Hwang puts issues to back of his mind

HWANG UI-JO shrugged off sex scandal turmoil to fire Norwich to victory.

The striker, 31, is at the centre of allegations in South Korea involving sex tapes and blackmail.

But the on-loan Nottingham Forest striker produced the game’s only moment of magic to net his first Carrow Road goal.

South Korea coach Jurgen Klinsmann backed him by picking him for World Cup qualifiers with Singapore and China.

And Canaries boss David Wagner explained why he followed suit.

He said: “Privately it was not super-easy for him but the only thing we can do is support him. We can give him game time. Anything else, we have to see how this continues. But he is in good hands with the lawyers who support him.”

Hwang is accused of filming sex acts without the consent of a then-partner, with Seoul cybercops seizing his phone last week.

The forward denies that and claims he is being blackmailed by his brother’s wife. There was no doubt, though, about the quality of his winner. Hwang showed balletic poise in taking down Gabriel Sara’s ball over the top before blasting past keeper Asmir Begovic.

QPR needed Steve Cook to head Jack Stacey’s lob off the line early on but were the better side after Hwang struck.

Kenneth Paal twice went close before Sam Field blazed a great chance wide in stoppage time.

QPR boss Marti Cifuentes said: “We had more shots on target but the most important stat is the final score. I have seen an improvement in the last three performances.

“Now we need to convert them into results.”

NORWICH: Long 7; Stacey 6, Duffy 7, Batth 7, Giannoulis 6; Sara 7, Mclean 6; Fassnacht 6 (Mccallum (90) 5), Barnes 7, Hernandez 6 (Sainz (78) 6); Hwang 7 (Idah (64) 5) QPR: Begovic 6; Kakay 6 (Drewe (81) 6), Cook 7, Dunne 7, Paal 7; Field 6; Willock 6 (Kelman (83) 6), Dixon-bonner 6 (Dozzell (63) 5), Colback 6, Chair 7; Dykes 6 (Armstrong (63) 5) STAR MAN: Hwang Ui-jo – Norwich’s on-loan striker produced the only moment of quality in a dire match. REF: Stephen Martin 6