QPR 2-1 Cardiff City

Cardiff City lost a league game for the first time this season at Loftus Road, and both QPR goals came from the kind of moment a side with three draws behind it cannot afford. Nicolas Madsen's corner on 36 minutes was headed on by Jimmy Dunne, nobody in blue cleared it, and Rumarn Burrell reacted first to force the ball in off Yousef Salech. Eight minutes into the second half Rubin Colwill's pass went astray, Ronnie Edwards won it, rode a challenge and threaded Burrell through, and the striker steered his second past Nathan Trott into the far corner. Perry Ng's finish from the edge of the box into the top corner on 74 minutes made the last quarter of an hour anxious for the hosts, and no more than that.

Cardiff had the chance to lead before either goal. Cian Ashford, unmarked at the far post, headed Ollie Tanner's cross wide. Brian Barry-Murphy had made one change, Calum Scanlon for Krystian Bielik, and reversed it at half-time, sending Bielik and Chris Willock on for Scanlon and Ashford. Tanner was booked a minute into the second half. Tariq Lamptey fired straight at Trott just before the hour as QPR chased a third. Julien Stéphan then made four changes in two minutes just after 70 minutes, and Cardiff's late push produced Ng's goal, a booking for Ng, and a Joel Colwill chance from Willock's cross that went unfinished.

Brian Barry-Murphy spoke to the press at Loftus Road afterwards. "I'm very disappointed, naturally," he said. "I don't think we were at our best in the first half, and we didn't have the technical level that we normally have, but I'm disappointed to concede the goal that we did." He put the night on what Cardiff City gave away. "We knew they'd be on the counterattack when we gave the ball away. The way that we want to play, you have to be good technically." His summary was shorter. "We just didn't find the right levels today and as such probably suffered for it." Julien Stéphan had watched QPR create enough to have the night finished long before that. "We created a lot of chances today again, especially after the second goal scored, and this is probably the moment we should kill the game," the QPR head coach told BBC Sport. He took the positive out of it anyway. "It's something positive even if we have a big margin to be more clinical, because probably a game like this it could be four or five goals if we are demanding."

API-Football's team statistics, which the provider did not publish until Saturday morning, put the night in one line. Cardiff City held 63 per cent of the ball and passed at 88 per cent accuracy, leading QPR on both counts. QPR took 20 shots to Cardiff City's nine, and 17 of those came from inside the box against five of Cardiff City's. The expected goals figure, the provider's estimate of what a side's chances were worth, came to 2.09 for QPR and 0.60 for Cardiff City. Rumarn Burrell, who scored both goals, rates highest of any player in the match at 8.9.

The table after four games says what the night said. QPR are second on ten points, level with Swansea City and Charlton, with three goals conceded, the joint second-fewest in the division. Cardiff City are 19th on three points, the only Championship club with neither a win nor a second defeat: three draws and this, six scored and seven conceded, a goal let in in every game. Portsmouth away on Saturday at 15:00 comes next, then Stoke City at home on Tuesday.

Corrected at 00:29 on Sunday 6 September. This report said Cardiff City were still the only Championship side yet to win and yet to lose twice. That was true when it filed on 2 September. Cardiff City lost 2-0 at Portsmouth on 5 September, a second defeat, and are 22nd of 24 on three points from five.