Though the Northern Ireland boss was not officially in charge, he spent the match in the Rovers dugout as they moved out of the relegation zone. A brace from Mathias Jorgensen and Ryoya Morishita’s header helped them on their way.
The Danish striker had star man Morishita to thank for the first. His brilliant skill and cross picked him out for a simple finish.
Rovers felt they should’ve had a penalty shortly after when Andri Gudjohnsen went down under a challenge from Liam Walsh. Nothing was given and shortly after, QPR levelled.
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Koki Saito intercepted a wayward shot and brilliantly fired into the roof of the net. That felt harsh on Rovers, who were even more aggrieved when Isaac Hayden was only booked for a late and high challenge on Sondre Tronstad.
However, they reasserted their lead when Tronstad threaded through Jorgensen and he dinked the goalkeeper for his second.
Rovers then put themselves in real command five minutes after the restart when Morishita headed in. Tronstad again the provider, picking out the Japanese midfielder, who was unmarked.
That proved enough as the visitors saw the game out relatively comfortably. It’s their first away win since November and the first time they’ve notched three goals in a match since August.
After last weekend’s blunt display at Norwich, Johnson made three changes in attack. Dapo Afolayan was handed his full Rovers debut whilst strikers Jorgensen and Gudjohnsen started, with a shift to 4-4-2 in the absence of Todd Cantwell.
QPR had most of the ball in the early exchanged and created the first chance. Balazs Toth had to be alert to keep out Richard Kone from close range after Rovers switched off from a free-kick.
What became apparent early on was the opportunity for Rovers on the counter-attack. Whenever they won the ball back, there was space to play into if they could move the ball quicker.
They did exactly that to tremendous effect and got the opening goal. It owed all the thanks to Morishita, who nutmegged his man before supplying an inch-perfect cross for Jorgensen to finish.
The Danish striker has been making runs off the shoulder since he arrived but his team-mates have not found him often enough. That changed at Loftus Road with Morishita’s early delivery the perfect supply line.
Rovers felt they should’ve had the chance to double their lead shortly after. Andri Gudjohnsen went down after beating goalkeeper Walsh following an error at the back. Referee Stephen Martin gave nothing, much to the bemusement of those in yellow.
That looked like it could be a decisive moment when QPR levelled shortly after. There was a hint of fortune about the way Isaac Hayden’s shot broke to Saito in the box but he made no mistake with the finish, rifling it into the top corner.
Things looked like they were going against Rovers when Hayden was then spared a red card. The experienced midfielder wa late in a 50/50 challenge with Tronstad but only got a yellow card.
Those frustrations were eased when, just before the break, Rovers restored their lead. Tronstad quickly picked himself up and played a slide-rule ball through to Jorgensen, who dinked it past Walsh for his second of the match.
That was the first time Rovers had scored twice in more than one month. They hadn’t netted twice on the road since beating Preston North End in November, their last away win.
It was to get even better when Rovers they added a third goal five minutes after the restart. Tronstad drove into the box and stood the ball up for Morishita to head in, unmarked from six yards.
Rovers lost Lewis Miller to a serious-looking injury, only 10 minutes after coming on. With nobody near him, he went down and had to be stretchered off.
The remaining half hour passed without much event until stoppage time. Toth made a superb save from a wide free-kick and as the rebound looked set to be turned in, Carter produced a brilliant block.
They then navigated the rest of stoppage time and held on for three massive points.
Referee: Stephen Martin