IRELAND U21 CAPTAIN Joe Hodge scored the winning goal against Blackburn seven minutes into his QPR debut this afternoon.
Hodge has joined the London club on loan from Wolves until the end of the season, and made an immediate impact, curling home a pass from compatriot Sinclair Armstrong to give QPR a buffer they needed to seal only a seventh win of the season.
Aynsley Pears’ own goal minutes earlier had given QPR the lead, with Sam Gallagher’s goal setting up a nervy finish. It was a vital win for third-bottom QPR, with the side immediately above them, Huddersfield, hammering Sheffield Wednesday 4-0. It leaves QPR three points from safety, behind Huddersfield and Stoke, who lost 5-0 to leaders Leicester.
Southampton went second with a 2-0 win away to Rotherham, with all of Gavin Bazunu, Will Smallbone, and Ryan Manning playing the full game. Ipswich are fourth having failed to keep pace, beaten 3-2 away to Preston, for whom Irish striker Will Keane scored twice.
West Brom are fifth, as Andreas Weimann’s 85th-minute goal earned a 1-0 win at home to Birmingham. Mikey Johnston made his debut off the bench for the Baggies, having joined on loan from Celtic on deadline day.
Hull complete the play-off spots, eking out a 1-0 win at home to Millwall, who withdrew Michael Obafemi at half-time.
Championship results
- Blackburn 1-2 QPR
- Huddersfield 4-0 Sheffield Wednesday
- Hull 1-0 Millwall
- Norwich 2-1 Coventry
- Preston 3-2 Ipswich
- Rotherham 0-2 Southampton
- Stoke 0-5 Leicester
- Swansea 0-1 Plymouth
- Watford 0-1 Cardiff
- West Brom 1-0 Birmingham
