QPR boss not prepared to criticise his players after 3-1 loss at Luton ends unbeaten run

Mick Beale refused to criticise his QPR players as they missed out on the chance to go top of the Championship.

The R’s lost 3-1 at Luton Town in the early Saturday afternoon kick-off as their five-match unbeaten run came to an end.

Ethan Horvath’s own goal in stoppage time had made it 2-1 but Luke Freeman added another for Nathan Jones’ side.

Elijah Adebayo and a Jimmy Dunne own goal had put Luton in control.

Beale said: “Fair play to Luton, their front two were a real handful and we didn’t deal with it.

“We let in poor goals today but we need to put it to bed and move on.

“I’m not going to bash our defenders. I’m dealing with human beings and some young players.

“I’ve asked them to push this loss to one side and show me on Wednesday (against Cardiff) that they can show me some renewed energy and confidence.

“It’s disappointing but we’ve got to put it into perspective. I’m not going to criticise the players as they’ve been really good in the main so far this season, especially on the road.

“We’re feeling sore right now, but we can’t dwell on it. We’ve got two home games now and it’s important we respond.

“We’ll take our medicine and go again on Wednesday.

“We’ve had some really good away days already this season but this certainly wasn’t one of them.

“In the first half we didn’t handle them well at all. We lacked composure and didn’t win our duels.

“We had a chat at half-time and we started the second half well. But we played in front of them and, to be fair to Luton, they defended really well.“The game for us probably hinged on when we hit the bar.

“After that it’s a massive mistake for their second goal and then the game’s gone.”

PICTURES: ROB AVIS