Preston 0-1 QPR: Jimmy Dunne goal gives new QPR boss Neil Critchley winning start

Jimmy Dunne secured only QPR's second win at Deepdale since 1980

Jimmy Dunne scored the only goal as QPR launched new manager Neil Critchley's reign with victory at Deepdale.

The centre-back bundled home Kenneth Paal's corner to secure Rangers' first win in seven games.

Critchley's side dominated against a lacklustre Preston as Tim Iroegbunam hit the post before Dunne's decisive strike just before the hour mark.

Brad Potts nearly salvaged a point for North End with a late volley that whistled just wide of the post.

Rangers had the upper hand in the first half, repeatedly disrupting Preston's rhythm and creating a series of half chances.

The best fell to Iroegbunam, whose swerving 25-yard drive clattered against the woodwork and rebounded to safety with Freddie Woodman beaten.

However, Ethan Laird and Chris Willock also threatened for the R's, while Sam Field was denied by Greg Cunningham's timely block.

Willock should have ended the stalemate early in the second half, volleying Albert Adomah's cross over the bar, but the visitors made the breakthrough soon after.

Paal's corner bamboozled the Preston defence, with the ball looping off Dunne's knee and bouncing over the line via the crossbar.

That sparked some improvement from Ryan Lowe's side, although Adomah and Iroegbunam both went close to doubling their side's advantage on the counter-attack.

At the other end, Seny Dieng was belatedly called into action to deny Ben Woodburn an equaliser, before Potts failed to convert an Alvaro Fernandez cross two minutes from time.

QPR's victory - only their second at Deepdale since 1980 - lifts them into sixth place, above their opponents on goals scored.

Preston boss Ryan Lowe told BBC Radio Lancashire:

"After the Lord Mayor's show last week [at Blackburn], we knew we weren't going to get quite the same performance. It's very hard in the Championship.

"It's an opportunity missed. After winning away last week, it would have been nice to replicate that and get the six points going into Christmas.

"But we lacked a bit of quality. You've got to take your chances, and Queens Park Rangers have done a job on us.

"I've said to the lads in there 'don't be too down, these things happen' - we'll lift ourselves and step it up again next week."

QPR head coach Neil Critchley told BBC Radio London 94.9:

"Coming to a team in form - and we're out of form - I said to the players 'we're not coming here to take a point, we're coming here to win. We're not going to be on the back foot, we're going to take the game to them'.

"We did that. We didn't score when we were on top but thankfully we did in the second half. We scored from a corner routine that we worked on.

"It was a lovely delivery and thankfully he [Jimmy Dunne] hit it a bit better than the ones he hit on Friday. We got the reward for that and then had to show a real different side to our game. To come here and keep a clean sheet, I'm really proud of the way the players played.

"There are such fine margins but we were deservedly on the right side of that."