Albion will have to scrap for Championship survival until March without their inspirational skipper.

The broken right ankle suffered by Charlie Oatway took the shine off a bruising victory for the Seagulls against the club he has supported since childhood, when he lived next door to Loftus Road.

Oatway's influence in the camp was emphasised by the reaction of matchwinner Guy Butters.

"We are delighted with the result," Butters said. "Unfortunately it has been overshadowed by the injury to Charlie. It's devastating news for the club.

"He has been brilliant both on and off the pitch all season. He has led by example."

Manager Mark McGhee may now have to reconsider his priorities during the January transfer window.

Suddenly he is facing a crisis in the centre of the park.

Oatway's injury, sustained in only the second minute in a challenge by Marcus Bean, meant Richard Carpenter was pressed back into action much sooner and for much longer than ideal.

Carpenter had played for just 45 minutes in a friendly at Luton last week since rupturing a foot tendon at Crystal Palace in October.

Alexis Nicolas is out for up to three weeks with medial knee ligament damage and Dean Hammond, together with Paul Reid and Colin Kazim-Richards, is suspended for next Monday's South Coast derby at Southampton.

All three were cautioned in the first half by Premiership referee Rob Oatway's injury mars super win Styles. Albion fans fearing a conspiracy need to know that Styles, although from Hampshire, is in fact a Pompey fan!

That did not stop Rangers' heart-on-his-sleeve boss Ian Holloway criticising his performance.

"I felt Mr Styles got the first decision wrong. Marcus Bean should have at least been booked," Holloway admitted.

"It got quite nasty after that."

Had Bean seen yellow for his tackle on Oatway then Rangers would have played the second half with ten men, because Bean was eventually cautioned in first half stoppage time for a challenge on Carpenter.

It speaks volumes for Albion's character that they were able to put a double injury blow behind them in recording back-to-back wins for the first time since February.

Oatway's prompt departure came after Seb Carole, their creative force on the right wing, failed a fitness test before kickoff on a calf injury.

McGhee decided not to risk his French trickster, with three more matches looming in the space of six days, which led to a late reprieve for Leon Knight.

He was back in the starting line-up, instead of on the bench, following his exclusion from the squad for the pre-Christmas home win over Hull.

McGhee had no complaints about the attitude of Knight on this occasion. Albion's enigmatic leading marksman was replaced by Mark McCammon for the last half-hour not because of his contribution but the need for more height in response to Rangers introducing their Danish giant Marc Nygaard.

The Seagulls were absorbing pressure by that time after Butters rose above man-mountain Danny Shittu to head them into a seventh minute lead from Carpenter's free-kick, his second goal in four games.

They always do things the hard way, going close in both halves to making their advantage more comfortable.

Reid, the best player on view in the opening 45 minutes, worked a one-two with Knight before setting up Alex Frutos for a shot from 12 yards which was blocked on the line by a combination of rookie keeper Jake Cole, deputising for the banned Simon Royce in the Rangers goal, and his defenders.

Kazim-Richards went close twice after the break. He volleyed wide when well placed, then had a stinging effort parried by Cole. McCammon was also thwarted by Rangers' stand-in custodian when the tireless Hammond put him clean through in the closing stages.

If that all sounds exciting it was not. Rangers were awful.

Their abrasive approach deserved nothing and dragged Carole-less Albion into a messy, ugly match.

Fit-again Michel Kuipers, back between the posts for the Seagulls for the first time in 11 months, had little difficulty celebrating his comeback with a clean sheet.

The Dutchman made one outstanding stop early in the second half, diving to his right to keep out Richard Langley's 25-yard free-kick with the vigilant Butters guarding the post behind him.

Adam El-Abd deserved the shut-out too for an outstanding display out of position at leftback, while Paul McShane grew stronger as the game wore on in his first taste of action since late November.

McGhee said: "QPR clearly came to make it a physical game and to break down our play. We've been passing the ball well and they stopped that.

"The conditions were cold, the pitch a bit bobbly, so it wasn't conducive to good football.

It ended up a bit of a scrap."

It may not have been much of a game for a record Withdean crowd but Albion's fourth victory of the campiagn was vital in two respects.

They are now four points clear of the relegation zone after the teams below them all drew and only the same number adrift of plummeting Rangers in 14th, a tonic of sorts for the crestfallen Oatway.

  • Albion (4-4-2): Kuipers 8; Reid 7, McShane 7, Butters 8, El-Abd 9; Hart 7, Oatway 6, Hammond 7, Frutos 7; Kazim-Richards 7, Knight 6. Subs: Carpenter 7 for Oatway (injured 4), McCammon 6 for Knight (withdrawn 60), Mayo 6 for Frutos (withdrawn 60), Robinson, Sullivan.
  • QPR (4-4-2): Cole; Bignot, Evatt, Shittu, Dyer; Ainsworth, Rowlands, Bean, Langley; Furlong, Moore. Subs: Cook for Bean (withdrawn 60), Nygaard for Moore (withdrawn 60), Bircham for Ainsworth (withdrawn 75), Milanese, Rose.
  • Matchfacts
  • - Shots on goal: Albion 7, QPR 3.

- Shots off goal: Albion 3, QPR 5.

- Corners: Albion 4, QPR 7.

- Offside: Albion 8, QPR 1.

- Free-kicks: Albion 9, QPR 15.

  • Albion bookings: Hammond (16) foul, Kazim-Richards (34) unsporting behaviour, Reid (45) foul.
  • QPR bookings: Langley (6) foul, Bean (45) foul.
  • Albion scorer: Butters (7).
  • QPR scorers: none.