Cardiff City are faltering in their bid for promotion from the Championship.
They have lost four successive matches and have stumbled into 2018 by defending poorly and falling 2-1 against a Queens Park Rangers who hadn’t won at home since October.
That changed when they scored twice in 10 second half minutes to take the points.
Paul Smyth fired QPR’s winner on his debut, bursting down the right and collected Matt Smith’s pass to shoot home.
Cardiff are still fourth, four points ahead of Leeds United in fifth, but manager Neil Warnock has suffered his worst run of results for 12 years.
Rangers have jumped one place to 17th thanks to a first win in four games, six points clear of the bottom three.
Warnock is keen to add two or three new signings to his squad this month, while he has almost two weeks before the next Championship fixture, at home against Sunderland on Saturday week (12.30pm).
The Bluebirds are in FA Cup action next weekend when Mansfield Town are visitors to Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday (3pm).
Warnock made five changes to Cardiff City’s starting line-up at Loftus Road.
Joe Bennett, Matthew Connolly, goalkeeper Brian Murphy, Rhys Healey and Junior Hoilett were all called up in a 3-5-2 system with Rhys Healey playing off Kenneth Zohore.
The biggest shock among the five changes was Murphy for Neil Etheridge in goal, while Jazz Richards made a welcome return to the substitutes bench.
Murphy, Connolly and Hoilett were the three former R’s players in the Cardiff line-up, while Warnock is a former manager at the London club.
Lee Peltier was operating alongside Joe Ralls in central midfield for a Cardiff team wearing their luminous lime green away kit.
Peltier, though, was hurt midway through the second half when he went down clutching his thigh and Loic Damour took over.
There were good signs that Zohore and Healey could form a dangerous two-man attack, while it was Joe Ralls who fired the Bluebirds in front.
It was Ralls who lifted a cross towards the far post and Callum Paterson was barged over by a defender. Ralls took responsibility for the spot-kick, firing down the middle to score after 56 minutes.
Smith equalised when he outjumped Sol Bamba following a long throw and headed the equaliser just after the hour.
Rangers took the lead 10 minutes later when Smyth ran onto Smith’s pass down the right scored with a clinical finish.
Cardiff reacted strongly, while Warnock was furious when Hoilett fired home and referee Tim Robinson ruled he had been offside.
The visitors were pressing hard and created chances. Bamba’s first touch at the far post was superb and he fifed the ball across goal with Hoilett eventually netting.
A linesman flagged for offside, but Robinson appeared to disagree. The decision rested on whether the final pass came off a QPR player, which is exactly what Warnock argued.
Referee and linesman talked for a minute before deciding the ‘goal’ could not be awarded.
City also had a big penalty appeal denied after Healey controlled a high ball with terrific skill before going down. The visitors claimed he had been pushed, but referee Robinson said no.
Rangers then had a handball shout at the other end, but Robinson was in the right place to signal no goal.
Cardiff threw players forward, gambled by attacking in numbers and Bamba was virtually leading their attack.
But they could not find that crucial equaliser and City open the new year with another defeat.
The Bluebirds boss, though, will surely be the first to admit that his team conceded two sloppy goals due to poor defending.
QPR: Smithies, Baptiste, Onuoha, Robinson, Bidwell (Lynch 84), Scowen, Freeman, Cousins, Luongo, Smyth (Oteh 77), Smith. Subs not used: Lumley, Wszolek, Chair, Osayi-Samuel, Sylla.
Cardiff City: Murphy, Peltier (Damour 58), Connolly, Bamba, Manga, Bennett, Paterson, Ralls, Hoilett, Healey (Mendez-Laing 67), Zohore. Subs not used: Etheridge, Halford, Pilkington, Richards, Tomlin.
Referee: Tim Robinson
Attendance: 13,801.