That allowed Palace to exert themselves on the contest once again, settling – save for a couple of nervy moments, and a handful of QPR corners – the tempo down.
Ismaïla Sarr – seeking his second goal of the competition this season, after being awarded his first by the referee post-match against Norwich – was a lively presence and forced Walsh into a flying save with a late effort from the edge of the box.
The clock was just ticking into five additional minutes when QPR’s big moment arrived – and, thankfully, left. Walsh’s long kick forwards beat the back line and substitute Alfie Lloyd took the bouncing ball in his stride, unleashing a dipping volley towards the bottom corner – just wide.
A hard-fought win, but an important one for Palace, who duly progressed into the Carabao Cup fourth round for the first time since 2018/19.
QPR: Walsh (GK), Ashby (Lloyd, 68), Cook, Field, Paal, Varane, Dixon-Bonner (Dembele, HT), Smyth (Andersen, 81), Madsen (Dunne, 81), Saito (Santos, 68), Celar
Subs: Nardi (GK), Morgan, Bennie, Frey.
Palace: Henderson (GK), Richards, Lacroix, Guéhi, Muñoz, Lerma, Kamada (Schlupp, 90+3), Mitchell, Eze, Mateta (Hughes, 74), Nketiah (Sarr, 65).
Subs: Turner (GK), Ward, Clyne, Wharton, Umeh, Agbinone.
As It Happened