It was a high-paced start to the game as the hosts aimed to grant Palace limited time on the ball with a notably high press. This enabled QPR to create the first chance of the match when Mason McClean picked out Hamzad Kargbo on the right flank, and the striker controlled it on the turn before bending an ambitious 30-yard effort just wide of the left-hand post.
Armelindo Mema then posed a serious threat on left flank in successive attacks for QPR. The first saw him clip a delivery towards the far post which Dillon De Silva couldn’t direct on target, and soon after he menacingly surged forward before skidding a low effort just wide of the bottom right-hand corner.
Palace struggled to create any major chances in the opening stages, despite Gordon’s best efforts to carve an opening from the right wing. The visitors first sight of goal came when Josh Ajayi drilled a deep free-kick straight at the goalkeeper, while Jashaun Chamberlin-Gayle then looped a header over the bar following Addy’s delivery.
Mema and Kargbo then linked up on two separate occasions for the Rs, with Mema teeing up the striker both times, but Kargbo volleyed his first effort wide of the left-hand post before forcing Jacob Russell into a diving save just minutes later.
The visitors took the lead on the stroke of half-time when they capitalised on a QPR defensive error which enabled Mooney to run on to the ball inside the area, and he chipped it over Max Little to break the deadlock in style.
Palace emerged from the interval with a spring in their step, and Addy doubled the Eagles’ advantage within three minutes courtesy of a fine solo effort. He skipped past a string of challenges after embarking on a mazing run from the right flank, breaking into the box before neatly tucking the ball under Little.
Palace were now firmly in the ascendency and they were handed a further advantage when Arkell Jude-Boyd was dismissed for a second yellow card after 61 minutes. He was cautioned in the first half for preventing a Palace counter-attack, and he then received his marching orders following a late challenge on Addy in the second period.
Palace then added to QPRs misery with a clinical three-goal burst during the final 10 minutes. This blistering spell began when Mooney threaded a precise pass through to Rak-Sakyi on the right-hand side of the box, and the substitute won a penalty when he tripped over the trailing leg of Little who had emerged from his goal. Rak-Sakyi then stepped up to take the spot-kick, smashing the ball down the middle.
Omilabu, who had also been introduced from the bench, then added a fourth when Mooney’s corner dropped to him in the box. He controlled it well before creating a pocket of space which allowed him to slot the ball beyond Little from close range.
Mooney went close to doubling his personal tally when he fizzed his low effort wide of the left-hand post soon after, but Gordon completed the rout at the death with a ruthless finish. The winger cut inside from the right flank before curling an effort towards the bottom left-hand corner, and there was nothing Little could do prevent the ball nestling into the net, sealing a ruthless morning's work for the young Eagles.
QPR: Little, McClean, Lake-Bryan, Komey (Kalathias 46), Okoye-Ahaneku, Mahorn, De Silva (Alli 64), Jude-Boyd, Kargbo, Aoraha, Mema (Griffiths 64).
Palace: Russell, Thistleton, Wright, Olopade (Woodman 86), Chamberlin-Gayle, Siddik, Addy (Rak-Sakyi 80), Wells-Morrison, Ajayi (Omilabu 80), Mooney, Gordon.