QPR 2-1 Watford: Joey Barton's free-kick and Charlie Austin winner ensures Harry Redknapp's side path to the playoffs



Queens Park Rangers sealed their place in the £120million lottery that is the Championship play-offs on Monday, but manager Harry Redknapp still hasn't found his lucky numbers just yet.

QPR made decidedly hard work of this victory, needing a 90th-minute winner from Charlie Austin to claim all three points after a Joey Barton free kick cancelled out Mathias Ranegie's 51st minute opener for Watford.



Timing: Joey Barton's late free-kick sealed Queens Park Rangers' place in the Championship playoffs

Delight: Mathias Ranegie wheels away after scoring for Watford away at QPR on Easter Monday afternoon

MATCH FACTS

QPR (3-4-1-2): Green 6; Onuoha 6.5, Dunne 4.5, Hill 5.5; Simpson 5 (Hoilett 72'), Barton 6.5, Carroll 6, Traore 5; Morrison 6; Austin 7 (Henry 90'), Doyle 5.5 (Zamora 72'). Subs: Murphy, Keane, Yun, Hughes, Henry. Bookings: Austin Watford (3-5 2): Almunia 6.5, Angella 6, Cassetti 6, Ekstrand 6.5; Riera 6, Abdi 6, Tozser 6.5, McGugan 6 (Battocchio 63' 6), Pudil 5.5; Ranegie 6.5, Deeney 6.5. Subs: Bond, Merkel, Doyley, Murray, Faraoni, Hoban. Bookings: Riera, Abdi, Ranegie Referee: James Linington - 6 Man of the match: Austin

Yet Redknapp will hope this is the timely start of a momentum shift after a poor spell that had seen QPR take just four points from a possible 15.

'You should have stayed with the Burnley,' chanted Watford fans before Austin scored his first goal since January 28 after suffering a shoulder injury.



His old club are up already and QPR could yet follow but, despite Rangers' embarrassment of riches, you still wonder what might have been had their £4million signing been fit throughout this campaign.



Austin was substituted in stoppage time, but was thought to be 'shattered' rather than protecting a hamstring problem.

QPR assistant manager Kevin Bond said: 'It was good for him to get back on the scoresheet. It was a great finish.

'We've missed his goals and we've missed his presence. We have relied upon him and everybody's really pleased to have him back.'

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Austin's 16th goal of the season assures QPR of a play-off place; surely the absolute minimum for a club who recorded £177million debts last year and could afford to make eight changes from Saturday's 1-0 defeat by Leicester and still boast young Premier League loanees of the calibre of Ravel Morrison and Tom Carroll. Yet it was Watford who started much the brighter, profiting from the acres of space where QPR wingers might have been and pinging the ball around with pace and accuracy.

Troy Deeney drew a sharp save from Rob Green in the 10th minute and Lewis McGugan blasted a shot over the bar and saw another effort saved, while free kicks from Morrison and Carroll constituted QPR's best first-half efforts. Green saved well again from Deeney at the start of the second half, but the striker was then allowed to knock down a Joel Ekstrand cross into the path of Ranegie, who spun Richard Dunne and slotted the ball into the back of the net. Flight: Ravel Morrison should be key for Rangers as they approach the playoffs next month

On the hunt: Morrison tries to nab the ball off Watford's Daniel Tozser

It took QPR two substitutions and until 75 minutes to respond. Austin had a header cleared off the line and saw a right-foot shot saved before Watford paid for conceding a series of fouls around the box as Barton equalised with a 20-yard free kick.

Giuseppe Sannino's side have won only once on the road since October, and have been liable to conceding late goals, too.



Their curse struck again as both sides went for a winner and Austin finished coolly from the edge of the box after a pass from Bobby Zamora.

A play-off place is still mathematically possible for Watford, but in all probability their late push for the top six is over.

Sannino praised 'the best performance of his regime', and added: 'I'm happy because my team played a very good match, but there is a bitter taste because of the result.