Julien Stephan's first match in charge of Queens Park Rangers ended in a 1-1 draw with Preston North End at Loftus Road, as Milutin Osmajic's composed lob cancelled out a first-half own goal by Ben Whiteman. QPR, bright and inventive before the interval, were pegged back just three minutes into the second half when Osmajic latched onto goalkeeper Daniel Iversen's long clearance and lifted the ball delicately over Joe Walsh.
A vibrant opening period, illuminated by Karamoko Dembele's wing play and Ilias Chair's creativity, had put the hosts in control and they could easily have been further ahead by half-time. But after Iversen's route-one assist swung the momentum, Preston grew stronger, enjoyed long spells of pressure and, with Iversen again denying Dembele and QPR increasingly restricted to long-range efforts, the points were shared on an opening day that offered cautious encouragement to both sets of fans.
Dembele Drives QPR's Vibrant First Half
Despite being without a number of injured players, including striker Michael Frey and captain Jimmy Dunne, Stephan's QPR made an impressively sharp start. Young midfielder Kieran Morgan was pressed into service at right-back, yet the hosts immediately imposed themselves in attacking areas, with Chair drifting between the lines and Dembele demanding the ball out wide. For all of Preston's early solidity, it was QPR who looked the more inventive, regularly working the ball into wide areas and asking questions of the visitors' back line.