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.”
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This post was last modified on 30/09/2014