Preston North End vs Queens Park Rangers. Sky Bet Championship.
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Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Preston and QPR at Deepdale as goals from Emil Riis and Cameron Archer sealed the victory for North End on Saturday afternoon.
Saturday 9 April 2022 19:19, UK
Preston dealt free-falling QPR's top-six hopes a massive blow as they battled to a 2-1 victory at Deepdale.
Goals either side of the break from Emil Riis - his 18th of the season - and Cameron Archer sealed all three points for the Lancashire side.
The Hoops had several chances to get back into the game but only had an Andre Gray penalty in stoppage time to show for their efforts.
They drop to 10th, six points behind the play-off places, after a seventh defeat in their last eight Championship games.
Preston's victory was their third in a row at home and they sit just two points further back in 12th.
Ryan Lowe brought Ali McCann into the side for Brad Potts in Preston's only change from the derby win over Blackpool in midweek.
Injury problems plagued the London side once again, as Keiren Westwood withdrew shortly before kick-off - he was replaced by 19-year-old Murphy Mahoney, who made his senior debut.
The visitors had the first big chance of the game after 13 minutes when the ball deflected to Andre Dozzell in the area, but he was denied by a smart block from the keeper.
Ilias Chair then saw an effort fly wide from a tight angle as Rangers continued to look the more likely to grab the opener.
The home defence played the ball straight to Chair, whose low drive was tipped away by Daniel Iversen before Dozzell saw another effort fly wide.
However, in the 42nd minute, Preston found a way through - top scorer Riis beating Jimmy Dunne to Andrew Hughes' cross and flicking the ball beyond Mahoney.
QPR went close again, with Iversen pulling off a wonderful save to deny Dunne just before the break.
Archer made it two just five minutes into the second half with his sixth goal in 11 games. The forward, on loan from Aston Villa, saw his shot from 15 yards deflected into the top corner after cutting in from the right-hand side.
Goalkeeper Iversen was in inspired form at the other end of the pitch, making a stunning stop following an almighty scramble to prevent Lyndon Dykes from reducing the deficit.
Mahoney showed his inexperience in the 68th minute, spilling a shot to Sean Maguire in the area, but he was sharp to block the Irishman's rebound.
The keeper was called into action again four minutes later to deny Archer when Preston broke forward.
Rangers then had their best chance of the half through Gray, but Iversen stood tall once again to frustrate the visitors.
They finally got on the scoresheet in added time through a penalty from Gray, but it was too little too late.
Preston's Ryan Lowe: "I'm pleased for Emil, he will definitely claim it (the first goal). I'm pleased because of the hard work he's put in of late. We should have had a couple more, maybe it's just a matter of getting the head up, slide it to your mate to score, but I get there's a lot of lads who want to impress.
"That's what Cam does, he takes you into areas where he chops on to his left foot, and he's got that touch and little burst of pace. I thought he could have possibly had a hat-trick, but it doesn't matter - you don't get the same number of points as goals you've scored."
QPR's Mark Warburton: "There are different scenarios at the end of the season, I can't control all of them. We have to win all five of our remaining games, I know they come thick and fast, but that's the nature of it. We'll do the best job possible, see where it takes us - that's all we can do.
"Since I was 18 years of age, I've been in a job that involves pressure so I'm fairly used to that. I'm very privileged to be involved in football - I've got no doubts moving forward. If ever I was caught slacking, I'd resign before I was sacked, but I know that's not the case."
