Hayden Hackney celebrates with Middlesbrough teammates after scoring against Queens Park RangersGetty Images

Hayden Hackney (right) scored his fifth Championship goal of the season with a brilliant, curling effort

Chris Peddy
BBC Sport, London & South East

Outstanding Middlesbrough blew away Queens Park Rangers to lay down a big marker in the race for automatic promotion to the Premier League.

Goals from David Strelec, Alan Browne, Hayden Hackney and a Tommy Conway penalty secured a thumping victory over the Rs at Loftus Road.

Boro led through Strelec's controversial opener at the break - with replays showing the ball had gone in off his elbow - before the hosts came out fighting in the second half.

But Browne's headed goal on 68 minutes extinguished any hopes of a fightback as Hackney curled in a sumptuous third, four minutes later.

Harvey Vale rattled the post for the home side before Boro substitute Conway won and the converted a late penalty to complete a scintillating performance from Kim Hellberg's team.

Boro's grip on second place tightens as they move to 69 points, five behind league leaders Coventry City and four clear of third-placed Millwall, while QPR stay 16th.

Luck on side before big Boro finish

Tommy Conway shoots from the penalty spot, with Middlesbrough and QPR players in the backgroundGetty Images

Tommy Conway won the penalty he then converted for his eighth goal of the season

For all Middlesbrough's dominance and quality on the ball, QPR will have felt slightly aggrieved as to how they found themselves 2-0 down.

Both Strelec's opener and Browne's headed goal came with more than a hint of fortune.

Morgan Whittaker's shot deflected in off Strelec's elbow to give the visitors the lead, while the second goal came from a corner that replays showed should have been given as a goal kick after clearly going out of play off Jeremy Sarmiento rather than the challenge of Ronnie Edwards.

But from their overall play, Boro were well worthy of the lead and there was nothing controversial about the third - which was a thing of beauty.

Picking up a pass from Conway, Middlesbrough captain Hackney took a touch before bending brilliantly around the dive of Joe Walsh and in off the far post.

QPR substitute Tylon Smith's clumsy challenge sent Conway to the deck, with the Scotland international squeezing the spot kick just below the dive of Walsh, with the Rs keeper getting a hand to it.

Boro host Charlton Athletic and Bristol City next before a visit to Blackburn, followed by a potentially huge match in the promotion race against Millwall at the Riverside on Friday, 3 April.

Julien Stephan's QPR side have now lost four of their past five games but have a comfortable 12-point cushion to the drop zone.

With a 10-point gap between them and the play-off places, Stephan will be keen to ensure their season does not fizzle out with little to play for.

'They are better than us. That is the reality' - reaction

QPR head coach Julien Stephan said: "When you lose against a top, top team, you have to accept [it]. And they are better than us. This is the reality. They deserve their win.

"They had more quality, individually and collectively. More quality with the ball and without the ball. I have to say that we lost against a better team than us.

"We will not face an opponent like this every time, but we need to be able to show more quality in possession.

"In the last three games we didn't score. In football if you don't score and are only in defensive positions it's very difficult to get a good result.

"Of course we are not happy. It's a difficult moment when you lose three games in a row and you concede many goals.

"But I want to protect my players, because I know them and I know they tried to give their best. We need to stay together."

Middlesbrough head coach Kim Hellberg speaking to BBC Radio Tees:

"Very happy with everything. I think the performance overall was brilliant, the way we press[ed], the way we play[ed], combining some beautiful goals [with] some fighting goals, so it was a good, good performance."

On the away support: "Like the players on the pitch, they controlled this game in a very good way.

"They were high, they were loud, they were supporting us all through the game, they were sharing - they were brilliant as always."

Boro were 'brilliant' against QPR, say Middlesbrough head coach Kim Hellberg

Player of the match

H. Hackney
8.29
20 H. Vale
5.18
27 A. Mbengue
5.05
37 R. Edwards
5.00
3 J. Dunne
4.77
13 J. Walsh
4.65
18 R. Norrington-Davies
4.64
22 R. Kone
4.59
21 K. Morgan
4.59
40 J. Varane
4.50
11 P. Smyth
4.50
14 K. Saito
4.36
15 I. Hayden
4.27
6 J. Clarke-Salter
4.19
23 D. Bennie
4.19
28 Esquerdinha
3.81
30 T. Smith
3.71
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