EVANS FURIOUS AS AUSTIN MOTORS IN
LEEDS United manager Steve Evans insisted his team let themselves down after gifting three points to QPR – admitting it was the angriest he had been since joining the club.
Charlie Austin scored the only goal of the game with his first touch after coming on as a substitute, and could have had several more in the ensuing minutes.
Evans was left furious with his side who didn’t get into the game until late on, and admitted he had made his point clear in the away dressing room after the game.
“Today was the loudest I’ve been and the angriest I’ve been,” he admitted.
“The players left in no uncertain terms that if you want to play for Leeds United, then you need to perform.
“It hurts, and the supporters hurt too, they’re entitled not to be happy.
“People need to play for the shirt now, it’s as simple as that.
“We can’t wait until the last five minutes to get some urgency and play the way we should play,” he added.
“We need to get back to working hard and the disciplined performances we saw against the likes of Cardiff and Huddersfield.
“We need to turn fine margins into good opportunities, and we need to play with a better purpose.”
QPR dominated the first half against a Leeds side who struggled to get among the action.
But it was the Whites who should have taken an early lead, when New Zealander Chris Wood took the ball around Robert Green, only to blaze his effort over the crossbar.
The Hoops’ first chance of the game came just after the half-hour mark, with Faurlin’s corner finding the head of Grant Hall, only for the defender to drill his header inches above Marco Silvestri’s goal.
And they could have taken the lead on the stroke of half-time, when Nedum Onuoha almost put his side ahead with a thunderbolt of a shot from 30 yards, which went just inches too high of the net.
Leeds came out for the second half showing more determination, with two early chances to take the lead.
But it was substitute Austin who put the game to bed in the 58th minute with his first touch, finding a Faurlin cross in the box and directing the ball past a helpless Silvestri.
They could have had several more but for Leeds goalkeeper Silvestri, who kept his side in the game with a string of world-class saves.
He denied Austin a second with 20 minutes left on the clock, and showed great agility to deny Tjaronn Chery just minutes later.
The visitors came into the game with just ten minutes to go, but it was too little too late for the deflated Yorkshire side.
QPR interim manager Neil Warnock was thrilled with three points, and was ecstatic to have goalscorer Austin back in his side.
“I always thought we were going to create chances for him,” he said. “He’s been really looking forward to it.
“He was disappointed he couldn’t be involved at Middlesbrough, but I think he will get chances again now and he’s looking a bit more like himself.
“Give Charlie Austin a chance and he’ll score. He’s enjoying his training at the moment and I think the players have responded to that.
“It was a great atmosphere out there,” he added.
“The last five minutes of the game epitomised the performance.
“We didn’t panic, and our two centre halves were as good as I’ve seen at this level. The main thing was getting the win.”