Queens Park Rangers vs Huddersfield Town. Sky Bet Championship.
Loftus Road Stadium.
Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between QPR and Huddersfield at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium as Juninho Bacuna's second-half strike was enough for the Terriers to secure victory.
Saturday 13 March 2021 22:49, UK
Juninho Bacuna's goal gave Huddersfield a 1-0 victory at QPR in the Sky Bet Championship.
Bacuna struck 10 minutes into the second half at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium to clinch only a second win in 15 matches for the Terriers - and their first away win since October.
Pipa sent the ball in low from left and Bacuna fired a powerful first-time shot past keeper Seny Dieng, who barely moved, from near the edge of the penalty area.
Huddersfield were the better side for much of the game, with Isaac Mbenza shooting narrowly wide early on and Lewis O'Brien seeing a similar effort pushed away by Dieng.
Richard Keogh also went close for the visitors when he headed wide from a corner, while Bacuna shot over as QPR struggled to find any rhythm.
But the best chance of the first half fell to Rangers and was created by Ilias Chair, who found space on the right-hand side of the penalty area and teed up Todd Kane - only for him to shoot straight at goalkeeper Ryan Schofield from seven yards out.
Schofield stood his ground well and then reacted quickly to claw the ball away and prevent Kane following up - but it was a gilt-edged opportunity missed.
It proved to be a costly miss for Mark Warburton's side, who failed to create another clear-cut chance in an extremely disappointing display.
Bacuna, on the other hand, made no mistake after being set up by Pipa, who created another chance for him soon afterwards but on that occasion the Curaçao international dragged a shot well wide.
Bacuna went much closer with a free-kick he steered just wide, and Duane Holmes' long-range effort brought an awkward save from Dieng as Huddersfield threatened a second goal.
Eight wins from their previous 12 matches had lifted QPR into the top half of the table and seemingly left them with an outside chance of making the play-offs.
However, they were well below par against a side who caused them problems from the start and never let them settle.
Warburton sent on winger Albert Adomah and striker Lyndon Dykes, switching to two up front for the final 15 minutes in an attempt to breathe some life into his team.
But it had no effect whatsoever and Rangers still failed to muster a single decent chance despite having plenty of possession, with Town seeing the game out fairly comfortably.
QPR's Mark Warburton: "If you score in that spell before half-time they have then got to come out after half-time and attack you - and that's when we can hurt teams. That's why that goal is so important. We've got to be better in front of their goal. Score and take that chance and it changes the dynamic of the game. We didn't do that.
"You can have as much possession as you like but you need to get your rewards - and we didn't. We missed a big chance but that's just one moment of the game. We've got to be better and create chances. If you don't do that you pay the price - and unfortunately we've paid the price."
Huddersfield's Carlos Corberan: "It was a very important win for us. It is a big day for the players. They have been suffering and this win was a big one for the players in the dressing room and their confidence.
"We had some opportunities and then QPR started to control the game and we were losing the middle of the pitch. We had to work hard and when you watch players work very hard like that you see it means that they put all their spirit into it. We want this competitive spirit and I think it is going to be key for us between now and the end of the year."
