QPR 3 Burnley 1

They waited a very long time for Jonny Wilkinson's comeback and his superb display galvanised his country to a Six Nations victory over Scotland at Twickenham.

On the opposite side of the River Thames, Andy Gray was back on the teamsheet for Burnley, and how glad they are for that.

At a time like this - with results going fast against the Clarets - the return of their leading goalscorer could just be the Jonny-style inspiration they need to lift themselves out of a rut.

Steve Cotterill's men remain 15th in the Championship table following their fifth league defeat in six outings.

Lacking in confidence and belief, and without a win in the calendar year, they fell to a QPR side that before the weekend sunk into the relegation zone smarting from their own disappointing run of defeats.

And if Burnley don't regain the form that stood them so excellently earlier in the season, they will find themselves peering over their shoulders, in trouble near the lower region of the table.

Back in early November, it was a completely different story with Burnley dreaming of the Premiership promised land after a stunning start to the campaign.

But a sudden turnaround - co-inciding with Gray's absence away from the side - has seen them slip out of the play-off running somewhat.

At the moment, Burnley must glean as many positives as they can after a hugely disappointing day at the office at Loftus Road.

And one giant positive is the return of Gray after over two months sidelined with a triple-metatarsal break to his right foot.

Seeing Gray back in action again on the pitch is a sight for sore eyes - especially as the Clarets have failed to register a victory in his absence and struggled to put the ball in the back of the net.

The Yorkshire striker has been a revelation at Turf Moor since making a £750,000 move from Sunderland last summer.

After clocking up double figures before the beginning of the December, Gray was a sure-fire bet to reach the golden 20-goal milestone before the curtain comes down on the Championship season.

But the Scottish international is now back in the reckoning after coming on as a second-half substitute and Burnley will be keeping their fingers crossed that he continues where he left off before sustaining his injury against Leeds.

Gray's introduction with 25 minutes remaining at South Africa Road, in a triple substitution that included a debut for deadline-day signing Steven Caldwell, was unable to, however, prevent the Clarets slipping to defeat.

Both clubs were equally desperate for a win, as a disastrous run of 11 defeats from their last 13 league outings had seen the Hoops sucked into the dropzone.

With so much at stake, it was little surprise that Burnley and Rangers looked short of confidence and that materialised with both sides jittery in possession.

A differing match-up in formation saw Ade Akinbiyi start alone up front in a 4-5-1 with Kyle Lafferty working down the left in a five-man midfield, while the hosts adopted a three-prong attack.

Despite the scrappy opening, the Clarets looked the more comfortable and came close to snatching a dream start in the fourth minute.

Akinbiyi's beautifully cushioned header from John McGreal's high ball fell into the path of onrushing Alan Mahon who looked set to pounce from eight yards out, But the ball didn't quite sit comfortably for the Dubliner and Sampsa Timoska nipped in with an excellent covering tackle.

Burnley continued to settle into their stride, until a costly mistake in possession by Lafferty led to Rangers breaking the deadlock.

The Northern Ireland teenager - who is expected to lead the line for his country against Wales on Wednesday - was robbed by Adam Bolder and Rangers duly the punished the error in a clinical three-on-three raid.

After racing 40 yards upfield, Bolder slotted in Lee Cook and the striker made no mistake inside the Clarets box, firing low past Pollitt into the far corner.

But the Londoners' lead was short-lived as McCann headed the visitors level within six minutes - proving Burnley's first Championship strike in almost 10 hours.

Following good controlled build up play, Gudjonsson picked out McCann with a perfectly weighted cross and, from 10 yards out, the 19-year-old despatched into the top corner for his third goal of the season.

Loftus Road is proving a happy hunting ground for the young Irishman, having scored a fabulous goal in last season's corresponding fixture.

Burnley showed excellent character to respond in quick fashion, but any attempts to press ahead themselves were limited as the remainder of the first-half turned into a more disjointed affair.

With Akinbiyi ploughing a lone furrow against the home side's three-man central defence, the visitors just couldn't make enough inroads in the final third.

But although they struggled to mount another serious opportunity on goal, Burnley were in control up to the break and hardly pressing any panic buttons in defence.

The next goal was to prove crucial and QPR grabbed it as they upped their game after the break - putting Cotterill's men firmly on the back foot.

Gareth Ainsworth dragged a 20-yard shot wide in the opening exchanges and the pressure continued until Blackstock re-established the home side's lead powering home from a corner.

The former Southampton man rose strongly above Steve Foster and McCann to connect with Cook's outswinging delivery, giving Pollitt absolutely no chance.

An increasingly confident Rangers continued to pour forward and Cook came within a whisker when his fiercely-struck left-foot volley just dipped over the crossbar.

Cotterill made his triple-substitution on 65 minutes in an attempt to re-energise Burnley.

Gray received a rapturous reception as he came on to partner Akinbiyi, while Jones replaced Mahon and Foster was withdrawn for Caldwell, who slotted into the centre of defence with Duff pushed out right.

Within minutes of making his Clarets debut, Caldwell was immediately in the thick of the action and gave good vocal presence as he set about taking charge at the back.

But as Burnley strived to find their second equaliser of the afternoon, Rangers struck again after Pollitt superbly tipped wide a Blackstock's point-blank header.

From the resulting corner, Burnley were all at sea again as Hoops skipper Steve Lomas guiding Rowlands' delivery into the bottom corner.Facing an uphill battle, the Clarets tried desperately to mount a response in the final third.

Jones offered pace down the flanks and Gray set about troubling the Rangers three-man backline, but there was no way back for Burnley.

Late on, a dangerous free-kick from Jon Harley was hacked to safety, Damion Stewart cleared McGreal's goalbound header and Akinbiyi's back-header looped into Simon Joyce's hands.