Steve McClaren’s Queens Park Rangers knocked Leeds United out of the FA Cup.
Steve McClaren has praised QPR youngster Aramide Oteh for showing ‘courage’ and putting away his penalty in front of the Leeds United fans as they were knocked out of the FA Cup.
The Whites suffered a 2-1 defeat at Loftus Road on Sunday afternoon with striker Oteh opening the scoring after 23 minutes from the penalty spot.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side did equalise two minutes later through Aapo Halme but Jake Bidwell ensured the R’s put their name in the hat for the next round when he struck the winner 15 minutes from time.
Both managers named a large proportion of youngsters in their squad for the FA Cup encounter as Leeds top the Championship table, whilst QPR are sitting outside of the playoff places.
Nonetheless, after the match, McClaren offered his thoughts on the club’s youngsters and what his team needed to beat Bielsa’s side.
“Rem [Oteh] deserved his chance. And what courage he showed to pick the ball up for the penalty in front of the Leeds fans and put the ball in the back of the net,” McClaren told QPR’s official Twitter account.
“We felt we needed pace to get at Leeds and with Rem [Oteh] and Bright Samuel, we certainly had that.”
Both teams will return to league action now, with Leeds hosting Frank Lampard’s Derby County on Friday night and QPR travelling to third-placed Sheffield United a day later.
Prior to next weekend encounters, Bielsa’s side could potentially open up a seven points lead over United if they beat the Rams and that gap can be maintained if the R’s defeat the Sheffield club in their own backyard.
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