Kieran Morgan snatches victory for QPR with last-gasp winner to down Birmingham

Substitute Kieran Morgan struck with the last kick of the match to fire QPR up to sixth in the Sky Bet Championship after a 2-1 win over travel-sick Birmingham.

Blues thought they had secured a point when Patrick Roberts cancelled out Jimmy Dunne’s first-half header in the third minute of stoppage time.

But Rangers went straight up the other end and Morgan, who only came on with four minutes of normal time remaining, crashed in a dramatic last-gasp winner.

It secured a fourth win from their last five matches for the Hoops, while Birmingham have now lost seven matches on the road this season.

QPR, without Moroccan playmaker Ilias Chair through injury, were inches from taking an early lead when a Rhys Norrington-Davies curler from the edge of the box flew just wide.

Birmingham threatened through Demarai Gray, who was played in behind by Jay Stansfield, when he fizzed in a low cross which was just out of Marvin Ducksch’s reach.

The hosts looked shaky at the back, but were beginning to find their feet going forward and Amadou Mbengue’s cross was nodded back across goal by Koki Saito to Paul Smyth, whose downward header was straight at Blues keeper James Beadle.

The breakthrough came five minutes before half-time after Birmingham only half-cleared a corner.

Saito swung the ball back towards the far post where Rangers captain Dunne rose to powerfully head his second goal of the season past Beadle.

The Irish defender had scored a last-minute, 30-yard screamer to win the match the last time these sides met at Loftus Road, two seasons ago. This one was about 29 yards closer.

After the break, Beadle just managed to get a palm to a Norrington-Davies cross with Dunne lurking behind him again.

Moments later, with Birmingham making unnecessarily hard work of clearing their lines, Smyth stole the ball and crossed towards Mbengue, who could not convert at the far post.

Richard Kone should have doubled QPR’s lead on the hour from Nicolas Madsen’s cross, but volleyed over from six yards out.

Birmingham had barely registered an effort on goal all night, but as time ticked away and the homes side retreated, Gray fizzed in a low cross which zipped all the way to Roberts who finished at the far post.

But Rangers won a free-kick at the death and Jonathan Varane laid the ball back to Morgan who, from 20 yards out, pinged a superb drive past Beadle to snatch all three points.