Two dreadful errors by goalkeeper Nicky Weaver condemned Manchester City to a shattering defeat as they wasted one of their priceless games in hand over the rest of the Division One promotion pack.

It was City's fourth home league defeat of the season and could not have come at a worse time as they looked to take full advantage of surprised dropped points by several of their closest rivals.

But they fell into the same trap after Weaver, who received the Nationwide League award for their goalkeeper of the month before the game, gifted the Londoners two first-half goals.

Weaver's horror moments came at the end of a first half in which City had laid siege to the Londoner's goal but failed to turn their dominance into goals.

They paid for that when Weaver dropped the ball twice to gift Rangers a comfortable lead.

Weaver spilled a swirling Richard Langley free-kick after 37 minutes at the feat of Chris Kiwomya, who punished the error by belting the ball home from two yards.

Complaints that Mikkel Beck had dived to win that free-kick were swept aside when Weaver produced an even worse clanger on the stroke of half-time.

It initially looked as though Stuart Wardley snapped up another spilled save by Weaver following Ian Baraclough's long-range effort.

But replays showed it was in fact defender Gerard Wiekens who had got the last touch in the confusion.

Before Weaver's errors threw a damper on City's evening they had run Rangers ragged.

Mark Kennedy and Danny Tiatto had surged forward and the visitors' goal led a charmed life.

Danny Granville saw a shot hacked away and Wiekens crashed a Kennedy cross against the bar.

Shaun Goater saw a diving header blocked on the line by Karl Ready, with the Welsh international then somehow getting his body in the way of a Jamie Pollock effort six yards out.

But all the confidence produced by this barrage went up in smoke when Weaver made his schoolboy errors.

Desperate City played with five forwards after the break and Rangers strung a massed defence in front of them.

Kennedy saw a 30-yarder tipped over and a Richard Jobson header bounced inches wide.

Substitutes Ian Bishop, Kevin Horlock and Paul Dickov were on by now as City threw everything forward.

But when Lee Harper spilled a Dickov drive and Goater fired the rebound over an open goal, City's fate seemed assured.

It was after 74 minutes City were caught out at the back by a lightening Kiwomya break, and when he was brought down in the box by a combination of Wiekens and Bishop, Beck drove home QPR's third from the penalty spot.

City pulled one back after 84 minutes with a blistering 25-yard drive from Jeff Whitley.

But by then it was little more than a token show of defiance, although City fought right to the end with Jobson and Goater having efforts cleared off the line.

Ready and Darren Ward did exceptionally well under a non-stop second-half barrage for Rangers, with Baraclough and Chris Plummer not far behind.

Teams

Man City: Weaver, Edghill, Wiekens, Jobson, Granville (Bishop 46), Tiatto (Horlock 69), J. Whitley, Pollock (Dickov 60), Kennedy, Peacock, Goater.

Subs Not Used: Wright-Phillips, Wright.

Goals: J. Whitley 84.

QPR: Harper, Darlington, Plummer, Ready, Ward, Baraclough (Rose 62), Murray, Peacock (Wardley 27), Langley, Kiwomya, Beck.

Subs Not Used: Miklosko, Rowland, Slade.

Booked: Ready, Baraclough.

Goals: Kiwomya 37, Wiekens 45 og, Beck 73 pen.

Att: 31,353

Ref: G Laws (Whitley Bay).