George Earthy’s third goal of the season secured a 1-1 draw for Bristol City against QPR at Loftus RoadQPR and Marti Cifuentes have drawn against Bristol City twice this season(Image: EFL)

QPR boss Marti Cifuentes has offered his verdict on Bristol City’s play-off chances, insisting the Robins “100 per cent” have what it takes to finish in the top six of the Championship following their draw at Loftus Road.

Liam Manning’s side came from behind to draw 1-1 with the Hoops in West London on Saturday afternoon, with George Earthy’s third goal of the season cancelling out Karamoko Dembele’s first-half opener. The 22-year-old gave Rangers the lead after 21 minutes when he ghosted between Zak Vyner and Yu Hirakawa before nodding Nicolas Madsen’s cross past Max O’Leary.

After an uncharacteristically slow start, the Reds hit back just nine minutes later when Max Bird and Earthy combined to find the leveller. The former flicked a perfectly weighted pass behind the Hoops’ defence for the West Ham United loanee to chase and he calmly rolled a right-footed effort beyond Paul Nardi and into the bottom right corner.

READ MORE: Bristol City face huge Easter as top six spot in Reds’ hands after potentially crucial QPR drawREAD MORE: Bristol City verdict: Earthy stars again, nervy wait for Sykes but test passed with QPR draw

That goal appeared to breathe new life into City but they were unable to carve out an all-important winner, with both Nahki Wells and Anis Mehmeti spurning good scoring opportunities in the second-half. The point gained at Loftus Road sees the Reds remain fifth in the Championship, four points clear of seventh-placed West Brom and while his side have taken points off of the Robins twice this term, Cifuentes believes Manning’s team are more than capable of booking their place in the play-off places.

“100 per cent, 100 per cent,” the Hoops boss told Bristol Live when asked if City had what it takes to finish in the top six. “I think they’ve got a good manager. They’re a very well-organised team with a clear identity. I think they’ve got good players, good players as well today from the bench as well. A good squad so the trend is there.

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“I always value a lot the teams that tend to finish in a strong way and I think they are in a fantastic moment in the right moment of the season. I cannot predict the future because Boro are there, there are other clubs as well, Coventry are in very good form, but yeah, I think they have the quality to be there.”

With four games remaining of the regular Championship season, QPR sit 15th in the table, eight points and seven places clear of Cardiff City and the relegation zone. Although the Hoops have never been in serious danger of dropping into League One, a run of seven games without a win prior to last Wednesday’s victory over Oxford United had increased concerns ever so slightly in and around Loftus Road.

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Throughout the campaign, Cifuentes has pointed to the 50-point mark as the threshold to guarantee the R’s place in the second tier. With that goal met following Saturday’s draw, the 42-year-old is beginning to look up the table, rather than over his shoulder.

“I definitely hope so,” Cifuentes replied when asked if 50 points would be enough for safety. “I’ve been talking about this 50 points as the first target. It looks good, the distance after Stoke score should be eight points, plus the goal difference and it’s kind of nine but that’s all I’m going to say about this.

“We have four games left, we need to keep pushing and you know that I tend to look more up so we are three points behind the next team in the table. That’s where my aim is, but big credit to the guys for the shift that they made, especially in a difficult week for us.”

READ MORE: Liam Manning points to ‘big positive’ as Bristol City keep top six spot after slow start vs QPRREAD MORE: Liam Manning sheds early light on Mark Sykes injury as Bristol City draw with QPR at Loftus Road