GUS POYET felt that a draw would have been a fair result after his Sunderland side lost their first game this season.

Sunderland were beaten 1-0 at Queens Park Rangers after Charlie Austin’s first-half injury-time goal, but the Black Cats had chances of their own, which was some consolation to Poyet.

“I don’t think there was too much difference between the two teams,” said the Sunderland manager.

“They had a different way of playing and the difference was the goal. I think we started well in the game, we were in control, they couldn’t get the ball off us.

“We went back to basics, and that worked for the first 30 minutes, then we took a few risks at the end. If we had came back into the game you could say we probably deserved it, but that’s football. The goals are really expensive and it was one that made a difference.”

Austin’s goal came from a Joey Barton corner that Leroy Fer knocked into the former Burnley striker’s path, and Poyet was annoyed that his side were beaten so easily from a set-piece.

He said: “We didn’t expect that [to concede the way they did]. We had worked a lot on that.

“The timing of the goal didn’t help us. We put ourselves under pressure in the final ten minutes of the half, giving the ball away cheaply in our own half which we normally don’t do and that gave the momentum to QPR. When you give opportunities to other teams, especially in English football, sometimes they are the difference.”