The young Bluebirds were narrowly defeated by the R's on Tuesday night.
A brace by Troy Perrett wasn't quite enough for City to earn a point at home as the visitors struck their third late on in Leckwith.
MATCH SUMMARY
It only took nine minutes for the Bluebirds to take the lead, as Troy Perrett beat the offside trap before clipping the ball over the onrushing keeper and into the bottom corner. City dominated the first half in terms of possession but found themselves heading into half time behind. Two goals in quick succession from Alex Aoraha and Jake Coomes meant the R's held a 2-1 lead at half time.
Darren Purse's side came out with a different intensity at the start of the second half. Chances began to come their way, but they couldn't test Matteo Salamon in the QPR net. However, with 20 minutes remaining, City had a chance to equalise from the penalty spot after a foul on Jake Davies. Perrett stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way to make the scores level. But it was QPR who won the match seven minutes from time, as Philip Sanyaolu's strike from distance found the far corner.
POST-MATCH | DARREN PURSE
DP: "We weren't quite where we needed to be tonight. We did have nice moments in possession, but the goals we gave up were down to us trying to do the right thing, and the boys will learn from that in terms of their decision-making. At times they overran us, came out with the ball in tight situations more than we did, and that was the defining factor.
"We looked to try and set a press up in the second half. When we played against them ten days ago in the Cup, we got some joy when we did press them. We tried to do something similar today but we lacked that bit of intensity, drive and desire, and that was the difference between the two sides.
"Over this next week we will try and lessen the mistakes we make, and results like this are all part of the boys' learning. For 30-35 minutes in the first half we played some amazing passes, especially our centre-backs. The one we don't quite execute bounces off of Matty Apter and they get a goal from it. There are positives from the performance, but we have to match teams in terms of drive and desire."
PRE-MATCH | DARREN PURSE
Ahead of the contest, U21 head coach Darren Purse said: “The squad is in a good place. We’re missing three or four players, so that brings the average age of the squad down a little bit, but the squad is otherwise in a decent place.
“Even though we lost to Bournemouth last Tuesday, the performance was a decent one. We created chances, it’s just about being more ruthless in the final third, and that’s what I’ll be looking for from Tuesday’s game against QPR.
“We played QPR in the Premier League Cup ten days ago. It will be interesting to see what the boys learned from that game and how we can progress into this next league fixture.
“I expect them [QPR] to be different to the side we played against. The team that we played against ten days ago was really experienced. I think there were 250 Championship appearances amongst the players that played against us.
“They like to play through the lines, and it’s about us nullifying that, which we did in the second half down at their place, and then we need to take our opportunities when they come.”
PRE-MATCH | EWAN GRIFFITHS
Ewan Griffiths also spoke ahead of Tuesday’s fixture, he said: We’re feeling really positive. The mood in the group is good, we know our performances have been strong lately, even if the results haven’t always reflected that.
“Training’s been sharp, everyone’s working hard, and we’re all looking forward to getting back out there and putting things right.
“It’s massive to bounce back from last week's defeat. We were disappointed with the result because we felt we played well for large parts of the game, but a couple of mistakes cost us. That’s football, it’s about learning from it and reacting in the right way.
“We know if we keep performing like we have been and take our chances; the results will come. Tuesday’s a great opportunity to go and get the three points.”
RECENT RESULTS
Last time out, the U21s were defeated by Bournemouth 2-1.
The visitors took the lead in the 12th minute after winning the ball deep in City’s half, with Charlie Stevens squaring the ball to Koby Mottoh, who placed the ball past Ewan Griffiths in goal.
City came out brightly for the second half. Troy Perrett equalised for the hosts, capitalising on a misplaced pass from Cherries goalkeeper Kai Crampton, and finished in some style from just outside the area to level the scores.
The hosts looked the more likely side to take the lead, however Malcolm Dacosta Gonazalez pounced on a short pass from Griffiths, taking the ball around the keeper to retake the lead.
City head into Tuesday night's fixture in fifth place in the PDL South table, having earned 17 points from nine matches played.
Before last week’s league defeat to Bournemouth, the young Bluebirds had been on a three-match unbeaten run in all competitions and will be aiming to return to winning ways against QPR.
TICKET INFORMATION
Entry for the match at Cardiff International Sports Campus will be free for all supporters.
REACHING THE GROUND
Supporters planning on attending should use the following address:
Cardiff International Sports Campus, Leckwith Rd, Cardiff, CF11 8AZ.
The ground is located an 11-minute walk away from Ninian Park Station and a 32-minute walk from Cardiff Central Station.