A Wes Brown header in the 89th minute saw Sunderland defeat QPR 3-2 at Loftus Road in a dramatic Premier League encounter.
Defender scores his first goal for Sunderland
A Wes Brown header in the 89th minute saw Sunderland defeat Queens Park Rangers 3-2 at Loftus Road in a dramatic Premier League encounter on Wednesday.
Goals from Nicklas Bendtner and Stephane Sessegnon put the visitors 2-0 up inside 53 minutes, but the hosts came back strongly and scored twice in the space of just four minutes.
First Heidar Helguson made it 2-1 in the 63rd minute and then helped Jamie Mackie make it 2-2 for QPR.
But there was more drama to come, as with just one minute of normal time remaining Brown netted his first goal for Sunderland to win maximum points for his side.
There were no pre-match indications of the drama to come, with both sides struggling for wins and QPR the lowest scoring team in the league.
Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill told on-loan striker Bendtner the best way to impress him would be to behave himself off the pitch and score more goals on it, challenging him to "win us some football matches".
Sunderland dominate
And Bendtner set the ball rolling. He had already hit the post with a stooping header from Sebastian Larsson's free-kick when he put Sunderland ahead.
The Black Cats counter-attacked, won a corner and Bendtner muscled past Matthew Connolly to meet Richardson's delivery from the right-hand side with a powerful near-post header.
Sessegnon came close to doubling Sunderland's lead when he cut inside and saw his shot deflected over the bar while Danny Gabbidon conceded a corner from Richardson's weak cross-shot.
Faurlin combined well with Traore down the left to force a corner but Helgusson's header went straight at Sunderland keeper Keiren Westwood.
Warnock sent on Adel Taarabt at half-time and that enlivened QPR, who came close to drawing level when Helguson's header was cleared off the Sunderland line by Titus Bramble.
But Gabbidon then misjudged a header and Sessegnon latched onto the ball and rounded Kenny to fire Sunderland 2-0 and seemingly seal the win.
Three-goal drama
But from nowhere QPR hit back. Westwood and Brown failed to deal with Faurlin's cross and Helguson bundled it home.
Four minutes later, Helguson turned provider, heading the ball down for Mackie to score his first goal since breaking his leg in January.
Having battled their way back to level terms, QPR had Kenny to thank for keeping it that way until the last minute with two magnificent acrobatic saves.
Craig Gardner had Bendtner available but tried to curl his shot inside the far post - only to see Kenny palm his effort around the post.
Sunderland still had more pace about them in attack and Sessegnon almost picked out Richardson with a reverse ball before Phil Bardsley was denied by more Kenny acrobatics.
But neither Kenny nor Faurlin on the line could do anything to deny Brown, who met Richardson's corner and directed his header inside the far post.
| Queens Park Rangers |
Team Statistics |
Sunderland |
| 2 |
Goals |
3 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
| 6 |
Shots on Target |
6 |
| 7 |
Shots off Target |
5 |
| 8 |
Blocked Shots |
8 |
| 8 |
Corners |
11 |
| 10 |
Fouls |
12 |
| 1 |
Offsides |
4 |
| 2 |
Yellow Cards |
2 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 74.5 |
Passing Success |
64.8 |
| 21 |
Tackles |
28 |
| 61.9 |
Tackles Success |
75 |
| 57.2 |
Possession |
42.8 |
| 55.2 |
Territorial Advantage |
44.8 |
| 396 |
Total Passes |
293 |
| 32 |
Total Crosses |
25 |
| 194 |
Lost Balls |
200 |
| 47 |
Recoveries |
53 |
| 52.2 |
1st Half Poss. |
47.8 |
| 62.4 |
2nd Half Poss. |
37.6 |
|
