FOR the neutral, games don’t come much more exciting than today’s encounter in West London but it will be a long journey home for Middlesbrough who are still yet to taste victory in this Championship campaign. A first half display that brought back the nightmares of a trip to Barnsley last season saw Boro put to the sword and despite a spirted second half comeback, they walked away from the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium with nothing to show.

The woman who brought football home was a guest of honour before the game as Lionesses match winner Chloe Kelly delivered the match ball onto the pitch before the game. The QPR fan gave the home side the desired effect from her Wembley heroics last weekend but the same can’t be said for Boro who put on a calamitous showing in the first half.

Boro’s start to the game was pedestrian and laboured and an exchange of sloppy passes led to the first goal of the game in stunning style. Isaiah Jones was the culprit of a short pass and Michael Beale’s side broke with Chris Willock charging from the half way line. After shrugging off two Boro challenges, his venomous effort flew into the top left hand corner from 25 yards with Zack Steffen clawing at thin air. Willock celebrated right in front of the travelling supporters as he scored for the third game in a row against Boro. A very rude awakening to the game.

Boro wasted plenty of passing opportunities and there was a considered lack of urgency to their play. It was all far too easy for the home side who were able to test Steffen again from range as Lyndon Dykes struck from distance only to see his shot tipped over the bar. But the resulting corner made for painful viewing.

Steffen came out to punch and got the connection completely wrong as the ball dropped onto the head of Jimmy Dunne. The bal bounced off the top of his head and squirmed home as Steffen screamed at referee Josh Smith for a foul but the appeals fell on deaf ears. Dunne wheeled away as shocked as the Boro fans.

Their first half collapse was complete when Jones was forced back towards his own goal and chopped down a QPR man who had pinched the ball away. From the resulting free-kick, it was all too simple for Beale’s side as Dykes latched onto a cross into the box and powered the header low past Steffen. It was men against boys in West London.

It took until the third goal to spark the away side into life. From a corner ball, Matt Crooks showed the desire that had been missing all game to power home from Ryan Giles cross minutes before half-time. Boro could have reduced the deficit further when Duncan Watmore pinched the ball away from a defender near the byline and found Marcus Forss in the box but his shot was brilliantly upended by the sliding Rob Dickie.

In all honesty, a second Boro goal would have made for generous reading based on the first half performance. They’d given themselves a lifeline but it was a long way back for them. To be a fly on the wall in that dressing room at half-time.

Wilder wielded in the changes at half-time with Paddy McNair and Chuba Akpom thrown into the mix. The striker almost found made an immediate impact when Forss drove down the left and crossed low. Akpom and keeper Seny Dieng came out to meet the ball but the striker squirmed the ball wide. He threatened the goal once again when his powerful header from a McNair cross was brilliantly palmed behind by Dieng.

The proverbial rocket must have been received by the Boro players at half-time but Akpom’s arrival in the game was making a big difference. He freed the run up for Crooks on the right who charged into the box. The goalscorer put it on a plate for Marcus Forss who slammed home from close range right in front of the travelling support.

QPR knew they were in for a battle in the second half to keep their lead and proceeded to slow the game down with a series of cynical fouls and players staying down from challenges while they were showing a potential threat from the counter attack. But it didn’t deter a Boro side who were fighting hard for an equaliser.

Riley McGree’s reverse pass to Giles down the left opened up the space and his cross to McNair was slammed home but the linesman’s flag denied them from the initial cross. Knife edge stuff for both sides heading into the final ten minutes.

Boro threw numbers in attack but the Hoops able to exploit the spaces on the break. Albert Adomah, once a Boro favourite, broke free on the right inside the box but couldn’t break Boro hearts as he fizzed his effort wide of the post.

With six minutes of stoppage time left, Boro were running out of steam as QPR headed for the corner flag. But the afternoon was capped off for the away side when Darragh Lenihan was second to a bouncing ball and was forced to bring down Macauley Bonne in a last ditch challenge. The referee was left with no choice but to send him for his marching orders.

Ten man Boro couldn’t muster up enough in the second half for a point as they taste defeat for the first time this season. On the balance of play, it's hard to argue with the result and it leaves them with plenty to ponder going ahead.