Twice-European Cup winners Nottingham Forest will play in League One next season after slipping to an abject defeat at QPR.

Gary Megson's side - who had Darryl Powell sent off for a second booking after half an hour - were sunk by goals either side of half-time, the first an own-goal from John Curtis and the second from Marc Bircham.

Substitute Eugen Bopp pulled one back with a crisp finish 13 minutes from time, but Forest's tepid display until then was thoroughly depressing for their fans.

Needing a win to have a realistic chance of avoiding the drop, Forest's hopes were effectively ended when Powell was dismissed following a clash with Martin Rowlands.

But Megson and the fans will demand why their side were apparently unable to muster the energy and desire required to keep their hopes alive.

Forest were on the back foot from the start, and Wes Morgan did well to clear early on as Paul Furlong ran onto a pass from Kevin Gallen after seven minutes.

Five minutes later, Lee Cook flashed a 25-yard effort narrowly wide of the right post after good work by the recalled Tony Thorpe and Furlong.

And the task became even harder for Gary Megson's side when Powell was sent off after 31 minutes.

The former Derby midfielder had already been booked for a foul on Furlong and was shown a second yellow card by referee Kevin Wright for raising his arm in an aerial challenge with Rowlands that left the Rangers winger on the floor.

A minute before the break, Cook sent over a free-kick from the left and Curtis could only head it past goalkeeper Paul Gerrard.

Forest fans expected their side to start the second half full of vigour, but once more it was Rangers who looked the brighter.

And after Morgan had made a superb goal-line block to deny Rowlands after Gerrard had failed to hold Gallen's 20-yard effort, Marc Bircham struck the goal that sent Forest down.

Played into space inside the area by Rowlands' clever pass in the 51st minute, the tenacious midfielder curled a fine effort from left to right into Gerrard's top-left corner for his first goal of the season.

Forest dared to hope in the 77th minute when Bopp, unmarked inside the area, hammered Curtis' low left-wing cross into the roof of the net.

But it came to nothing. Kris Commons' curling free-kick from the left eluded his team-mates and Gareth Taylor later headed over as Forest dropped into English football's third tier.

Teams

QPR Rossi, Bignot, Shittu, Santos, Padula, Rowlands, Gallen, Bircham (Bean 90), Cook, Thorpe, Furlong.

Subs Not Used: Day, Edghill, Cureton, Miller.

Booked: Gallen, Rossi.

Goals: Curtis 45 og, Bircham 51.

Nottm Forest Gerrard, Curtis, Morgan, Taylor, Melville, Robertson (Louis-Jean 67), Gardner, Evans (Bopp 62), Powell, Commons, Dobie (Harris 56).

Subs Not Used: Doyle, Hjelde.

Sent Off: Powell (32).

Booked: Powell.

Goals: Bopp 77.

Att: 17,834

Ref: K Wright (Cambridgeshire).