Former Linfield man announced himself to Rs supporters in fine style on New Year’s Day against Bluebirds

Paul Smyth was cock-a-hoop to crown his Queens Park Rangers debut with the winning goal against Cardiff City in the Championship on Monday.

After being handed his first start in the New Year’s Day clash, the 20-year-old went on to score the winner in the 72nd minute as the Rs came from behind to win.

It was a fantastic moment for the Northern Ireland youngster and certainly a great way to introduce himself to the QPR support.

But the former Linfield forward struggled to find the words to describe how it felt to fire home such a crucial goal on his first appearance for the west Londoners.

“There’s no feeling like it, you can’t explain it. You just run around with excitement and a buzz and just celebrate,” Smyth told the club website.

“I have a signature celebration which is the backflip, so I was determined to get that in there and show it off!

“There’s no greater feeling than to score at Loftus Road on my debut.”

Despite coming up against a Cardiff side chasing promotion to the Premier League, Smyth did not look out of his depth on his debut.

The 20-year-old’s pace caused plenty of problems for the experienced Bluebirds back three of Bruno Ecuele Manga, Sol Bamba and Matthew Connolly.

Between them, the City trio have more than 800 career appearances, but Smyth had no worries about coming up against such a knowledgeable defence on debut.

“Having no fear, I don’t really mind who I’m playing against,” he added.

“I just think about myself, about working hard and doing my part in the game. Thankfully, it worked out.

“I ran as hard as I could and as fast as I could and got my goal.”