Peterborough made it to the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time since 1986 with a 2-0 win over high-flying Championship opponents QPR at a breezy Weston Homes Stadium.
Goals from Joe Ward and substitute Ricky-Jady Jones sealed their passage into the last-16 in front of a raucous home crowd.
Ward opened the scoring in the 25th minute with what was effectively Posh’s first chance of the game when he calmly slotted home after Jeando Fuchs’ shot was blocked into his path.
Jones made it two after 72 minutes, latching on to a pass down the right-hand side before rifling past goalkeeper David Marshall.
QPR dominated possession early on and came closest to opening the scoring on 15 minutes when Ilias Chair unleashed a piledriver from 25 yards that was tipped acrobatically wide by Steven Benda.
Charlie Austin had a half-chance for the away side on 23 minutes when he met Chair’s corner on the volley but blazed over from 15 yards.
However, Posh scored against the run of play just a minute later when Ward found himself with space to score past Marshall.
QPR hit back on 26 minutes when they broke at pace and Lee Wallace’s cross found Moses Odubajo at the back post, who saw his fierce strike palmed over by Benda.
Mark Warburton’s men were finishing the half strongly and had a fantastic chance to equalise after 38 minutes when Chair’s deep free-kick was headed back by Dion Sanderson and Lyndon Dykes poked wide from eight yards.
There was drama at the start of the second half as QPR could have made it 1-1 after 20 seconds but Benda made a good save from Albert Adomah’s volley.
The visitors were piling on the pressure early in the second half, with the Posh rearguard working overtime to secure their fragile lead.
Chair almost gave QPR the equaliser they craved on 59 minutes when his free-kick from 20 yards smashed against the crossbar.
Out of the blue, Posh made it 2-0 on 71 minutes when substitute Jones slammed an emphatic finish past Marshall.
That goal knocked the stuffing out of QPR, who looked out of ideas for the last 15 minutes as Peterborough held on for victory.
