29.09.2013 01:45 h

Football: Bond salutes QPR's best yet in Championship

Daniel Sturridge erzielte bei Aston Villa den Treffer des Tages
Daniel Sturridge erzielte bei Aston Villa den Treffer des Tages

QPR assistant manager Kevin Bond hailed the Championship leaders' 2-0 victory over Middlesbrough as their best display of the season.

Harry Redknapp's team are bidding for an immediate return to the Premier League after last season's relegation and they look well on course after another dominant display at Loftus Road left them three points clear of second placed Burnley.

Joey Barton opened the scoring on Saturday with a low shot through a crowd of players from the edge of the penalty area in the fourth minute.

QPR's second goal arrived in the 35th minute when Gary O'Neil's shot was handled by Ben Gibson and Charlie Austin stepped up to drive home the resulting penalty.

"We all thought that was our best performance of the season by some way," Bond said.

"We got the ball down and played, controlled the game and kept possession.

"It's hugely important for a side that comes down not to suffer any kind of hangover.

"Fortunately, we've managed to get off to a good start. The feeling around the club is a million miles from what it was."

Burnley manager Sean Dyche revealed a pre-season pep talk has inspired striker Sam Vokes' impressive start to the campaign.

Vokes scored twice after Danny Ings' opener as the Clarets kept up the pressure on QPR with a 3-0 win over Charlton at Turf Moor.

"Sam Vokes has been very good for us and I had a chat with him in the summer and he's certainly grasping the nettle," Dyche said.

"Vokes and Ings are enjoying it. I made it clear when Charlie (Austin) left for QPR that this was an opportunity for them to become their own version of him and that is what they are doing, making a good name for themselves."

Leeds manager Brian McDermott launched a scathing attack on his players after they slumped to a 2-0 defeat at Millwall.

Martyn Woolford struck on 65 minutes and Scott Malone added the second 11 minutes later to condemn Leeds to their third successive defeat.

"The second half came as a shock to my system. We didn't do the ugly stuff well enough," McDermott said.

"I'm bitterly disappointed with the players. They are decent but are not at the right level at this moment in time.

"If the fans see another second-half performance like we did then we're going to have a problem. We need to keep the fans with us."

Gianfranco Zola praised Watford's character after his fourth-placed Hornets ground out a 1-0 victory over Wigan.

The only goal of a tight game came with eight minutes remaining when Cristian Battocchio fired home from the edge of the area.

"I think it was probably one of the toughest games I've had since I've been here," Watford boss Zola said.

"We showed a lot of character to win this game and that is something that will be very important from now and until the end of the season."

Third placed Leicester enjoyed a 2-1 home win over bottom club Barnsley and fifth placed Nottingham Forest beat local rivals Derby 1-0 at the City Ground.

Nigel Clough was later sacked as Derby manager.

Clough had been the longest-serving boss in the second tier, but the former Forest, Liverpool and England striker's four-and-a-half year reign came to an end following the loss at his former club.

Derby's defeat left the team in 14th place in the table.