QPR 0 Leeds 1
leedsunited.com
Pre-Match
United boss Kevin Blackwell has made just one change to the side that lost with Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.
Rob Hulse returns in place of Richard Cresswell, with the striker having recovered from a bug that swept through the training camp earlier in the week.
The MatchThere was a moment of concern early on for Leeds when Neil Sullivan hammered a clearance against Rangers striker Paul Furlong, but fortunately the United keeper got the lucky break and was able to clear the ball.
Leeds were presented with a gilt-edged chance after just seven minutes, and really should have been ahead.
Healy played a defence splitting ball up to Lewis making the run on left and the winger delivered a great ball across the face of goal between the keeper and his defence. Rob Hulse missed it but Jonathan Douglas looked set to tap it home but only managed to hammer it over from four yards out.
If Leeds should have been ahead in the first ten minutes, then QPR should have fashioned what would have been a good equaliser quarter of an hour into the game.
On the break the ball came in to Dean Sturridge 12-yards out and his header found Furlong in acres of space inside the penalty area, but the striker hammered his shot into the ground and Sullivan made a comfortable save.
Sean Gregan became the first man to go in referee Peter Walton's notebook when he brought down Sturridge as the former Derby County man looked to get away from him.
Healy and Douglas worked hard to try and create an opening for each other midway through the half but it finished with Douglas hitting an ambitious 25-yard shot well over the top of the Rangers goal.
The QPR fans were screaming for a penalty when Dean Sturridge got sandwiched between Sean Gregan and Stephen Crainey and went down inside the area, but the referee was having none of it.
The home side were forced into an early change when defender Mauro Milanese went down injured. He was replaced by Ian Evatt.
Pressure on Leeds continued to grow, and when Gregan missed a clearance Sturridge let fly with a 20-yard drive that Sullivan did well to hold.
Another piece of good interplay between Healy and Douglas saw the former find the latter with a sideways pass that allowed him to run clear on goal for 20-yards. A goal might have been the outcome but Marcus Bignot just got back to cover and blocked the shot.
With six minutes to go to the break, Leeds struck to take a lead they just about deserved on balance.
A free-kick from from the left hand side was swung in by Kelly over the top of three or four defenders but landed perfectly for Rob Hulse to just tap the ball into the left hand corner of the net. Good cross, simple goal for the Incredible Hulse. He came close to a second goal with a header soon after and suddenly United appeared to be cruising.
Gylfi Einarsson was the second United man to go in the book for a foul that gave the home side a shooting position 25-yards out. Gareth Ainsworth's shot though relieved the pressure on Kevin Blackwell's men.
Leeds picked up where they left off at the end of the first half, applying all the early pressure.
Hulse tried to turn inside the box for the shot and managed to do so eventually but his shot was deflected behind for a corner. From it Einarsson met the cross but his header was off the line by Marc Bircham.
Kelly was booked for obstructing Lee Cook in a decision from the referee that seemed harsh to the extreme.
Lewis was driving Leeds forward time after time and together with Healy the pair were causing the home side no end of problems. Healy nearly set up a second for Leeds when he crossed to the back post and Einarsson was just an inch away from nodding in.
Leeds suffered a huge blow when David Healy was sent off for what the referee could only have interpreted as 'violent conduct'.
The Northern Inteland international had just received a ticking off from the referee after a clash with Shittu when he clipped the heel of Marc Bircham as the two almost ran into each other. It was a yellow card offence at the most, red was severe to say the least.
Shaun Derry could have followed Healy down the tunnel though after his angry protest at the referee, with United team-mates holding him back. "You're not fit to referee" rang out of the Leeds fans end at Loftus Road as they voiced their displeasure at Mr Walton.
Blackwell made his first change soon after, bringing the scorer Rob Hulse off for Richard Cresswell.QPR had thrown Georges Santos forward and the big striker missed his chance to shine when a cross from the right found him completely unmarked on the penalty spot but his header went high and over, missing the target by a country mile.
Leeds were reliant on just Cresswell along upfront, and they had numbers back to try and protect the lead, which with a man less would require a monumental effort for the Whites.
The home side felt aggrieved when Paul Furlong was bundled over as he tried to barge his way through into the penalty area. He did appear to be inside the area when the foul was committed but the referee signalled for a free-kick instead and the ball was placed right on the edge of the area. Leeds placed eight men in the wall and it worked for them as the ball was smashed into a sea of United legs. Shaun Derry was the next Leeds player to fall foul of the referee, in what was another strange decision for the referee to explain later.
Leeds hung on at the end, it was real team effort to keep hold of the three points, but it was no less than Leeds deserved.
leedsunited.com
Pre-Match
United boss Kevin Blackwell has made just one change to the side that lost with Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.
Rob Hulse returns in place of Richard Cresswell, with the striker having recovered from a bug that swept through the training camp earlier in the week.
The MatchThere was a moment of concern early on for Leeds when Neil Sullivan hammered a clearance against Rangers striker Paul Furlong, but fortunately the United keeper got the lucky break and was able to clear the ball.
Leeds were presented with a gilt-edged chance after just seven minutes, and really should have been ahead.
Healy played a defence splitting ball up to Lewis making the run on left and the winger delivered a great ball across the face of goal between the keeper and his defence. Rob Hulse missed it but Jonathan Douglas looked set to tap it home but only managed to hammer it over from four yards out.
If Leeds should have been ahead in the first ten minutes, then QPR should have fashioned what would have been a good equaliser quarter of an hour into the game.
On the break the ball came in to Dean Sturridge 12-yards out and his header found Furlong in acres of space inside the penalty area, but the striker hammered his shot into the ground and Sullivan made a comfortable save.
Sean Gregan became the first man to go in referee Peter Walton's notebook when he brought down Sturridge as the former Derby County man looked to get away from him.
Healy and Douglas worked hard to try and create an opening for each other midway through the half but it finished with Douglas hitting an ambitious 25-yard shot well over the top of the Rangers goal.
The QPR fans were screaming for a penalty when Dean Sturridge got sandwiched between Sean Gregan and Stephen Crainey and went down inside the area, but the referee was having none of it.
The home side were forced into an early change when defender Mauro Milanese went down injured. He was replaced by Ian Evatt.
Pressure on Leeds continued to grow, and when Gregan missed a clearance Sturridge let fly with a 20-yard drive that Sullivan did well to hold.
Another piece of good interplay between Healy and Douglas saw the former find the latter with a sideways pass that allowed him to run clear on goal for 20-yards. A goal might have been the outcome but Marcus Bignot just got back to cover and blocked the shot.
With six minutes to go to the break, Leeds struck to take a lead they just about deserved on balance.
A free-kick from from the left hand side was swung in by Kelly over the top of three or four defenders but landed perfectly for Rob Hulse to just tap the ball into the left hand corner of the net. Good cross, simple goal for the Incredible Hulse. He came close to a second goal with a header soon after and suddenly United appeared to be cruising.
Gylfi Einarsson was the second United man to go in the book for a foul that gave the home side a shooting position 25-yards out. Gareth Ainsworth's shot though relieved the pressure on Kevin Blackwell's men.
Leeds picked up where they left off at the end of the first half, applying all the early pressure.
Hulse tried to turn inside the box for the shot and managed to do so eventually but his shot was deflected behind for a corner. From it Einarsson met the cross but his header was off the line by Marc Bircham.
Kelly was booked for obstructing Lee Cook in a decision from the referee that seemed harsh to the extreme.
Lewis was driving Leeds forward time after time and together with Healy the pair were causing the home side no end of problems. Healy nearly set up a second for Leeds when he crossed to the back post and Einarsson was just an inch away from nodding in.
Leeds suffered a huge blow when David Healy was sent off for what the referee could only have interpreted as 'violent conduct'.
The Northern Inteland international had just received a ticking off from the referee after a clash with Shittu when he clipped the heel of Marc Bircham as the two almost ran into each other. It was a yellow card offence at the most, red was severe to say the least.
Shaun Derry could have followed Healy down the tunnel though after his angry protest at the referee, with United team-mates holding him back. "You're not fit to referee" rang out of the Leeds fans end at Loftus Road as they voiced their displeasure at Mr Walton.
Blackwell made his first change soon after, bringing the scorer Rob Hulse off for Richard Cresswell.QPR had thrown Georges Santos forward and the big striker missed his chance to shine when a cross from the right found him completely unmarked on the penalty spot but his header went high and over, missing the target by a country mile.
Leeds were reliant on just Cresswell along upfront, and they had numbers back to try and protect the lead, which with a man less would require a monumental effort for the Whites.
The home side felt aggrieved when Paul Furlong was bundled over as he tried to barge his way through into the penalty area. He did appear to be inside the area when the foul was committed but the referee signalled for a free-kick instead and the ball was placed right on the edge of the area. Leeds placed eight men in the wall and it worked for them as the ball was smashed into a sea of United legs. Shaun Derry was the next Leeds player to fall foul of the referee, in what was another strange decision for the referee to explain later.
Leeds hung on at the end, it was real team effort to keep hold of the three points, but it was no less than Leeds deserved.