QPR claimed their fourth straight league win as they beat Hull 2-1 to move up to within touching distance of the Championship play-off places.
Marti Cifuentes’ side were made to work for the win in East Yorkshire, but their clinical edge made the difference against the struggling Tigers.
After an uneventful first half, it was Kenneth Paal who got the Londoners moving in the right direction at the MKM Stadium, drilling home an effort in the 64th minute.
That was before Koki Saito scored a sumptuous solo effort in the 70th minute and while Joe Gelhardt pulled one back late, QPR had enough about them to take all three points back down the M1.
The result takes the Rs up to ninth, four points shy of the top six, while Hull, who have already made four signings this month, remain perched on the edge of the relegation zone.
Fresh from their third win of Ruben Selles’ short reign so far on Saturday at Millwall, it was the home side who started the brighter of the two.
Despite the alarmingly threadbare pitch at the MKM Stadium, Hull moved the ball well in the early stages and created two fine chances inside the opening 10 minutes as Steven Alzate and Harry Vaughan went the close, the latter working Paul Nardi at the near post after beating two men.
However, QPR settled into their stride as the first half wore on and they went closest to finding the back of the net. Hitting a speculative shot from the edge of the box, Morgan Fox watched on as his effort was deflected onto the outside of Carl Rushworth’s far post.
Regan Slater marginally missed the target with an opportunistic effort at the start of the second, before Gelhardt sent a header from close range over the bar for the Tigers.
QPR carved out what was the best chance of the match at that point on the hour mark as an attack down the left led to Paul Smyth stinging the palms of Rushworth before Fox fired the rebound into the side-netting.
But moments later they found the breakthrough after 64 minutes as Paal slotted the ball home. Alfie Jones got back well to block the initial attempt but Paal was there to follow up the rebound with a composed effort into the bottom corner.
Then came a moment of brilliance from Saito, who skipped by Cody Drameh, drove into the box and rifled the ball beyond Rushworth into the roof of the net from the tightest of angles.
Gelhardt, on his full debut, gave Hull hope of a late comeback with an 84th minute lob from the edge of the box but it was not enough.
