Brighton & Hove Albion squeeze past Queens Park Rangers

Brighton & Hove Albion have boosted their playoff hopes by beating Queens Park Rangers 2-0 on Tuesday night.

A tight first half failed to produce many opportunities but Brighton were left frustrated early on when Leonardo Ulloa fired a shot into the side-netting from a good position inside the box.

Tomasz Kuszczak was forced into action to keep out a powerful effort from Junior Hoilett as QPR started to apply more pressure as the first half progressed.

The former Manchester United goalkeeper made another crucial interception before the break to deny Ravel Morrison, who attempted to find the top corner from the edge of the box.

Brighton supporters were once again left singing Kuszczak's praises early in the second half when he responded well to keep out Hoilett's effort from close range.

QPR continued to apply most of the pressure but they were met with stubborn resistance from a determined Brighton defence.

Hoilett came close to opening the scoring once more when he curled a shot inches wide of the post after linking well with Jermaine Jenas.

However, the deadlock was broken by the home side in the 77th minute thanks to Ulloa, who tapped in from close range when Robert Green failed to prevent a Bruno cross from reaching the forward.

QPR responded well after falling behind but the defeat for the London club was confirmed with five minutes remaining of normal time when Stephen Ward finished easily after finding space to convert from a corner.