Rangers stole maximum points with a 1-0 victory over Blackpool in an ill-tempered encounter at Bloomfield Road.
The visitors brought an unattractive and physical style of football to the seaside and survived an onslaught in the second half to further boost their promotion hopes.
The return of former Pool favourite Danny Shittu and Clark Carlisle proved a heated affair as the duo performed magnificently.
Blackpool created a number of chances in the opening period with Richie Wells denied by Shittu as early as the third minute.
The game erupted on 13 minutes when the visitors Mark Bircham stumbled and refused to get off the ball; Wellens slid in and Bircham replied by striking his face. To the anger of the crowd referee Anthony Bates showed the yellow card to both players.
Bircham further endeared himself to the Blackpool fans by later refusing to retreat for a free-kick, kicking the ball away in an effort to waste time and left the pitch with a two fingered salute.
Martin Rowlands was given a yellow card for a nasty challenge before turning hero a moment later when he cleared John Murphy's header off the line.
He then sought a winner by reacting first to Paul Furlong's parried fierce shot.
Pool increased the pressure in the first half but were denied by a stunning display in the QPR goal by Chris Day. In the space of four minutes Day pulled off three fantastic saves and saw a fourth shot come off the bar.
Blackpool manager Steve McMahon was gutted by the end result and said: "I feel worse than we did when we lost at Portsmouth due to a last minute goal.
"I'm proud of my players and I think Bircham should have been off the pitch." QPR manager Ian Holloway added: "It was such a frantic second half. I expected them to come at us but not as fiercely as they did."