Skip to content
Full Time After Extra Time This is a live match. Extra Time Half Time

Queens Park Rangers vs Preston North End. Sky Bet Championship.

Loftus Road StadiumAttendance15,323.

Queens Park Rangers 2

  • R Kolli (50th minute)
  • J Dunne (89th minute)

Preston North End 1

  • M Osmajic (21st minute)
  • L Lindsay (sent off 83rd minute)

QPR 2-1 Preston: Rangers hit back to beat 10-player Lilywhites.

Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Queens Park Rangers and Preston North End at Loftus Road on Saturday; Rayan Kolli and Jimmy Dunne seal comeback win over 10-player Lilywhites.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Highlights of the Sky Bet Championship match between Queens Park Rangers and Preston North End.

Jimmy Dunne scored an 89th-minute winner as QPR came from behind to beat Preston 2-1 and extend their unbeaten run in the Championship to seven matches.

Milutin Osmajic took advantage of Steve Cook tumbling to the ground injured and put the visitors ahead after 21 minutes.

But Rangers overcame that setback and Rayan Kolli's third goal in his past four appearances hauled them level.

Preston, themselves unbeaten in their previous six games, were reduced to 10 men with seven minutes left when Liam Lindsay picked up a second yellow card for a challenge on Kieran Morgan.

And the hosts took advantage, with defender Dunne heading in Ilias Chair's cross at the far post.

QPR started well and Kenneth Paal had a great chance to put them ahead but fired against the crossbar after Paul Smyth's pull-back, while Dunne went close with a header.

But Rangers soon found themselves a goal down, with their captain taken off with a worrying-looking injury.

Also See:

Experienced defender Cook looked set to clear the danger when he went down in agony, which enabled Osmajic to run through and slot home from the edge of the penalty area.

That enraged the home fans who felt Osmajic showed a lack of sportsmanship or that the game should have been stopped.

And there was concern for Cook, who was helped from the pitch after refusing to get on a stretcher.

Rangers would have equalised almost immediately had keeper Freddie Woodman not managed to push away Kolli's header, and they went close again when Dunne headed wide from Paal's cross.

They did draw level five minutes into the second half. Smyth exchanged passes with Dunne on the right and pulled the ball back for 19-year-old forward Kolli, who shot through Woodman's legs.

Sam Field had a chance to put QPR ahead but fired wide after being found by Morgan's cross.

Shortly after Lindsay's dismissal, Rangers hit the woodwork for the second time, with Smyth's strike thumping against the crossbar.

They were then denied by a double save from Woodman, who kept out Chair's shot and Smyth's attempt to force in the rebound.

But Woodman was unable to prevent Dunne getting the goal his wholehearted performance deserved.

Rangers, bottom of the Championship a few weeks ago, held on in stoppage time to record a third consecutive home win.

But the injury to Cook will be a major concern for a side who have had a number of fitness problems to contend with this season.

The managers

QPR's Marti Cifuentes:

"For me it was our best performance of the season. Starting the game so well - something that we had spoken about, because the last two first halves were not great - and then conceding a goal and losing our captain, that is something that can be mentally hard.

"The response, which was such a good performance, says a lot about the mentality of the group.

"I saw a lot of players performing at a high level, everybody contributed, and that's important.

"And we need more of that. The Christmas schedule is crazy and we need to be ready."

Preston's Paul Heckingbottom:

"The best way to sum it up is that we would have been celebrating a draw. QPR were the better team - helped by the officials all game, but they were the better team.

"It would have been a big point for us, but they deserved the win. QPR were very good and competed against us very well. But the referee helped them out massively. We didn't get any decisions.

"It's not a sending-off. It's totally killed us because we've got all our attacking players on the pitch. We've then got some players out of position and that was a big, big problem for us.

"Morgan has come inside and unless Liam turns invisible, he can't get out of the way. There's nothing he could do.

"Just before the sending-off there was a foul on Ali McCann (by QPR striker Michael Frey) that was far worse. Frey's actually picking him up, apologising, and we don't even get a free-kick.

"We were competing to try to get something out of the game and the sending-off really hurt us."

Win £250,000 with Super 6!
Win £250,000 with Super 6!

The £250,000 is up for grabs with Super 6, and as always it is completely free to play. Entries by 3pm Saturday.