QPR 0 PNE 2
Goals from strike partners Jermaine Beckford and Callum Robinson gave the Lilywhites their first league win of the season with an impressive team performance at Loftus Road.
Beckford opened the scoring mid-way through the first half, poking home Paul Gallagher’s driven shot and then Robinson fired home from Beckford’s low back across the six yard box before the hour mark.
It could have been even more had it not been for the form of Alex Smithies in the R’s goal as North End put on a superb away display to earn the win.
Manager Simon Grayson made four changes with Tommy Spurr coming in for his debut on the left hand side of a five and John Welsh and Chris Humphrey both making their first starts of the season.
The Lilywhites started the game with pace and an intensity about their game and could have gone ahead in the early stages.
The match was only six minutes old as Beckford and Callum Robinson forced their way through the heart of the R’s defence; the latter seeing his shot from 15 yards blocked for the first corner of the game by Steven Caulker.
And they took a deserved lead on 21 minutes. A long throw from Tommy Spurr came back to him on the left touch line and he delivered to the edge of the six yard box. A weak punch from Alex Smithies only found Paul Gallagher in the round hand corner of the penalty area and he drove a goal into a crowd of players, Jermaine Beckford grabbing the decisive touch to direct the ball into the bottom right hand corner of the goal.
The pace of Beckford and strike partner Robinson was a constant probing threat, often pushing the line and only the offside flag costing them many more chances on goal.
One long clearance from Anders Lindegaard, was brought down by Robinson and laid off for Gallagher. The No.12 put his foot through the ball on the edge of the box, but it was fired just over the bar with Smithies scrambling.
And the front two combined for Robinson to make it 2-0 on 52 minutes. Some excellent scrapping in midfield saw Daniel Johnson dispossess a QPR defender and send Beckford down the right hand side. The striker raced away at pace before delivering a perfect low ball across to the edge of the six yard box where his up front partner slid in, in front of Nedum Onuoha for his second goal in as many games.
It was almost three just two minutes later, with confidence oozing through the yellows Daniel Johnson latched on to a slack ball out from the back, raced in from a right hand channel before curling a left-footed effort that had Smithies beaten, but curled just an inch wide of the left hand upright.
It was all North End and Paul Gallagher brought out a brilliant save from Smithies to make up for his own mistake. The former Huddersfield keeper miss kicked under pressure from Callum Robinson and the ball found its way to the No.12 who hooked it back from 40 yards out forcing the stopper to back pedal and eventually just get finger tips to the effort to push it over the cross bar.
On 65 minutes North End looked like they should have been awarded a penalty as Tommy Spurr was cut down in the left hand edge of the box as he pulled back the ball for Robinson. The front man shot just wide of the right hand post, but everyone stopped expecting Andy Madley to pull it back for a penalty, only for a goal kick to be the award.
Anders Lindegaard was needed as the game entered the last ten minutes, to deny substitute Connor Washington from 20 yards, but it would have been an extremely controversial goal as it came from a free kick given for offside that was taken five yards inside the wrong half of the pitch by the home side, but it remained 2-0 as the Lilywhites picked up their first win of the season.
QPR line-up: Smithies, Bidwell, Onuoha, Cousins, Chery, Polter, Henry (Washington, 55), Luongo, Caulker, Ngbakoto (El Khayati, 68), Perch. Subs not used: Ingram, Shodipo, Kaky, Grego-Cox, Paul.
PNE line-up: Lindegaard; Clarke (c), Wright, Cunningham; Humphrey (Huntington, 87), Welsh, Gallagher (Browne, 74), Johnson, Spurr; Beckford (Hugill, 73), Robinson. Subs not used: Maxwell, Makienok, Doyle, Pringle.
Attendance: 13,307 (835 PNE fans)
Referee: Mr A Madley
Beckford opened the scoring mid-way through the first half, poking home Paul Gallagher’s driven shot and then Robinson fired home from Beckford’s low back across the six yard box before the hour mark.
It could have been even more had it not been for the form of Alex Smithies in the R’s goal as North End put on a superb away display to earn the win.
Manager Simon Grayson made four changes with Tommy Spurr coming in for his debut on the left hand side of a five and John Welsh and Chris Humphrey both making their first starts of the season.
The Lilywhites started the game with pace and an intensity about their game and could have gone ahead in the early stages.
The match was only six minutes old as Beckford and Callum Robinson forced their way through the heart of the R’s defence; the latter seeing his shot from 15 yards blocked for the first corner of the game by Steven Caulker.
And they took a deserved lead on 21 minutes. A long throw from Tommy Spurr came back to him on the left touch line and he delivered to the edge of the six yard box. A weak punch from Alex Smithies only found Paul Gallagher in the round hand corner of the penalty area and he drove a goal into a crowd of players, Jermaine Beckford grabbing the decisive touch to direct the ball into the bottom right hand corner of the goal.
The pace of Beckford and strike partner Robinson was a constant probing threat, often pushing the line and only the offside flag costing them many more chances on goal.
One long clearance from Anders Lindegaard, was brought down by Robinson and laid off for Gallagher. The No.12 put his foot through the ball on the edge of the box, but it was fired just over the bar with Smithies scrambling.
And the front two combined for Robinson to make it 2-0 on 52 minutes. Some excellent scrapping in midfield saw Daniel Johnson dispossess a QPR defender and send Beckford down the right hand side. The striker raced away at pace before delivering a perfect low ball across to the edge of the six yard box where his up front partner slid in, in front of Nedum Onuoha for his second goal in as many games.
It was almost three just two minutes later, with confidence oozing through the yellows Daniel Johnson latched on to a slack ball out from the back, raced in from a right hand channel before curling a left-footed effort that had Smithies beaten, but curled just an inch wide of the left hand upright.
It was all North End and Paul Gallagher brought out a brilliant save from Smithies to make up for his own mistake. The former Huddersfield keeper miss kicked under pressure from Callum Robinson and the ball found its way to the No.12 who hooked it back from 40 yards out forcing the stopper to back pedal and eventually just get finger tips to the effort to push it over the cross bar.
On 65 minutes North End looked like they should have been awarded a penalty as Tommy Spurr was cut down in the left hand edge of the box as he pulled back the ball for Robinson. The front man shot just wide of the right hand post, but everyone stopped expecting Andy Madley to pull it back for a penalty, only for a goal kick to be the award.
Anders Lindegaard was needed as the game entered the last ten minutes, to deny substitute Connor Washington from 20 yards, but it would have been an extremely controversial goal as it came from a free kick given for offside that was taken five yards inside the wrong half of the pitch by the home side, but it remained 2-0 as the Lilywhites picked up their first win of the season.
QPR line-up: Smithies, Bidwell, Onuoha, Cousins, Chery, Polter, Henry (Washington, 55), Luongo, Caulker, Ngbakoto (El Khayati, 68), Perch. Subs not used: Ingram, Shodipo, Kaky, Grego-Cox, Paul.
PNE line-up: Lindegaard; Clarke (c), Wright, Cunningham; Humphrey (Huntington, 87), Welsh, Gallagher (Browne, 74), Johnson, Spurr; Beckford (Hugill, 73), Robinson. Subs not used: Maxwell, Makienok, Doyle, Pringle.
Attendance: 13,307 (835 PNE fans)
Referee: Mr A Madley