Milutin Osmajic scored the opening goal but PNE left Loftus Road empty handed

Paul Heckingbottom expected a loud Loftus Road atmosphere on Saturday afternoon and the two sets of supporters were in great voice as the teams emerged, for a pre-Christmas clash in the capital. Two sides unbeaten in six locked horns and it was the home side who came inches away from taking an early lead, when Kenneth Paal smashed the ball against the crossbar with the net at his mercy.

The opening exchanges were largely scrappy and cagey in a notoriously intense, tight footballing arena. On the 21st minute mark, a slice of luck came the Lilywhites' way though as the ball dropped to the right man, in the right place. After Steve Cook hit the deck with a nasty injury, the ball was there for Milutin Osmajic to collect, run forward with and slot home in clinical fashion.

Preston had the lead at the break but will have felt the Rs' threat and recognised that there was a long way to go in the game. However, any messages about grabbing a second goal were out of the window five minutes into the second half. Paul Smyth's pace had been an outlet all afternoon and it was he who checked the ball back for Rayan Kolli to drill home.

In plenty of PNE's draws this season their manager has felt his team deserved more. Here, though, Marti Cifuentes' side were having the better of the game and after equalising, looked the more likely to go on and nick the points. A huge let off came North End's way, on 69 minutes, when Sam Field found himself in on goal but dragged his shot wide and saw a glorious opportunity go begging.

After that chance, the game drifted into a sluggish state and the decibels inside Loftus Road dropped. But, they were raised on 84 minutes when North End went down to 10 men. As soon as Liam Lindsay collided with Lewis Morgan and he went down, the Scot resembled a man who knew what was coming. A second red card for him this season and PNE's task, suddenly, a lot tougher.

Almost immediately after, a vicious strike from Smyth crashed off the crossbar and Woodman then made a terrific double save to deny QPR a winner. But, there was a sense inside the stadium that more opportunities would come the home side's way. There was little surprise, then, when Jimmy Dunne powered in his 89th minute diving header at the back post - to turn the game on its head and inflict defeat on Heckingbottom's men. You would struggle to argue it wasn’t deserved.

Attendance: 15,323 (925 away) PNE starting XI: Woodman; Storey, Whatmough (Holmes 55’), Lindsay, Potts (Brady 46’), McCann (c), Thordarson, Kesler-Hayden, Frokjaer (Okkels 75’), Greenwood (Keane 65’), Osmajic (Riis 65’) PNE unused subs: Cornell, Bauer, Whiteman, Ledson.