QPR 3 Swansea 0: Tweet success! Twitter exile helps Barton sink Swans







Maybe Joey Barton should think about taking an indefinite sabbatical from Twitter.



The Queens Park Rangers captain fired home the decisive opener against Swansea on Wednesday night as Mark Hughes' side moved two points clear of the relegation zone with a vital victory.

On the up: QPR pulled clear of the drop zone with a dominant win over Swansea

MATCH FACTS QPR: Kenny, Onuoha, Ferdinand, Hill, Taiwo, Mackie (Wright-Phillips 77), Barton, Diakite, Buzsaky, Taarabt (Smith 88), Zamora (Bothroyd 78). Subs Not Used: Cerny, Gabbidon, Campbell, Young. Goals: Barton 45, Mackie 55, Buzsaky 67. Booked: Taiwo, Diakite. SWANSEA: Vorm, Rangel, Caulker, Williams, Taylor (Tate 46), Sigurdsson, Britton (Moore 62), Allen, Routledge (Dyer 46), Graham, Sinclair. Subs Not Used: Tremmel, Monk, McEachran, Gower. Attendance: 17,557 Referee: Lee Probert (Wiltshire).

Barton's self-imposed Twitter exile is now into its fourth week - and on this evidence it looks to be doing him the world of good.



The controversial midfielder was booed off by his own supporters against Liverpool on March 21 and said: 'The fans had a go at me and deservedly so.



'I hadn't been playing well - but with the character I've got I knew I would bounce back. The supporters expected more from me and so they should and I'm happy I gave them more tonight.'



Hughes agreed: 'I thought Joey was excellent, he was fresh and raring to go. 'Has his decision to stop tweeting helped his form? Maybe. It certainly has not done him any harm. It was important we got maximum points tonight and anything else would have been a disappointment.'

Hughes said the FA's decision not to overturn Shaun Derry's controversial red card from Sunday's defeat at Manchester United helped galvanise his side ahead of last night's clash.



Smart Barton: QPR midfielder Joey Barton blasted his side into the lead in the first half

However, Swansea made all the early running, keeping the ball with the panache that has become a feature of their Premier League debut. And they would have taken a 15th-minute lead if it wasn't for Barton's heroics.



Under pressure from Danny Graham, QPR defender Nedum Onuoha could only deflect Gylfi Sigurdsson's inswinging corner goalwards.



Pure delight: Barton's capped an impressive reaction to be being dropped late last month

Scott Sinclair thought he had the simple task of prodding home from a yard out but Barton saved his side with a brave goal-line block.



QPR responded with two chances of their own, Adel Taarabt - a target for Bundesliga side Wolfsburg - fired a tame shot that Michel Vorm comfortably dealt with before Jamie Mackie missed a guild-edged opportunity in the 20th minute.



Ready, aim... Jamie Mackie appeared to come from an offside position on-route to scoring No 2

Bobby Zamora then missed a glorious chance to give QPR a half-time lead four minutes before the break as he smashed over the bar from six yards after Vorm made a mess of dealing with Taarabt's corner.

But Barton was not so wasteful in first-half stoppage time as he smashed home from 15 yards after Angel Rangel failed to properly deal with Taarabt's free-kick.

FIRE: Mackie's thunderous effort ended the game as a contest

Brendan Rodgers responded with a double half-time substitution, England hopeful Nathan Dyer replacing the ineffective Wayne Routledge and Alan Tate coming on for Neil Taylor at left back.



However, the Swans quickly found themselves two down as Mackie superbly escaped the attentions of Ashley Williams before unleashing a low 20-yard drive that cannoned off Rangel and past Vorm to make it 2-0 in the 55th minute.



Spirit: Scott Sinclair tried to lead a Swansea fightback, but QPR stood firm

And the points were secured 12 minutes later when Akos Buzsaky smashed home a spectacular half-volley from 25 yards. It was Swansea's fourth defeat on the spin - leaving them 10 points clear of the relegation zone with five games to play.



But Rodgers warned: 'I've always said we can't take our foot off the pedal until the last game and we've still got a lot of work to do. I thought we were poor tonight. We weren't doing the basics of the game and committed football suicide by giving a goal away just before half-time.

'Every team has a bad spell and unfortunately we are having ours now. The players are hurting.'

Corker: Akos Buzsaky saved the best until last as he smashed home the third with more than 20 minutes remaining

Three and easy: The win means QPR are two points clear of the relegation zone in 16th



