Julien Stephan reckons that Rovers' goal on the verge of half time had a big mental impact on his QPR side.
Koki Saito cancelled out Mathias Jorgensen’s opener but the January signing restored the lead minutes later.
The hosts didn’t recover and Ryoya Morishita added a third early in the second half as Rovers secured an important result on the road.
“Disappointing result, very disappointing performance in the second half. I think we started well the first half,” Stephan told BBC Radio London.
“We had a couple of opportunities during the first 20 or 25 minutes and we could have scored the first goal.
“Instead of that, they scored two times from the first two shots, I think, and it was too easy for them to score today. It is not usual for us.
“We found the solution after we conceded the first goal to equalise. But to concede the second one immediately, too quickly, at the beginning of the second half we dropped mentally and needed a long time to restart.
“It was too long. We didn’t succeed to create a momentum expect perhaps the last five or 10 minutes after set pieces, we had one or two very good opportunities to score.
“A disappointing performance in the second half and a big difference, I think, between the first and second.”
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New Rovers boss Michael O’Neill was in the dugout at Loftus Road, but Stephan denied that the ‘new manager bounce’ had a big impact on the game.
“Even though it is a new manager, the first 20 or 25 minutes we were completely dominant,” he insisted.
“So it is not a question of new manager or not, it is a question of how you use your momentum and how you are able in this moment to score and take the lead.
“You know when it is not the case, they scored the first one, mentally for them it is a big thing. We equalised but immediately conceded the second one.
“They didn’t have a lot of moments in real doubt and they scored immediately at the beginning of the season half. For their confidence, for them it was probably fantastic.
“For me, it is not a question of new manager or something like that. It is a question of how we use the momentum and how we are able to be more efficient on the pitch.”
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