Aston Villa consolidated their position in the Championship play-off places with a 2-1 victory over QPR at Loftus Road.
There wasn’t much to talk about in the opening fifteenth minutes, but QPR took the lead in the eighteenth minute when Jamie Mackie poked home after Sam Johnstone had failed to deal with a corner.
Josh Onomah and Keinan Davis had decent chances to draw Villa level, but they were denied by fine saves from Alex Smithies. It looked like Villa would go in at the break a goal down, but they were awarded a penalty with seconds to go after Jack Robinson handled in the box. Adomah calmly converted from the spot.
Villa were the better team for most the match, and they converted their dominance into a lead when Adomah fired in off the post in the 58th minute. QPR tried to salvage a point, but Villa held on to claim a valuable 3 points.
Here are our player ratings for this afternoon’s win over QPR:
GK: Sam Johnstone - 6
Flapped at a corner that led to QPR’s goal, but he was solid after.
RB: Alan Hutton - 7
Got forward as often as he could, put in a number of teasing crosses, and defended stoically.
CB: James Chester - 8
Was always one step ahead of his opponents, and looked calm and in control throughout the game.
CB: Christopher Samba - 5.5
Was easily beaten by Smith on too many occasions.
LB: Neil Taylor - 6.5
Didn’t see much of the ball, but did his job defensively when needed.
RM: Robert Snodgrass - 7.5
Saw a lot of the ball throughout the game and he used it wisely. He created opportunities, drew fouls in promising positions, and won the penalty for Villa.
CM: Glenn Whelan - 6
Wasted quite a few passes, but showed some fight in the engine room to help create space for his teammates to run into.
CM: Conor Hourihane - 8.5
One of Villa’s best players this afternoon. He got stuck in throughout, marshalled the midfield well, and delivered some teasing deliveries.
CM: Josh Onomah - 8
Hit the crossbar and was denied by a fine save. He was composed on the ball throughout, and added some steel to the midfield.
LM: Albert Adomah - 8.5
Took his penalty calmly and added another to his season’s tally after the break. Looked to create something every time he got on the ball.
ST: Keinan Davis - 8
Caused the QPR defence problems all game, and was unlucky not to get his name on the scoresheet.