Cardiff City were narrowly defeated by the Hoops on Wednesday night.
Perry Ng’s sublime late strike put City on the scoreboard after the Bluebirds went two behind, with Rumarn Burrell bagging a brace for the hosts.
Brian Barry-Murphy made one change to the side that drew against Sheffield United on Saturday, as Calum Scanlon came in for Krystian Bielik.
An open-ended early period saw action at both ends of the pitch, as Hoops and Bluebirds alike created chances in a back-and-forth battle for possession.
Gabriel Osho made a key block early on the one end, with Yousef Salech testing Pierce Charles from the edge of the area a few minutes later, though it was well held.
With Harvey Vale and Alfie Lloyd wasting chances for the hosts as the half progressed, Burrell broke the deadlock ten minutes from half-time. Breaking free from his marker following a corner-kick into the City area, he managed to get a swiped shot away in a cluster of bodies, putting his side ahead.
Going close again thanks to the efforts of Kōki Saitō, City defended well for the remainder of the half and went into the break behind by a goal.
Following two changes for the Bluebirds at the break, the hosts continued their search for a second and found it again through Burrell. Capitalising on Rubin Colwill’s misplaced pass and countering quickly, the ball was fed to the forward who finished well under pressure.
Having weathered the storm throughout much of the second half, Perry Ng brought City back into the match with a terrific strike 15 minutes from full time.
Cutting in from wide, the right-back shot brilliantly into the top corner of the net, halving the deficit in style.
While the shift in play lasted for the remainder – and QPR opting to soak up the pressure from the advancing Bluebirds – City weren’t quite able to find that point-saving equaliser.
The final whistle confirmed the result, and with it our first league defeat of the season.
Cardiff City: Trott, Bagan, Osho, Moylan (J. Colwill 82’), Salech, R. Colwill, Tanner (Davies 82’), Robertson (Robinson 82’), Scanlon (Bielik 46’), Ng, Ashford (Willock 46’). Substitutes: Tyrer, Turnbull, Tankiewicz, Kpakio.