Austin has proved himself – Redknapp

QPR boss Harry Redknapp said Charlie Austin’s fine goal against Southampton showed he can cut it in the Premier League.

Redknapp’s side were beaten 2-1 at St Mary’s, where Graziano Pelle upstaged former Poole Town forward Austin with a brilliant strike two minutes after the Rangers man had scored a spectacular equaliser.

Redknapp said: “It [Pelle’s winner] was a fantastic finish. There wasn’t a lot we could do about that goal to be fair. Charlie’s was a great goal too and then their striker showed fantastic technique.

“It was a great finish by Charlie and that’s two goals [this season] for him, which is okay. He’s proven he can score at this level, which is good. It’s encouraging.”

Rangers, thrashed 4-0 in their previous two away league games, were at least competitive this time.

And they were unlucky not to equalise when Niko Kranjcar’s late free-kick hit the woodowork.

“We kept going and I thought we came back strongly after going behind. We never gave up,” said Redknapp.

“We had a couple of opportunities late on and needed a bit of luck. It was a great free-kick from Niko.

“Leroy Fer is beginning to look fitter and is going to be a top player for us and Niko is in good shape.

“There were some positives. There’s lots to work on but we can only get better.”

Follow West London Sport on Twitter
Find us on Facebook