2-2

*Aston Villa recovered from two goals down to draw with Queens Park Rangers as Djibril Cisse scored on his debut.*

The French striker, who signed for QPR from Lazio on Tuesday, fired in after a blocked Shaun Wright-Phillips shot.

Stephen Warnock scored a bizarre own goal from Taye Taiwo’s cross to double the lead, before Darren Bent pulled one back from Alan Hutton’s centre.

Villa bossed the second half and grabbed a second when Charles N’Zogbia volleyed in Stiliyan Petrov’s cross.

Having spluttered through the first half, Villa were only prevented from completing a superb turnaround by some last-ditch QPR defending.

Tommy Smith denied Darren Bent on the line, while Paddy Kenny was called into action on several occasions as the hosts looked a completely different team after the break.

But with his side having failed to win any of their previous five home games, McLeish will at least be thankful he got a response after the visitors dominated the opening period.

QPR boss Mark Hughes captured Cisse and Bobby Zamora barely 24 hours before this game. Zamora was unable to feature, and Cisse was only cleared to play an hour before kick-off after paperwork delays from his former club.

But after a firm challenge from Warnock welcoming him back to English football, the 30-year-old former Liverpool striker wasted little time in having an impact on his first game in the Premier League since May 2009.

Jamie Mackie was involved in the build-up and when Wright-Phillips had his shot blocked the ball fell to Cisse, who made no mistake by firing an angled shot into the bottom corner from 12 yards.

With both teams knocked out of the FA Cup at the weekend, this game gave them the opportunity to concentrate on their league form and despite being four places beneath their opponents in the table, it was QPR who started with far more purpose.

Despite featuring debutants Taiwo and Nedum Onuoha, they doubled their lead in fortunate circumstances just before the half hour when Warnock, under no pressure, headed Taiwo’s cross past Shay Given into his own net from eight yards.

McLeish was understandably dumbfounded but the goal finally drew a response from the hosts with Richard Dunne’s header saved by Kenny, while Robbie Keane’s deflected shot hit the bar.

Villa also had a handball claim when N’Zogbia’s through ball clipped Mackie’s hand, but it was not long before they reduced the deficit.

Keane approached the QPR defence before passing wide to Hutton, and the Scot’s low cross was met by Bent for his 10th goal of the season.

The hosts continued in the same vein after the break, with Kenny saving shots from Petrov and Keane, while Ciaran Clark had a very good penalty appeal rejected after his strike cannoned off Shaun Derry’s arm.

And by the hour mark the game had turned, with QPR struggling to contain Villa, who were stringing together a series of attacks.

Hughes’s side had a great opportunity to restore their two-goal lead against the run of play when, following a corner, Mackie mistimed an attempted shot from Wright-Phillips’s low centre with the ball fizzing through his legs.

But that remained an isolated chance for the visitors, and Bent could have drawn Villa level before N’Zogbia made his mark on his return to the side in place of the injured Gabriel Agbonlahor by hitting a sweetly-timed volley to level matters.

That was the cue for the Villa supporters to find their voice and only Tommy Smith’s goal-line clearance prevented Bent from grabbing a winner.

QPR were also thankful to debutant Onuhoa who, along with Kenny, was a solid foil in defence as the visitors grabbed a well-earned point.