QPR manager Mark Warburton paid tribute to Luke Amos after he marked his recent return from a long-term injury with a late winner against Huddersfield.
Rangers’ 1-0 victory took them up to fourth in the table and preserved their record of being the only Sky Bet Championship side to have scored in all their league matches this season.
And it was a sweet moment for Amos, who headed home Chris Willock’s cross with nine minutes remaining.
The former Tottenham midfielder, on as a substitute, is back in action after the second cruciate ligament injury of his career condemned him to almost a year on the sidelines.
“I’m delighted for Luke after what he’s been through,” Warburton said.
“The second surgery was bigger than the first one and he’s had to sit there hour after hour in the gym, in the pool, with the physios who’ve worked so hard with him.
“To get that goal – they’re the lovely moments in football. I came out of the changing room and there were shouts of ‘speech’ from the players to Luke.
“He deserves that moment because he has worked tirelessly. You won’t find a better young professional.”
The win strengthened QPR’s place in the play-off positions in a notoriously tight division, leaving them a couple of points clear of seventh-placed Blackburn.
Warburton added: “It was a chance to cement our place in the top six and start putting daylight between other teams.
“I’m delighted that we achieved that, because they’re the games where you can drop points and look back on in May.
“So to get that goal, the clean sheet and the points, is really pleasing.
“In the second half I thought we were the better team. We created chances and were gaining momentum.”
Huddersfield boss Carlos Corberan admitted his team simply did not have enough of the ball.
“The game was very demanding. It was a tough and competitive game,” Corberan said.
“The first half was more balanced. Both teams had chances but in the last minutes of the first half they started to dominate the ball.
“The feeling at half-time was that we needed to have more of the ball. When we didn’t, they created more chances.
“From time to time we had chances to counter-attack, but they were better in the second half.
“When the game is too open you need to have the ball in a way that they can’t hurt you.
“The key for the team is that we have to have the ball. In the last two games we have not had enough of the ball.
“It is very important to get the ball on the ground and to have more of the ball.
“They had the ball more than us and I think that is why they have got the three points.”
