Helguson at double as Warnock's depleted ranks dig for victory

Stoke City 2 Queens Park Rangers 3

A grounded Heidar Helguson scores Queens Park Rangers' third (PA)

Should Queens Park Rangers survive the season, most will point to the 1-0 victory over Chelsea as the moment when they gained the confidence to endure. This, however, was far more significant. Rangers were at home that day, Chelsea played most of the match with nine men and some teams achieve a shock early result which in the final reckoning is not enough – think Burnley's 1-0 win over Manchester United.

This was different; November, away to Stoke, who were ahead within eight minutes and who might have been two up by 15. This was a win that had to be dug out.

There were some similarities to the Chelsea game. The referee was at the centre of things, not for showing two red cards, as Chris Foy did at Loftus Road, but for failing to award what seemed two clear penalties.

Both involved Joey Barton. Because Stoke took the lead almost immediately afterwards, the ruling that he did not foul Jermaine Pennant did not sting as it might have done. But the tackle from behind that brought down Robert Huth in a bitter late scramble felt as raw as a slap across the face in a snowstorm. The score was now 3-2 and the minutes were sliding away.

Neil Warnock preferred to focus on how his Queens Park Rangers team, depleted enough to be unable to fill their bench, endured. He had not seen Adel Taarabt since he left for international duty with Morocco and managed to lose his passport and luggage. Jason Puncheon had gone down with tonsillitis and Jay Bothroyd was told to stay at home after "turning up to training looking like a lost puppy".

"This has been an incredible journey in a fabulous League," said Warnock afterwards. "The biggest disappointment was outplaying Manchester City, losing and being patted on the back. This was a roll your sleeves up and show what's under your shirt afternoon."

It ended with the Stoke physio, Andy Davies, dismissed from the technical area in a row over whether Rory Delap should be allowed a towel to dry the ball before launching a long throw.

Davies was the last casualty of the afternoon. The first was Asmir Begovic. After conceding 11 times in his previous three games, Tony Pulis decided he could not afford him any more time in Stoke's goal. Thomas Sorensen deputised, and in his manager's words: "I can't remember him having a shot to save; all he did was pick the ball out of the net three times."

After Rangers had survived their first penalty appeal, Peter Crouch delivered a perfectly judged pass that Jonathan Walters finishedwith a ramrod drive.

Then, when Anton Ferdinand hesitated as the ball bounced between him and Paddy Kenny and almost allowed Crouch in, QPR seemed ready to be swamped. Instead, they began swimming vigorously against the tide.

Armand Traoré's work-rate and judgement has not always met with his manager's approval, but here he dashed after a lost, loose ball and pulled it back perfectly for Heidar Helguson. The Icelander's header was perfect but he had taken an elbow in the eye socket and the goal stung, though not as much asit did the home support.

Then, just before the interval, came another fine cross, this time delivered by Jamie Mackie and finished off into the roof of Sorensen's net by Luke Young.

Helguson, a man thought too old by the previous regime at Loftus Road, thrived amid the Britannia noise. Barton's cross after the break curled tantalisingly but Pulis must have thought it would be cleared.

Helguson met it before Huth and might have had a hat-trick when stabbing home the rebound from a Shaun Wright-Phillips shot which struck the foot of the post. He was ruled offside. Crouch's final contribution set up Ryan Shawcross's header and at 3-2 came the penalty shouts and the frantic finale. "We knew what was coming," said Warnock, but you wondered if he imagined his men would survive.

Stoke (4-4-2): Sorensen; Wilkinson, Shawcross, Huth, Higginbotham; Pennant (Fuller, 69), Whitehead (Whelan, 84), Delap, Etherington; Walters, Crouch (Jones, 64).

QPR (4-4-2): Kenny; Young (Orr, 77), Ferdinand, Gabbidon, Hill; Wright-Phillips, Barton, Faurlin, Traoré; Mackie,Helguson.

Referee Mike Jones.

Man of the match Helguson (QPR).

Match rating 7/10.