Dykes misses penalty as QPR lose at Birmingham

Lyndon Dykes missed a penalty on a miserable night for QPR at St Andrew’s.

Rangers, who would have returned to the top of the Championship with a win, were two down at half-time after goals from Auston Trusty and Emmanuel Longelo.

They had plenty of second-half possession but struggled to create clear-cut chances before being handed a lifeline when Longelo conceded a 79th-minute penalty with a high challenge on Ethan Laird as the full-back tried to get to Ilias Chair’s cross.

But keeper John Ruddy dived to his right to palm away Dykes’ spot-kick and crush the visitors’ hopes of a late comeback.

Rangers fell behind after just four minutes when they failed to properly deal with a corner.

Jake Clarke-Salter headed it as far as Krystian Bielik, who redirected the ball back towards the penalty spot, where Trusty, with his back to goal, improvised by hooking it over his head and past the out of position Seny Dieng, who had come to try to collect the corner.

At the other end, Ruddy pushed over Chair’s free-kick and kept out strikes from Tyler Roberts and Dykes before an eight-minute spell in which Rangers were forced to make two changes and conceded another goal.

Clarke-Salter limped off after seeming to hurt his knee while falling awkwardly, shortly before Roberts, back in the side following a calf problem, went off after suffering a recurrence of the injury.

Longelo then doubled Birmingham’s lead, galloping towards the box and cutting inside Laird before firing beyond keeper Dieng and into the far corner of the net.

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QPR: Dieng, Laird, Balogun, Clarke-Salter (Dickie 21), Paal, Field (Richards 80), Johansen (Amos 45), Iroegbunam, Chair, Roberts (Armstrong 27), Dykes.
Subs not used: Archer, Kakay, Dozzell.