Hoop Dreams - QPR FC

Rangers went into their second home game of the season against Scunthorpe knowing that a win would put them top of the pile come Saturday evening, after Milwall's early defeat against fellow promoted side Leeds earlier in the day. A blistering first-half performance though suggested they could make a reasonable stab at staying there for much of this season. Not to get carried away too early though...

A settled and organised looking line-up saw a back-line of Orr, Connolly, Gorkss and Hill start ahead of keeper Paddy Kenny. Alejandro Faurlin, who is now so famous that Lady Gaga released a song about him this summer and Shaun Derry sat fairly deep in the middle behind a free-wheeling attack of Jamie Mackie and Hogan Ephraim on either wing and Heidar Helguson partnered by Adel Taarabt, both captain and inspiration behind much of Rangers play.

Taarabt went close with a freekick which he almost passed into the net on just eight minutes and Iron keeper Joe Murphy did well to get down low and tip it wide. It served as an early marker of how much of a key role he would have in the afternoon's proceedings.

Just five minutes later, you got the both the best and worst of him in one move, which is so often the case and is one of the reasons managers often mark him out as an incredibly frustrating player to watch, as Neil Warnock has already done. He beat at my count at least three players, taking them out of the game with a cocky drag-back but then with a slight flailing hand from the Scunthorpe defender, he sunk to earth in search of a penalty. It was a blatant attempt to cheat the ref which was lucky not to earn a yellow card and was also completely unnecessary.

To his wide collection of skills, tricks and party-pieces (as well as yes, dives) he also demonstrated a near-perfect dead-ball delivery today which brought the R's opening goal. His whipped corner found new-boy full-back Bradley Orr running to meet it and his downward header nestled in at the far post. It was a deserved reward to an absolutely flying, confident start from the home side.

Their shape in the opening half was almost perfect, both full-backs getting forward frequently and looking more than comfortable in possession of the football which has not often been the case in the last two seasons and probably longer. Faurlin also looks like he can still improve and even get better at this level while Derry was a much-improved presence from the one I saw struggle against bottom-division side Port Vale.

And then there was Taarabt who is so head and shoulders above everyone else on the pitch, at least in terms of natural talent and ability, that his every touch now sends a charge of excitement around the whole stadium. There was a moment halfway through the first 45 minutes, when he broke from the halfway line and you could sense not only the desperation in the Scunny back-line at how to deal with him but also a genuine expectation from the crowd that he could make a goal from such a position.

He tore away, exchanged passes with Faurlin, did a brilliant on-the-ball turn and was unlucky to see his shot deflect up off a defender for a corner. Now committed to the club for the foreseeable future he could become a genuine hero with the fans for years to come. Does he try to do too much on his own? Yes. Does he provide at least one embarrassing dive in most games? Probably. But he is hands down Rangers' best player.

Heidar Helguson soon squandered one of many chances, after a perfect cross from the impressive Orr found him free at the back post, a position he creeped into throughout the afternoon with little in the way of marking from the Iron. His fairly tame header though was pushed away by Murphy.

The away side were struggling to find a way back into the match though their one goal danger, Jonathan Forte, did break through on goal just after the half-hour, and would be afforded a similar opportunity in the second half. On this occasion he chose to try and chip Kenny from outside the area but scooped his shot well over the bar.

Scunthorpe needed him to be sharper when he had sight on goal and soon after, their task became much more difficult. Rangers doubled their lead with a truly great, great goal, one which summed up the quick passing moves of the first half and showed a team high on confidence. Taarabt (of course) clipped a fantastic pass to Helguson in acres of space in the area and this time there was no mistake from the Icelander. He calmly chested it and then dinked it over the keeper, who was running to meet the ball, and into the goal.

Within seconds, the other side of Taarabt looked to have reared its ugly head again, when the referee seemed to have given a penalty when the Moroccan went to ground in the area, only to then book him for diving. It was very hard to make out if there was any contact though so I'll reserve judgement on who was in the wrong.

Before the half-time whistle, there was another chance to increase the lead, Helguson again connecting with a header following an Ephraim cross and this time he forced another great save out of Murphy, who tipped the ball wide. It would be no exaggeration to say Rangers murdered Scunny in the first half here and the only criticism would be that they didn't more clinically take advantage of their superiority.

There was perhaps an inevitable slacking off in terms of the pace and intent of QPR's attacks in the second half, though they still remained the more likely team to score throughout. Taarabt's dead-ball delivery was causing mass confusion in the Scunthorpe box each and every time he was given an opportunity and one effort found Gorkss unmarked. His header back across goal bounced up off the bar to safety.

The visitors had the odd moment where they hinted they could get a goal back - Michael O'Connor driving a fierce low shot at goal which Kenny handled poorly and was lucky not to turn into his own net.

Helguson's mixed afternoon, at least in terms of finishing, continued. He should have claimed a hat-trick at least today, first glancing a woeful header wide after another fine cross from Ephraim before the same player found him unmarked in the area following a commanding run, but Helguson turned the ball way over the goal when it looked easier to find the net.

Taarabt came off to a standing ovation with less than 20 minutes to go, replaced by the only other man who can draw such acclaim from the Loftus Road crowd, Akos Buzsaky. The like-for-like swap was a sound move by the manager, both players flourishing in a free role off the striker, but it does beg the question of who will be spending their time on the bench this season. As Taarabt is almost certainly a guaranteed starter, how will Neil Warnock find a place for Buzsaky in the team?

Forte wasted another chance to get his team back into the game. Put through on goal once more, he looked nervous as he neared the goal and though he placed his shot well it didn’t have enough pace to beat Kenny, who tipped it forward before reclaiming the ball himself.

Buzsaky staked his claim for a starting place, calmly placing a shot to the far post from inside the area which drew another excellent save from Murphy. Again, it's no exaggeration to suggest that without him, Rangers would have won this at a canter. Further subs followed, Leigertwood and German replacing Derry and Helguson before the game was out and the chants of 'We are top of the league' soon started up. QPR have certainly laid down a marker for the rest of the season in these three opening games...