Queens Park Rangers gave their hopes of avoiding relegation from the Premier League a huge boost with an emphatic 4-1 win away at West Bromwich Albion.
Eduardo Vargas opened the scoring on the quarter-hour mark with a long-range drive.
Charlie Austin then headed home midway through the first half and Bobby Zamora lofted a stunning lob over Boaz Myhill to give the Hoops a three-goal lead at the break.
Substitute Victor Anichebe's close-range header gave the Baggies a fighting chance, but that was soon extinguished as Youssuf Mulumbu was sent off for a foul on Joey Barton.
The QPR skipper went on to add a fourth in second-half injury time to help send his side to 18th in the league and just one point from safety, while West Brom stay 14th.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at whether QPR deserved to run out such comfortable winners at The Hawthorns.
Match statistics
WEST BROM
Shots: 21
On target: 6
Possession: 55%
Corners: 2
Fouls: 6
QPR
Shots: 12
On target: 7
Possession: 45%
Corners: 4
Fouls: 15
Was the result fair?
It should have been much closer than the final score suggests. West Brom were simply overrun in the first half as their opponents struck three great goals and, despite a revival by the hosts which saw them pull a goal back and garner genuine hope of going on from there, they missed a multitude of chances before being reduced to 10 men in the 83rd minute, at which point there was no hope left. Barton's goal in injury time then added gloss to the scoreline, but it could have just as easily have been a high-scoring draw.
West Brom's performance
It would be easy to think that, having been on the receiving end of such a scoreline, the Baggies would have had a terrible game, but this was not the case. They began brightly and fell behind only because of a wonderful goal by Vargas, but they continued to threaten, although they lacked that bite in the final third. Even when they found themselves three goals down, they managed to regroup after the restart, getting a goal back and there was genuine hope that they could go on to get something out of the game, but it proved too little, too late and they were further hindered by Mulumbu's sending off.
QPR's performance
Chris Ramsey's charges put in a solid performance that was complemented by the individual goals on show. They did well to hold back reasonably good opponents while taking a three-goal lead into the dressing room at the break. Following the restart, they were in real danger of crumbling as the Baggies pulled one back, but the hosts' profligacy in front of goal cost them as the minutes ticked away, before the Mulumbu red card effectively gave Rangers free rein to see the game out.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Chris Brunt: Quite peculiar to have a man of the match on the losing side in such a heavy defeat, but Brunt was a constant source of danger, running riot on his wing and sending in cross after cross that, had his teammates been more clinical in front of goal, would have given him a hatful of assists.
Biggest gaffe
Saido Berahino's poor header in the 79th minute which would have set up a grandstand finish to the game had it gone in. The England striker was a few yards away from goal and presented with a gilt-edged chance, but he nodded straight into the arms of Robert Green.
Referee performance
Lee Probert had a decent enough game, although there was room for dispute in the 56th minute when Brunt appeared to have handled the ball in the West Brom box, but nothing was given. An earlier penalty shout where Nedum Onuoha held back Anichebe would have been very harsh, but there were no qualms about the late red card for Mulumbu.
What next?
West Brom: The Baggies welcome Leicester City to The Hawthorns on April 11 as they look to atone for today's heavy defeat and put more distance between themselves and the drop zone.
QPR: The Hoops travel to Aston Villa on Tuesday as they bid to clamber out of the Premier League's bottom three.
Giuseppe Labellarte
