QPR and Burnley face a replay later this month after an uninspiring goalless draw in their FA Cup third round tie at Loftus Road.

Rangers remain without a win in the competition since beating Luton 2-1 in a replay at this stage in 2001 while Burnley were unable to continue their knack for beating London clubs in cup competitions this season.

There were shocks elsewhere, but this third round tie was just a shocker.

Burnley could have claimed to have had their minds on Tuesday's Carling Cup semi-final first leg against Tottenham, but Rangers' excuse was more challenging to substantiate.

Battling the crowds at the nearby Westfield shopping centre would have been more appealing than sitting in the cold at a sparsely-populated Loftus Road - perhaps those not in attendance knew something the rest of the 8,896 crowd did not.

Spurs manager Harry Redknapp, on a scouting mission ahead of next week's semi-final, must have wondered how Premier League rivals Fulham, Chelsea and Arsenal succumbed to the Clarets this season.

Owen Coyle's side were hit by injuries and suspensions and could not even fill the substitutes bench.

Christian Kalvenes made his first appearance since the end of October while Joey Gudjonsson and Steven Thompson were also recalled.

Rangers' three new signings Wayne Routledge, Gary Borrowdale and Heidar Helguson were left out.

Boss Paulo Sousa, who used 18 players for the two drawn games against Charlton and Watford over Christmas, continued to rotate his squad as Kaspars Gorkss, Mikele Leigertwood, Samuel Di Carmine and top scorer Dexter Blackstock returned to the starting line-up.

There were patches of the neat football you would expect from two sides vying for play-off places in the Coca-Cola Championship, but neither team looked threatening in the opposition's final third.

Rangers created the clearer chances. Di Carmine forced Burnley keeper Brian Jensen to block at his near post after he broke the offside trap to latch on to Damion Stewart's throughball in the 20th minute.

Leigertwood mishit a far-post volley just before the half hour mark. The midfielder's shot went out for a throw when he really should have scored.

In between, Wade Elliott struck the crossbar with a thunderous volley from the edge of the area after the home side failed to clear a corner. A flag from the referee's assistant averted the danger for Rangers as the ball rebounded loose.

Chances were equally hard to come by in the second half. Gorkss looped a shot on to the roof of the net from 20 yards after 52 minutes.

Chris Eagles fluffed his lines for Burnley a quarter of an hour later when he ran the ball out of play as he tried to round Radek Cerny when one-on-one with the Rangers keeper.

Teams

QPR: Cerny, Delaney, Gorkss, Ramage, Stewart, Rowlands, Leigertwood, Cook (Ledesma 46), Mahon (Ephraim 61), Di Carmine (Agyemang 72), Blackstock.

Subs Not Used: Cole, Connolly, Alberti, Oastler.

Burnley: Jensen, Alexander, Duff, Carlisle, Kalvenes, Eagles, Gudjonsson, Elliott, Blake (Mahon 72), Paterson, Thompson (Rodriguez 86).

Subs Not Used: Penny, Akinbiyi, Kay, MacDonald.

Att: 8,896

Ref: Tony Bates (Staffordshire).