Queens Park Rangers 2-0 Hull City: QPR get third straight win as upturn in form continues
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Ilias Chair's goal was his second of the season for QPR
Queens Park Rangers' resurgence continued as they beat Hull City 2-0 for their third successive Championship win.
Chris Willock curled a super effort into the top corner form the edge of the box to give the hosts the lead just before half-time.
Liam Delap and Scott Twine forced good saves from QPR keeper Asmir Begovic after the break while Hull felt they should have had a penalty when Aaron Connolly went down under a Reggie Cannon challenge.
Three minutes later, Rangers made it safe as Ilias Chair fired in from 12 yards after a mistake by Hull goalkeeper Ryan Allsop.
QPR stay in the relegation places, but move to within one point from safety as they secured back-to-back home wins for the first time in more than a year under new manager Marti Cifuentes, while Hull stay just outside the play-off places.
The returning Chair inspired a good start for the R's as he flashed an early effort across the face of goal, while Lyndon Dykes just failed to connect with Andre Dozzell's cross at the far post from a ninth-minute corner.
Hull began to improve as Liam Delap forced two saves in quick succession from Begovic from the edge of the box, and Liverpool loanee Tyler Morton had a close-range effort blocked by Steve Cook after Adama Traore's low ball into the box.
But Willock broke the deadlock in style as he picked up the ball on the left corner of the 18-yard box, moved around three defenders and curled his effort past a full-length Allsop.
Hull's hopes of an equaliser were not helped when the dangerous Jaden Philogene gingerly limped off five minutes after the restart, but Delap forced Begovic into a good stop before Twine's deflected effort tested the 36-year-old's reflexes.
He should have been testing himself against a Hull penalty with 20 minutes left as Cannon looked to have tripped Connolly, but within three minutes he was celebrating the winner.
Jean Michael Seri's poor backpass was difficult for Allsop to control and the ball eventually found its way to Willock, who crossed to Chair 12 yards out and the Moroccan made no mistake.
Connolly and Sean McLoughlin could not convert late efforts for Hull as the Loftus Road faithful celebrated a second home win of the season.
QPR boss Marti Cifuentes:
"He (Willock) showed the quality he has. But I'm not surprised - I said from day one that Chris and Ilias will be very important for us.
"I'm pleased about Chris recovering a smile, because I felt he was a bit low on confidence.
"That was very natural when a player has not been playing for a while. Now he is playing at a level where it's not easy to take the ball from him and he's also working hard when we don't have the ball.
"He's starting to be decisive for us in the last third and I think he is a player that, with his quality and potential, he can score more than he has done earlier in his career."
Hull City head coach Liam Rosenior told BBC Radio Humberside:
"Both goals they scored we were in control of the game in that moment, so we have to stay switched on from minute one to minute 100, or however long the fourth official puts the time up for, and that's why we lost the game.
"Their goalkeeper made some outstanding saves, and we just need to learn on the job.
"It's not an excuse, we're here to win games of football, but I said to the players after the game 'I like this team'.
"I like my team, I see what I want from this team, and if we keep performing to the levels we're performing at, everything else will take care of itself."