Queens Park Rangers vs Cardiff City. Sky Bet Championship.
Loftus Road StadiumAttendance13,801.
Monday 1 January 2018 18:54, UK
Paul Smyth scored the winner on his QPR debut as Cardiff suffered a fourth consecutive defeat, going down 2-1 at Loftus Road.
Joe Ralls put Cardiff ahead with a penalty nine minutes into the second half after Jake Bidwell was adjudged to have pushed Callum Patterson.
But Matt Smith equalised on 62 minutes when he rose to head in Jack Robinson's long throw-in and Northern Ireland U21 international Smyth struck with 18 minutes remaining.
The 20-year-old forward, a summer signing from Linfield, skipped past defender Bruno Ecuele Manga on the left and fired home with the help of a slight deflection off Sol Bamba as the Cardiff captain slid in to try to block the shot.
There was controversy late on with former QPR man Junior Hoilett having a goal disallowed. Hoilett found the net after exchanging passes with Kenneth Zohore but was ruled offside.
Cardiff protested, seemingly arguing that a Rangers player had touched the ball before it ran to Hoilett, but referee Tim Robinson stood by the decision following a lengthy consultation with his assistant.
It meant an unhappy return to west London for Cardiff manager Neil Warnock, whose hopes of a record-breaking eighth promotion have been severely dented by his team's recent wobble.
His seventh was during an eventful two-year spell at QPR, who now find themselves trying to avoid a slide into League One - this was only their second win in 11 matches.
Rangers hit the woodwork twice before Smith hauled them level.
Four minutes before half-time, Smith headed against the post from Luke Freeman's free-kick and Freeman went close a couple of minutes before the equaliser when his shot struck the bar after taking a deflection off Bamba.
Smyth missed a decent chance seven minutes before the interval, scooping the ball over the bar when Alex Baptiste teed him up after exchanging passes with Massimo Luongo.
Otherwise, the youngster was outstanding, setting up chances for Smith and Luongo before scoring. He was cheered off the pitch by the home fans as he was substituted after picking up a knock soon after his goal.
Cardiff would have rescued a point but for an injury-time save by keeper Alex Smithies, who prevented a Smith own goal by clawing away the striker's mis-placed header.
Cardiff keeper Brian Murphy also produced a late save, denying substitute Aramide Oteh at point-blank range in the final seconds.
Ian Holloway: "(Smyth's selection) was probably one of the biggest risks I've ever taken. But if you keep doing what you're doing and people are missing (chances) then someone else deserves a chance to have a go. It could have gone horribly wrong, but it didn't. He was a breath of fresh air.
"Sometimes you need that bit of freshness. We are reshaping the tree of QPR."
Neil Warnock: "We're bound to be deflated. Clearly it's (Josh) Scowen who played the ball, so it can't be offside (for Junior Hoilett's disallowed goal).
"It's hard enough to score goals without officials chalking them off. That's three or four games where we've had crucial decisions go against us. It's scandalous at the moment. I've never known it as poor, the officials."
