Blackburn Rovers boss Steve Kean was relieved to survive QPR's fight-back for victory yesterday.
Rovers looked set for a comfortable afternoon at the interval, with strikes from Ayegbeni Yakubu (15), Steven Nzonzi (23) and a Nedum Onuoha own goal (45) putting them firmly in the driving seat.
But after Yakubu - returning to the side from suspension - had hit the crossbar with a chip eight minutes into the second half, the visitors mounted a fightback, substitute Jamie Mackie netting twice to set up a tense finale.
The hosts, who had been humiliated 7-1 at Arsenal a week earlier, managed to hold on for the 3-2 win and Kean said: "I felt the first-half display was really exceptional and I think we put to bed the disappointment of the Arsenal game a little bit.
"Then we had Yakubu's chance to go to 4-0, and I felt after that that QPR thought they didn't really have anything to lose, so they started throwing all sorts at it.
"They changed their shape, went very offensive and I think once the first goal went in, we had a bit of a wobble and got a little bit nervous - which is understandable considering how many young players we have got in the team.""We worked really hard this week on trying to get pressure on the ball and making sure we could hold the high lines, and I thought in the first half we were brilliant.