David Wagner, the head coach, praised Nahki Wells for doing a great job and said a point was the least his side deserved against Queens Park Rangers yesterday.

Wells scored four minutes from time to earn Huddersfield Town a draw at Loftus Road, meaning they have still yet to win a league game at the ground.

The Bermuda striker fired in a free kick from just outside the area, six minutes after Sebastian Polter gave QPR the lead.

Wells’s goal was his third in two games after his double in a 3-1 win over Preston North End on Boxing Day, and gave Huddersfield some breathing room in their bid to pull away from the relegation zone of the Sky Bet Championship. Huddersfield, who made six changes from the team that beat Preston, are now eighteenth, four places and four points above Bristol City, who are third from bottom.

“He [Wells] did a great job,” Wagner said. “I was pleased with the whole team, and the way they responded to conceding the goal. Mistakes and setbacks happen in football, but it’s about how you react, and we reacted very positively.

“We knew we had enough time on the clock and we created a number of chances and took one of them. I think a point was the minimum we should have had after our performance.”

Huddersfield made the brighter start and almost took an early lead when a Wells header brought a fine save from Rob Green, the former England goalkeeper.

Jason Davidson, one of the players drafted in by Wagner supplied the cross for Wells, and might have scored himself moments earlier when he fizzed a shot across the face of the goal.

The absence of injured Charlie Austin left QPR short of a cutting edge up front and they offered little in attack in the first half, apart from a couple of off-target Junior Hoilett efforts.

Huddersfield continued to dominate territorially and after Joe Murphy saved superbly from Phillips in a rare QPR attack, they should have gone in front when Jamie Paterson headed over from Ben Chilwell’s cross.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, the QPR manager, bolstered his attack by bringing on Polter, Tjaronn Chery and Jay-Emmanuel Thomas and they were rewarded when Polter scored only his second goal for the club.

Daniel Tozser, the QPR midfielder, fouled Lolley just outside the box, and Wells picked his spot from 25 yards for his eighth of the season, and Green had to be alert to deny Sean Scannell and prevent Huddersfield claiming all three points.