QPR moved out of the relegation zone with an enthralling 3-2 win at Loftus Road over 14th placed West Brom, meaning that only goal difference separates the two sides now in the league table currently.
A well-taken hat-trick from English striker Charlie Austin was sure to steal all of tomorrow's headlines, but manager Harry Redknapp will know that deep down it was a hard-fought victory in the end.
West Brom were the team in-front, after just 10 minutes courtesy of a power header in the area from former Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott - his first goal for the club.
Portuguese winger Silvestre Varela doubled the visitors' lead in the 20th minute after slotting the ball beyond QPR goalkeeper Robert Green in a one-on-one inside the area, before pointing to the sky in his celebration, his first goal in English football following his loan move from Portuguese side FC Porto.
However, West Brom managed to throw away the two-goal cushion in rather dramatic circumstances. First, they conceded a dubious-looking penalty just three minutes after Varela's strike. West Brom's 'keeper Ben Foster punched the ball away from a teasing corner delivery with many players crowded in the area, but midfielder James Morrison was all over Leroy Fer in the box and the referee blew his whistle for a spot-kick, much to many players' disbelief. Austin stepped up to take it, and hammered the effort into the bottom corner of the net, sending Foster the wrong way in the process.
Then, just three minutes after the half-time interval, QPR levelled the scoring. A well delivered corner from midfielder Joey Barton was swung into the path of defender Richard Dunne, who had his header flash off the crossbar and into the path of striker Bobby Zamora who instinctively headed the ball down for Austin to slot home from close range and complete his brace.
The match simply would not be complete without some late drama, and Austin created that. Barton's teasing corner delivery once more provided havoc for the West Brom defenders who simply could not mark Austin tightly enough, and the Englishman made them pay with some aplomb, heading the effort out of Foster's reach into the back of the net to secure all three points for the hosts at the end of an intriguing 90 minutes of football.
Austin's hat-trick will surely have earned him some more media praise ahead of Christmas, with many critics signalling that it will be time for him to get a call-up to the English national side. He has now scored 11 Premier League goals this season, and became the first QPR player to score a hat-trick in the league for 10 years; which highlights how much of an integral part he plays in the team.
Meanwhile, West Brom will feel disappointed that they let a 2-goal lead slip through their fingers in a match that they should have sealed in fairness.
PLAYER RATINGS:
| QPR (3) | West Brom (2) | ||
 |  |  |  |
| Green | 6.5 | Foster | 5 |
| Onuoha | 7 | Wisdom | 6.5 |
| Dunne | 8 | McAuley | 7 |
| Caulker | 7 | Lescott | 7.5 |
| Suk-Young | 6 | Pocognoli | 7 |
| Vargas | 6.5 | Dorrans | 6 |
| Barton | 8 | Morrison | 6 |
| Henry | 6.5 | Gardner | 7 |
| Fer | 7.5 | Varela | 7 |
| Zamora | 7 | Sessegnon | 8 |
| Austin MOTM | 9 | Ideye | 6.5 |
| Substitutes: | |||
| Hill | 7 | Berahino | 6.5 |
| Krancjar | N/A | Gamboa | N/A |
| Holiett | N/A | ||