QPR BEAT Millwall 4-3 in a behind-closed-doors friendly fixture at Loftus Road this afternoon, with Mauro Zarate scoring his first goal in Rangers colours since his loan move from West Ham United.





Matt Phillips opened the scoring for the hosts on eight minutes before Aidan O’Brien levelled for the Lions mid-way through the first half.





Zarate restored QPR’s lead just before the break with a neat finish, but Millwall levelled again in the second half, this time through Richard Chaplow, before taking the lead themselves with an Ed Upson strike.





In the closing ten minutes the R’s turned the game on its head once again, however. Niko Kranjcar headed an equaliser before Armand Traore smashed home what would prove to be the decisive goal in seven with eight minutes remaining.





All four goals were set-up by Junior Hoilett.





With no fixture this weekend for the first-team, Harry Redknapp was keen to give a number of his squad a run-out.





Alex McCarthy lined up between the sticks with, from right to left, Darnell Furlong, Rio Ferdinand, Cole Kpekawa and Traore making up the back four.





Phillips played on the right of midfield and Junior Hoilett on the left flank, with Kranjcar and Jordon Mutch in the centre of the park.





Zarate was partnered by Shaun Wright-Phillips in attack.





In the opening minute, Zarate saw his free-kick from the edge of the box fly just past the post, but Rangers didn’t have to wait long to break the deadlock.





In the eighth minute the R’s took the lead with a stunning strike from Phillips. Hoilett squared the ball into his path, and the former Blackpool man rifled into the bottom corner from 20 yards, the pace of the shot giving Lions keeper Jordan Archer no chance.





And it could have been 2-0 moments later when Wright-Phillips skipped past Danny Shittu in the area before pulling the ball back from the byline for Hoilett, but his skewed effort drifted wide.





Zarate looked composed in possession, while always looking to be creative.





Ricardo Fuller fired a speculative effort from 30 yards on 15 minutes, but the effort sailed wide of McCarthy’s right-hand post.





Rangers were again on the front foot and looking to double their lead in the 20th minute, when Hoilett squared to Wright-Phillips, who found the overlapping Furlong down the right, but his well-struck drive was tipped around the post by Archer.





But on 29 minutes Rangers were made to rue those missed chances when, against the run of play, Millwall broke through Ben Thompson, and his perfectly-weighted through ball allowed O’Brien to get beyond the R’s backline and fire home from ten yards.





Redknapp’s men went close to restoring their lead on 35 minutes when Zarate’s corner from the right was headed goalwards by Mutch, but it deflected off Shittu and over the cross bar.





At the other end, the Lions almost took the lead with an incredible effort from Upson. His 25-yard strike smashed off the crossbar and landed on the line before bouncing away, to the relief of McCarthy.





Just before the break, Zarate scored his first goal in QPR colours. Hoilett picked him out with a low cross from the left, and the R’s new signing coolly slotted home from 12 yards, into the inside side-netting.





It was a fine finish to bring an entertaining opening half of football to a close.





Redknapp made two changes at the break, replacing Furlong and Ferdinand with Ryan Manning and Harly Wise.





It meant Wright-Phillips switched to right back with Wise partnering Kpekawa in the centre. Manning played just behind Zarate in attack.





Three minutes after the re-start, Zarate almost netted his second of the afternoon and it was entirely of his own making. The on-loan West Ham forward dispossessed Thompson on the edge of the Millwall area before firing a curling effort goalwards, which Archer brilliantly tipped around the post.





From the resultant corner, Manning – who had only been on the pitch four minutes – saw his close-range effort blocked and hacked to safety.





On 55 minutes, McCarthy did well to deny Ricardo Fuller after the Lions striker beat the offside trap. The former Stoke man tried to go around McCarthy, but the R’s keeper was equal to it and saved well to maintain Rangers’ 2-1 lead.





But on 61 minutes the Lions drew level when they caught the R’s on the counter-attack. Upson broke down the left and fed the ball into Fuller, who squared across the face of goal and back into Upson’s path. His shot from inside the area smashed off the crossbar before hitting Richard Chaplow and rolling into the net from close range.





And Millwall took the lead five minutes later for the first time in the afternoon. O’Brien managed to get to the byline on the right and his pullback was met at the near post by Uspon, who diverted beyond McCarthy.





After plenty of possession, Rangers restored parity with ten minutes remaining when Hoilett’s delivery from the left was headed downwards beyond Archer by Kranjcar.





Moments later Mutch almost made it 4-3 to the R’s but his low drive from the right fizzed just past the far post with Archer seemingly beaten.





And on 82 minutes it WAS 4-3 to Rangers. Hoilett was again the creator, this time playing a perfect ball into the path of the on-rushing Traore, and the QPR full-back smashed the ball into the roof of the net from the tightest of angles on the left.





Hoilett almost scored himself with five minutes remaining, but after a good one-two with Zarate on the edge of the box, his shot from 20 yards was well over.





QPR: Alex McCathy; Darnell Furlong (Harly Wise, 46), Rio Ferdinand (Ryan Manning, 46), Cole Kpekawa, Armand Traore; Matt Phillips, Jordon Mutch, Niko Kranjcar, Junior Hoilett; Shaun Wright-Phillips, Mauro Zarate.











