QPR boss Marti Cifuentes insists he never doubted Chris Willock would rediscover his best form.

The rejuvenated Willock scored the opener in Rangers’ 2-0 win at home to Hull – a thumping strike from near the edge of the penalty area.

It was his third goal in as many matches and his team’s third win in a row.

They have lost just one of their six matches since Cifuentes replaced the sacked Gareth Ainsworth.

Previously Rangers’ talisman, Willock was shunned by Ainsworth while fellow playmaker Ilias Chair, who scored the all-important second goal against the Tigers, also found the going tough under the former boss.

“He (Willock) showed the quality he has. But I’m not surprised – I said from day one that Chris and Ilias will be very important for us,” said Cifuentes.

“I’m pleased about Chris recovering a smile, because I felt he was a bit low on confidence.

“That was very natural when a player has not been playing for a while. Now he is playing at a level where it’s not easy to take the ball from him and he’s also working hard when we don’t have the ball.

“He’s starting to be decisive for us in the last third and I think he is a player that, with his quality and potential, he can score more than he has done earlier in his career.”

Asked how he has helped Willock get back to his best, Cifuentes replied: “Give him minutes and give him confidence. And give him game scenarios where we think he is going to be good.

“It’s not a secret. If you have good players and you put them on the ball and put them high up the pitch, then things are going to happen. When those players are close to the goal it’s difficult to stop them.”

Hull boss Liam Rosenior admitted his team were punished for their mistakes.

Willock’s goal, scored in first-half stoppage time, came after the visitors had lost possession.

Back-to-back defeats have seen the Tigers drop out of the play-off places following an excellent start to the campaign.

And Rosenior said: “We’ve made a lot of progress, but the next step for this team is to be pragmatic in key moments and understand the context of the game.

“At that point of the game we had complete control and then gave them a goal. It was a great finish from Willock but it comes from our possession.

“A goal just before half-time changes everything in terms of QPR’s confidence levels and energy from the crowd.”

The second goal came after Hull keeper Ryan Allsop had been pressured by Sinclair Armstrong, with Willock collecting the resulting loose ball and teeing up Chair for a cool finish.

Rosenior said: “I ask my team to play, but at that moment we’re on top – just kick the ball and if it goes out for a throw-in then we reorganise and get control of the game again.

“What I will never do is blame players for mistakes. But what I will do is demand from them that we learn from the mistakes.

“There’s so much good in the way we play, if we iron out those mistakes then we’re in a really good place.

“This is the understanding of where we are as a team. We’re a young team that have to learn on the job. But the basis of our play is very good.”

Liam Rosenior said he “won’t get carried away” after Hull returned to the play-off fray with a 3-1 win at Stoke.

First-half goals from Aaron Connolly – his fifth of the season – and Adama Traore handed the Tigers control just after the half-hour mark.

And the hosts’ miserable afternoon was compounded when Regan Slater’s strike deflected off Lynden Gooch and looped into his own net.

The returning Andre Vidigal notched a Potters consolation late on, but it was too little, too late as their winless run stretched to five league games.

Hull coasted to a seventh game unbeaten as they clinched a third successive away win in the Championship for the first time since 2013.

“I’m really happy,” said Rosenior, who marked the 50th game of his managerial career with victory.

“It always feels good when you win away from home and more pleasing than just the win was the performance.

“Everyone was excellent; we showed energy and confidence in the way that we played in possession and we were difficult to break down.

“The signs are really good, but the only stat that matters to me is where we finish at the end of the season.

“It’s brilliant to get the win but it has to be towards something so I won’t get carried away.

“We’re in a good place; we don’t need to focus on the results because they come as a product of our performances and they’ve been consistent this season.”

Goal-scorer Connolly and team-mate Jean Michael Seri clashed at half-time, but Rosenior paid tribute to their attitudes.

He added: “They were arguing and they want to win. I’ve been asking for that from them for the whole year that I’ve been here.

“You need to be demanding with each other; they argued and then they hugged and made up and they’re best mates again.

“You need to fall out with each other at times because it makes you better and makes you successful; it’s perfect and that’s the mentality I want.”

Meanwhile, it was another disappointing afternoon for Stoke as they slumped closer to the relegation zone.

“I think the best team won. It’s the poorest we’ve been tactically since I’ve been here,” boss Alex Neil admitted.

“You look at the game today and think either our set-up wasn’t good enough or we didn’t commit to it or a combination of both.

“We lacked belief in doing it today and when you lack belief it looks a bit of a dog’s dinner.

“We showed a lack of confidence – which is the first time I’ve seen that from them this season – so that was disappointing.

“I don’t ever make any qualms with what fans want to do or if they want to boo or voice their frustration.

“They’re here to support their team and see their team win; if they don’t win, particularly in modern football, it’s either one extreme or the other.

“If you win a game, you’re going up. If you lose a game, you’re getting relegated, so that’s the nature of football now.

“How they voice their opinion, I don’t have any views on it whatsoever; I just want to get the team performing well and trying to win.

“For us, we need that one win that’s going to lift some of the lads and then hopefully we can put a decent run together.”

Leeds overcame Joe Rodon’s second-half sending-off to secure a goalless draw at Hull.

Daniel Farke’s men had the best chances of the first half – most significantly through the wasteful Georginio Rutter after 26 minutes – but they found debutant goalkeeper Ryan Allsop in inspired form.

Leeds supporters will have expected their team to kick on after the restart, but they were always up against it once Rodon was dismissed for a second bookable offence on the hour.

Hull head coach Liam Rosenior will be satisfied that their promising start to the season continued, now unbeaten since the opening day at Norwich.

But Rosenior will have expected much better of his offensive players inside the final third – not least when substitute Adama Traore somehow missed an open goal with two minutes remaining in normal time.

Given both sides’ fondness for playing football firmly on the front foot, it was perhaps a surprise that the game began so sluggishly.

Dan James swiped one high and wide early on, but neither Leeds nor Hull fans had much to shout about within the first 20 minutes.

The visitors’ gameplan was also disrupted when Willy Gnonto suffered an ankle injury and was replaced by Crysencio Summerville.

Ironically, Gnonto’s substitution seemed to awake Leeds from their slumber.

And they should have opened the scoring when Summerville threaded a lovely ball through the middle to Rutter.

Allsop expertly saved the one-on-one with his legs, but Rutter should have scored.

Summerville might then have got in on the act moments later, but Allsop reacted well with a sharp tip-over from a stinging hit on the left.

Allsop also thwarted Summerville from 20 yards with a lovely save at full stretch from the Dutch playmaker’s goalbound half-volley after 42 minutes.

Leeds’ relative dominance – not from a possession perspective but in terms of chances created – continued soon after the restart.

James and Summerville had opportunities off Luke Ayling’s smart cut-back, but Alfie Jones and Jacob Greaves refused to yield with brave defending inside the six-yard box.

Hull, however, slowly grew into a game that changed once Rodon was sent off.

The Leeds centre-back was lured into a rash challenge on Aaron Connolly on the halfway line.

Having already been booked for a first-half foul on Jaden Philogene, referee Stephen Martin had little option but to show a red card.

Predictably, given their one-man handicap, Leeds were forced to retreat for long periods of the second half.

But other than Liam Delap’s powerful run and cross on the right, from which Connolly came within a stud’s length of connecting, the hosts were never especially threatening.

That was until the 88th minute when Connolly teed up Traore, but the Mali international extraordinarily struck the far post with the goal at his mercy.

Bristol City boss Nigel Pearson watched Nakhi Wells score his first EFL goal since February – and then admitted he was unsure why he had not ended up with a brace during a 1-1 draw at Hull.

Wells levelled the scores just past the hour mark but earlier had been denied by a very delayed flag in first-half stoppage time, after Jason Knight’s deflected drive had fallen to him six yards from goal.

The Tigers had earlier forged in front courtesy of Ozan Tufan’s fourth goal of the season but a confused Pearson said: “From what we were told about the offside rule in pre-season to what I am seeing now during the season, there’s a bit of confusion and we need some clarification about what constitutes a deflection to somebody in an offside position.

“People in football were not asked their opinion about it and I’d just say offside is offside and that the assistant should put the flag up straight away, but that won’t happen.”

Pearson was happier with his players’ overall efforts, arguing that the same character is now needed in home matches and that Hull only ended up with a share of the spoils due to some heroic, last-ditch defending.

“Apart from 10 to 15 minutes in the first half when we didn’t get it right in terms of how we pressed, I thought we played very well and created lots of chances,” he claimed. “I saw bravery out there with players wanting the ball and doing positive things on the pitch.

“We need to see that character in home games now because people talk about coaching and training, but the most important day in the week is match day.

“Sometimes though, away from home, it’s more straightforward to go with a gameplan that’s not about entertaining and we were conceding more ground, but it was like springing a trap and we are very good at that. They also defended their goal with a lot of commitment and but for that, I think we would have won comfortably.”

Hull boss Liam Rosenior admitted his team did have their backs to the wall more than he would normally like.

“When you go a goal up at home and don’t get three points, you have to view it as two dropped,” he reasoned.

“I thought the first 25 minutes was exactly what I wanted. Then we were trying to score with every attack and it became a bit of a basketball match, which suited Bristol City.

“I think if we had carried on playing the way we were and keeping possession, we would have exhausted Bristol City of their oxygen.

“But I also have great respect for Nigel Pearson’s teams. They were winning the ball back and played with four up front and two full-backs high up the pitch, so they were playing really offensive football as well.

“I was delighted with how we were putting bodies on the line and defending long throws, but it was happening too often. We then regained control after they scored and I felt that we could have won the game, but we could have easily lost it as well because it was really open.”

Explaining his decision to substitute the Championship’s early-season top scorer Tufan, Rosenior added: “Ozan has been magnificent for us, but he has an issue away from football that I can’t go into and I thought he was mentally exhausted.”

Liam Rosenior believes Ozan Tufan is reaping the rewards his efforts deserve after his hat-trick helped Hull to a 4-2 Championship comeback win at home to Sheffield Wednesday.

The Turkey international was at times unplayable, with his performance – some could say – emblematic of the difference in quality between the two Yorkshire sides.

Rosenior said: “It (the hat-trick) was better than good. He deserves it and I’m so happy for him.

“The reason the quality is there is because the fitness is now there – that sums up his attitude.

“He is working so hard. He’s pressing so hard from the front along with Liam (Delap). And when you work so hard in life, you get the rewards.”

Wednesday were poor, but they somehow took the lead after 36 minutes when Juan Delgado capitalised upon Dominic Iorfa’s low cross via a deflection.

Hully equalised in first-half injury time when Lee Gregory elbowed Jacob Greaves inside the box and – from the resulting spot-kick – Tufan scored an unstoppable penalty.

The Turkey international then stole the show after the interval by firstly scoring a wonderful second from the edge of the penalty area after 58 minutes.

With Wednesday out of ideas and fatigued, Tufan put the game out of sight with a similarly-precise finish with the inside of his right foot.

Substitute Aaron Connolly made it 4-1 after he passed the ball into an open net following Michael Ihiekwe’s poor back-pass.

And though Wednesday substitute Michael Smith added a touch of respectability to the scoreline in stoppage time, Owls fans may have few qualms with the result.

Rosenior: “I’ve got to give the players all the credit in the world – they were fantastic from start to finish.

“They responded brilliantly (from the opening goal) and also by how I want to build as a club.

“In my opinion, it was complete domination from start to finish. That was not a 4-2 win. We should not have conceded a second and it should have been more.

“If you look at us now, we are much fitter and more front-footed as a team.

“We must stay consistent and keep working but there are some really, really positive signs.”

Wednesday have now lost their first two games since gaining promotion from League One.

Manager Xisco Munoz said: “The second half we were very far away from what I want.

“I didn’t see the balance for a consistent performance, but the situation right now is to control emotions.

“We need to control the moments and we need to improve with duels – both in offence and defence.

“We needed to improve on many things, but every day we get better and better and get closer, but we need to find a solution.

“We need to improve about clean sheets and defensive situations, but this is my job. They called me for this situation, and I will give 100 per cent.

“It is my responsibility. The players gave everything, but we now have to improve our tactics and our fitness.”

Munoz, who ironically signed Tufan when in charge at Watford two years ago, added: “We need the balance – this is the situation.

“The first half was closer to the performance we want, but we didn’t do it in the second half.

“The intensity in the second half was the difference. This is one of the situations we need to improve.

“This team has more capacity for attacking, but we need to work very hard about the balance, with more time on the ball and playing higher.

“We need to understand better about what the Championship demands.”

Ozan Tufan’s hat-trick inspired Hull to a 4-2 comeback victory against Sheffield Wednesday, who remain pointless in the Sky Bet Championship.

The newly-promoted Owls looked in good shape when Juan Delgado struck after 26 minutes.

But the Tigers dominated for long spells of this Yorkshire derby and equalised in first-half injury-time through Tufan’s well-taken penalty.

Hull also showed the greater endeavour after the restart and scored a second goal their efforts warranted when Tufan let fly with a beauty.

The Turkey international added a third when he scored in similar fashion from just inside the penalty box after 70 minutes.

Substitute Aaron Connolly then added gloss to the scoreline when he capitalised upon a terrible defensive mix-up late in the game.

Michael Smith scored a consolation for Wednesday in stoppage time, but it failed to mask the visitors’ clear deficiencies following their promotion from League One.

In keeping with most of the match, Liam Rosenior’s team controlled possession during a tactical first half.

Indeed, Barry Bannon nearly gifted the hosts an opening goal after nine minutes when he uncharacteristically lost possession to Regan Slater in a central area.

Slater charged into the penalty area, but the Wednesday captain made amends with a fine sliding challenge as the Hull midfielder was about to shoot.

The visitors might have lacked enterprise, but, as the first half wore on, Xisco Munoz’s men grew in stature – especially on the break.

And after having sensed a weakness on Hull’s left, Wednesday pounced when Dominic Iorfa flighted a neat, low cross towards the near post.

Delgado reacted quickly with a sharp effort that took a significant deflection.

Hull responded purposefully and might have equalised when defender Bambo Diaby deflected Liam Delap’s flick on to the right post.

Yet parity was restored when Jason Lokilo easily defeated Callum Paterson on the left before crossing the ball towards the back post.

Jacob Greaves rose the highest but a poorly-positioned Lee Gregory elbowed the Hull defender in the head.

Referee Matt Donohue awarded a just penalty – with Greaves needing treatment for a bloodied right eye – and Tufan scored from the spot.

The game seemed to have passed him by until then, but Tufan was inspired thereafter.

He was admittedly given too much time on the ball after 58 minutes, but the strike with his right foot was perfect.

The visiting fans must have expected a response, but it did not arrive.

And they were further punished after 70 minutes when Tufan artfully threaded a low ball into the bottom-right corner of the net.

Tufan was unplayable at times, but Wednesday should offer no excuses for Hull’s fourth.

Michael Ihiekwe’s atrocious back-pass left goalkeeper Devis Vasquez stranded. Connolly could not miss.

Smith side-footed a second for the Owls, a mere consolation as they went home pointless.

Doncaster boss Grant McCann praised his “brave” side after they upset his old club Hull with a 2-1 win to book a place in the second round of the Carabao Cup.

McCann – who oversaw relegation and promotion before being sacked by the Sky Bet Championship side last year – probably feared the worst when Oscar Estupinan gave the Tigers an early lead.

But Rovers belied their League Two status and fought back with a goal in each half from George Miller.

“I thought we were excellent,” McCann said. “It is difficult to play against Hull – they have got a unique way of playing.

“We came here and tried to be brave. We wanted to try and get after them, and I felt we did that after the first 10 minutes.

“We will see what the draw throws at us – it would be nice to have a cup run – but the league is our bread and butter.”

The game looked to be going to script when Estupinan tapped in Justin Lokilo’s pass, but Miller changed the course of the game with a smart finish from the left after 15 minutes.

The Doncaster forward then scored what proved to be the winner just after the hour when he diverted Harrison Biggins’ long-range strike from distance.

Hull head coach Liam Rosenior was watching from the stands after he was sent off following the stoppage-time late defeat at Norwich on Saturday. “It was unacceptable,” he said.

“This is the first time I have felt like this at the football club and it will be the last time.

“We have got a lot to work on very quickly. I didn’t see it coming and that is why I trusted the players to make the changes I did.”

Rosenior, who was also fined £2,000 for his reaction to Adam Idah’s stoppage-time winner for the Canaries, expects a response.

“It was the longest 90 minutes of my career by a mile. Now we will see – we will see what I am made of and what the group are made of,” he said.

“The boos and the jeers from the fans are from our doing. I know what needs to be done and it will be done.”

Doncaster caused an upset in the first round of the Carabao Cup with a deserved 2-1 victory at Sky Bet Championship side Hull.

George Miller scored twice for the League Two side to give former Tigers head coach Grant McCann a winning return to the MKM Stadium.

Hull – who opened their Championship campaign with a 2-1 defeat at Norwich on Saturday – got off to the perfect start when Oscar Estupinan scored from close range in the third minute.

Aaron Connolly smartly found Jason Lokilo, whose initial strike from the right of the penalty area was parried by Doncaster goalkeeper Ian Lawlor.

Lokilo retained possession, with Lokilo’s pass – aided by a deflection off Lawlor’s right boot – dropping to Estupinan, who could not miss.

But Doncaster equalised after 15 minutes when midfielder Adama Traore gifted the ball to Luke Molyneux on the edge of the box.

Molyneux’s strike ricocheted off Sean McLoughlin’s back towards Miller, who did well to direct the ball into the bottom-right corner from a tight angle.

Doncaster were easily the better side for the remainder of the first half, with Miller denied by Hull keeper Matt Ingram.

Miller, though, did get his second in the 61st minute when he diverted Harrison Biggins’ powerful 18-yard effort struck over Ingram.

Lawlor reacted sharply to stop Ozan Tufan on the half-volley late on, but Hull could have few complaints about a second straight defeat of the new campaign.

Tony Smith hailed his Hull FC players for retaining their belief through the bad times after they withstood fierce second-half pressure to beat Wigan and claim a second straight Super League win.

Smith’s men reeled through seven straight defeats earlier this season including a 40-0 derby humbling by neighbours Hull KR, but looked unrecognisable as they surged out to sink the leaders.

Early tries from Darnell McIntosh and Jake Clifford – who would score 10 of his side’s points in their eventual 14-10 win – set the tone before a thrilling rearguard action saw Smith’s side over the line.

Smith said: “I am so happy for the players. We lost seven straight and you could get down and disgruntled and get a defeatist attitude, and they haven’t.

“They’ve been really positive and we kept saying during that time that we wouldn’t be moping around and feeling sorry for ourselves. We just needed to graft through it and get more determined.”

The table now makes distinctly brighter reading for Smith’s men, who had stopped the rot with a win over Huddersfield prior to the international break, but they head to rock-bottom Wakefield next week knowing there is much more to do.

“We’ve got a lot of improvements still to make in order to get more results,” Smith added. “We were average in the second half, we still made errors but they did not hurt us much as they have in other games.

“We’ve got some big matches ahead of us and it’s important that we are in the right frame of mind.”

Wigan head coach Matt Peet admitted his side were second best for long periods of the first half, and were punished by Hull’s energy and determination.

“Some of our defence wasn’t where it needed to be in the first half and on the whole we amended that in the second half, but execution is what prevented us getting the win,” said Peet.

Wigan looked limp for much of the opening period but Iain Thornley’s try on the stroke of half-time gave them hope, and his second straight after the interval set up a grandstand finish.

“Hull were full of energy and they were motivated. They were flying off the line, they were covering each other and they were diving on loose balls,” added Peet.

“For us there’ll be a lot of what-ifs and if-onlys. It’s about handling the pressure in those big moments. We’ve got to learn and improve and develop, but I won’t be stressing too much.”

Peet reserved particular praise for Thornley, whose double marked his first appearance of the season after a long battle to shake off a knee injury.

“I thought he was excellent,” added Peet. “His desire was evident, I loved the way he carried the ball. He worked so hard and I’m so pleased to see him get a performance like that under his belt.”

Manchester City will face Chelsea in the pick of the FA Cup third-round ties, while Manchester United meet fellow Premier League side Everton.

Pep Guardiola's top-flight champions visit Graham Potter's side in the league on January 5, just a matter of days before hosting the Blues at Etihad Stadium in the prestigious cup competition.

Everton will be another side travelling to Manchester as Frank Lampard's side face Erik ten Hag's United, with current holders Liverpool drawn at home to Wolves in another all-Premier League tie.

Arsenal make the trip to League One's Oxford United, while the in-form Newcastle United visit another third-tier side in Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.

Tottenham will also face League One opposition when they host Portsmouth, with Brighton and Hove Albion going up to Middlesbrough and Bournemouth facing a home tie against Championship leaders Burnley.

Two more all-Premier League clashes see Brentford at home to London rivals West Ham and new Southampton manager Nathan Jones will have to get past an away game against top-flight rivals Crystal Palace.

Aston Villa will welcome Stevenage, who are second in League Two chasing promotion, with Fulham and Leeds United visiting Championship sides Hull City and Cardiff City respectively.

Dagenham and Redbridge will invite Leicester City to Victoria Road if the National League side can defeat Gillingham in a December 6 replay.

All ties are scheduled to be played between January 6 and January 9.

FA Cup third-round draw in full:

Preston v Huddersfield Town
Middlesbrough v Brighton and Hove Albion
Chesterfield v West Brom
Manchester City v Chelsea
Charlton or Stockport County v Walsall
Boreham Wood v Accrington Stanley
Tottenham v Portsmouth
Derby County v Barnsley
Cardiff City v Leeds United
Brentford v West Ham
Bournemouth v Burnley
Coventry City v Wrexham
Norwich City v Blackburn Rovers
Aston Villa v Stevenage
Luton Town v Wigan Athletic
Oxford United v Arsenal
Fleetwood Town v Queens Park Rangers
Liverpool v Wolves
Grimsby Town v Burton Albion
Blackpool v Nottingham Forest
Dagenham and Redbridge or Gillingham v Leicester City
Forest Green Rovers v Birmingham City
Bristol City v Swansea City
Hartlepool United v Stoke City
Hull City v Fulham
Crystal Palace v Southampton
Millwall v Sheffield United
Shrewsbury Town v Sunderland
Sheffield Wednesday v Newcastle United
Manchester United v Everton
Reading v Watford
Ipswich Town v Rotherham United

Former Arsenal player and manager Terry Neill has passed away at the age of 80, the club has confirmed.

Neill made 275 appearances for Arsenal between 1960 and 1970, and was made captain at the age of 20.

The midfielder, who was also a player-manager for Hull City, received 44 caps for Northern Ireland before retiring from playing in 1973.

Neill went on to manage Tottenham in 1974, before moving back to their north London rivals two years later.

Arsenal reached three consecutive FA Cup finals on his watch from 1978, winning the 1979 final in a dramatic 3-2 success against Manchester United.

Neill also guided Arsenal to the 1980 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final, which they lost to Valencia on penalties.

He left after seven seasons in charge at Highbury in December 1983, his last role in management, though he did work for Arsenal TV as a pundit in later years.

Brentford have completed the signing of Keane Lewis-Potter from Hull City for a reported £16million, a club-record fee.

The highly-rated youngster has penned an initial six-year deal at the Brentford Community Stadium, with reports suggesting the overall package could be worth £20m.

Lewis-Potter is the second purchase of pre-season for the Bees following Aaron Hickey, who was briefly Brentford's record signing when he joined from Bologna for £14m last week.

The versatile forward is an England Under-21 international and came through the youth ranks at Hull, with 2021-22 being a particularly productive season for him.

Lewis-Potter, 21, scored 13 goals and assisted a further four, which drew plenty of interest from the Premier League.

Brentford head coach Thomas Frank told the club's website after the signing was announced: "I am pleased that we have managed to sign one of the biggest young talents in the Championship.

"He had a very good season last year. He scored 13 goals and contributed four assists in a team that were fighting a little bit towards the bottom of the league. Those are impressive numbers.

"We have a player who scores his goals by arriving in the box and attacking the last line. He gets in the position to convert the chances made for him. He is a flexible player, he can play both sides, as a striker and as a 10 if we want to do that. He has a very good mentality.

"He fits the Brentford model perfectly. He is a good young player who we think has the qualities to play in the Premier League now. He will also develop even further."