way into the net; a stunning strike to send the travelling Bluenoses into a frenzy in the two-tiered away end.
But, just like that, it was all square once again as veteran defender Steve Cook scored his first goal since November 2019 to level up the scoring. It came from Blues failing to clear away an Andersen set piece, with Cook first seeing a shot blocked before striking the rebound into the far bottom corner via an Emanuel Aiwu deflection for 1-1.
It looked as if Birmingham were going to hold on for a point but all of a sudden, out of virtually nowhere, QPR took the lead. It was route-one from Begovic and centre-back Dunne took a touch on his chest before rocketing a worldie of a half-volley, dipping the ball over a diving Ruddy. The roof nearly came off Loftus Road as the home support celebrated wildly. The Blues fans, meanwhile, were left devastated on the far side.
It's a bitterly disappointing result on Rowett's return and Birmingham remain merely two goal difference above the relegation zone. Here are our Blues player ratings.
1. John Ruddy - 7
Made a brilliant reaction save to deny Chair’s header in the 10th minute. Made a couple of other decent stops in the first period and controlled his area well, especially from set pieces. Couldn’t do a great deal about either goal.
2. Ethan Laird - 7
Got the assist for Bacuna’s goal, displaying good patience before passing accurately into the centre. Dealt with passes in behind well, tracking back to intervene. Lacked timing with tackles, however, and was booked for a silly lunge on Paal just after the interval.
3. Emanuel Aiwu - 5
Gave away a couple of sloppy fouls, pushing into the back of QPR men. Made two dodgy headed clearances that somehow went unpunished.
4. Dion Sanderson - 6
Cleared away superbly to stop QPR scoring the rebound from Chair’s early header and made many other crucial interventions from crosses. Blocked Cook’s initial shot but couldn’t get in the way of the defender’s rebound-turned-goal. Lacked concentration when Dunne scored.