Huddersfield Town 0 QPR 1 - Winless Terriers stung late by Chery

Town had certainly matched the Londoners without creating a clear-cut opportunity but were sunk by an 84th-minute strike from Tjaronn Chery.

Town chief Chris Powell had kept Middlesbrough loan signing winger Mustapha Carayol on the bench and went for a little and large strike partnership in Nahki Wells and Ishmael Miller.

Alex Smithies had to be content with a place on the QPR bench nine days after his £1.5m move from Town but the goalkeeper got a tremendous reception from home fans before kick-off.

QPR almost went ahead but Chery inadvertently diverted a low shot from Charlie Austin over the bar.

Jacob Butterfield tested goalkeeper Rob Green from 22 yards but the rest of the first half lacked fluency, although Austin slid in and was inches away from converting a low cross.

Town lost captain Mark Hudson through injury at the break and his replacement, Martin Cranie, saw a goalbound header cleared by Austin as the hosts did the early pressing.

Sean Scannell looked the likeliest Town player to set up a goal but it was QPR’s No 7, Matt Phillips, who produced a flying save from Joe Murphy as the visitors broke.

A tiring Scannell was replaced by Joe Lolley down the right and Carayol replaced Wells in the 80th minute, immediately forcing their fifth corner of the half.

In a rare break, however, Massimo Luongo latched on to a back header from Jason Davidson and Chery raced in at the far post to convert his low drive.

Huddersfield, without a win so far this season, are now in the relegation zone and boss Chris Powell said: “It’s a real blow to everyone - especially the fans.

“For us to concede like that, on the balance of the game we had, it’s little more than daylight robbery.

“Joe Murphy has only had one save to make and we kept Charlie Austin quiet. It was a big blow to lose.

“It’s just the way it’s going for us now and our confidence will be low but we’ll need each other and must rally round each other as we move forward.”

Striker James Vaughan was not included in the squad and Powell said: “Everyone knows about his contract situation and something may be on the horizon for him, we don’t know.

“I’ve spoken to James, he’s fine about it and I’m fine about it. He clearly feels his future is away from here.”

Derby have made several bids for Town midfielder Jacob Butterfield and Powell added: “It has been tough for him and for us as a club. We have rebuffed the bids and hope 6pm on Tuesday comes along really quickly.

“We’re hopeful Jacob will stay with us, we want him to. He’s a very fine player, he’s been great for me and for this club and we want that to continue.”

QPR boss Chris Ramsey, meanwhile, spoke of his team’s firepower.

Ramsey admitted Rangers were not at their best but said: “It’s an away win against a very difficult opponent and we kept ourselves in the game.

“We were mindful not to lose but we are always dangerous with the firepower we have up front.”

Austin, who scored 18 goals as Rangers were relegated from the Premier League last season, is expected to leave before Tuesday’s transfer deadline.

Rangers have already rejected a £12m bid from Leicester but other clubs may be ready to pounce, while winger Matt Phillips is also attracting attention from West Brom and Crystal Palace.

Ramsey does not want to lose any of his biggest assets as he plots an immediate return to the top flight, saying: “We are praying we don’t have a busy three days coming up but whatever happens we will have to deal with it.”

Ramsey said it was director of football Les Ferdinand who dealt with transfers, adding: “I’ll leave that up to Les.”

Rangers have signed 12 players this summer and Ramsey did not rule out more recruits.

Chery was on the end of Massimo Luongo’s cross, firing home at the back post just when it seemed a stalemate was on the cards.

Rangers moved up to fourth in the table and Ramsey said: “You can’t get carried away and you must carry on doing what you do.

“We were very solid and we just keep plugging away doing what we think we are good at.

“We didn’t play particularly well and this is a hard, unforgiving league. Chery did us a favour and long may it continue.”