Preston were denied at the death as a superb battling performance ultimately amounted to nothing as late sub Dexter Blackstock secured a second miserable finale at Loftus Road in as many seasons.

Twice pegging back their hosts with strikes from Chris Sedgwick and Callum Davidson, North End were excellent value for a point that never came as both sides went hammer and tongs at one another.

There were two changes to the side that turned out a week earlier, with a switch in midfield as the unwell Richard Chaplow saw his place taken by Barry Nicholson.

North End also lined up with two big men up front with Jon Parkin given his first start in six weeks due to Stephen Elliott's unavailability, with QPR doing likewise as Heidar Helguson partnered ex-North Ender Patrick Agyemang.

The rangy forward, who left Deepdale for London in January, should have put his side in front inside the opening 90 seconds, but Andy Lonergan performed heroics to deny him.

His block from Lee Cook's initial long-range snapshot couldn't have fallen any worse than straight at the feet of his onrushing former team-mate, but with Agyemang looking odds-on to convert the rebound, unmarked, from ten yards, Lonergan reacted expertly to smother at his near post and enthuse the 600 or so PNE supporters behind him in the School End Upper Tier.

The big target man approach did, however, appear to be the way to go, as the game's next clear goalscoring chance - after a decent spell of North End pressure - was converted by Helguson.

Lee Cook was the provider with the left flank, supplying the ideal ball for a tall striker as it landed at head height on the edge of the six yard box, and a firm, downward connection gave Lonergan no chance from point blank range.

It's fair to say that Preston found it difficult to play their usual expansive game against a tall, rangy side on a small playing surface, with the game physical rather than pretty.

Chances were at a premium but there was no let up in the entertainment value in a real blood and thunder battle.

Eddie Nolan continued to grow his fledgling reputation by standing up to the threat posed on him by the 'bigger boys', dealing manfully with the more robust elements of the game, and also producing the quality where needed.

It was his cross that got PNE back on an even keel, whipping the ball in from his right flank with his wrong foot after Ross Wallace had twisted and turned the defence inside out, laying the ball back for the Irishman as he lost his footing on an inconsistent surface.

Nolan's delivery was precise, Chris Sedgwick's header was even better, stooping low to get to the ball before his marker and place the ball perfectly inside the far post as he attacked it from the opposite wing.

The leveller was no more than Preston deserved, and having equalised two minutes earlier, they were nearly ahead on the half hour, but Youl Mawene's volley cleared the bar by an agonisingly small margin after Parkin had flicked on Barry Nicholson's corner.

On such margins do tight games turn, though, and a mere three minutes had elapsed since Youl's near miss than he was helping to pick the ball out of the North End net.

Patrick Agyemang couldn't quite profit from a left wing corner as his attempted header appeared to be missing the target, but he had inadvertantly re-routed the ball perfectly into the path of Helguson, who was lurking in the ideal place to stab the ball home, a mere three yards away from the line.

The ding-dong battle continued with Preston pummelling the home goal for a quick leveller, but having failed to turn pressure into goals, the last five minutes belonged to the hosts, and with Cook a constant thorn in Preston's side and Agyemang more than just a sidekick, it took some dogged defending from the likes of Davidson and St. Ledger to keep the half-time defecit to one, which in itself seemed harsh on the visitors.

Fortune was required if North End were to get back into the game as they deserved, and once Lonergan had denied Agyemang's stunning volley within the first few minutes of the half, it started to go North End's way.

A number of Alan Wiley's refereeing decisons riled the home fans either side of some well worked chances that neither Nolan nor Davidson could convert as they charged forward from full back, but the fluent football inspired largely by the wing play of Sedgwick and Wallace, allied with some strong forward play from Parkin, eventually got its reward.

Jon Parkin, putting in a tireless shift, worked wonders to win the ball back on the edge of the box as a PNE set piece was half cleared, and having slipped a neat ball through to St. Ledger, the defender was stopped in his tracks by keeper Radek Cerny as he dived at his feet.

Though Cerny got a good connection on the ball, St. Ledger was sent flying by the force of the challenge, and Wiley deemed that to be the telling factor in Cerny claiming possession, thereby awarding a penalty to the away side in front of their own supporters.

They were sent into delerium as Callum Davidson crashed the ball hard and low into the netting, and it set up a grandstand finish with the home crowd now throughly frustrated by a combination of the referee and what they saw as the inability of their own team to play the right balls at the right time.

Breathless football at both ends had the heart-stopping on numerous occasions, with QPR firing a warning shot as Hogan Ephraim's 25-yard sizzler only inches away from finding the top corner.

Paulo Sousa's tactical masterstroke ultimately proved decisive, sending on Dexter Blackstock as part of a double change to break North End's hearts.

He had already played a number of telling balls into the box and gone over under Mawene's challenge which was rightfully brushed aside by the referee when he came to condemn North End to defeat.

Martin Rowlands whipped a neat free kick in from the left flank with just four minutes to play, and Blackstock lept higher than anyone else to meet the ball powerfully with his head, and the previously rattled home fans were suddenly in delerium.

It was unfair on a Preston side that had given it their all, but were left with nothing to show for it as Rangers played the game out to a professional finish, winding down time and eventually giving the beating hearts some time to regain a normal beat.

PNE: Lonergan, Nolan, Mawene, St. Ledger, Davidson, Sedgwick (sub Whaley 90), Nicholson, McKenna (capt), Wallace, Brown, Parkin. Subs not used: C Neal, Hawley, Carter, Jones.

QPR: Cerny, Delaney (sub Blackstock 80), Stewart, Mahon (sub Leigertwood 62), Agyemang, Gorkss, Rowlands, Ramage (sub Hall 80), Cook, Ephraim, Helguson. Subs not used: Ledesma, Di Carmine.

Referee: Mr A Wiley

Attendance: 14,103