QPR boss Ian Holloway admitted the decision to take Massimo Luongo off at half-time limited his options against Aston Villa on Saturday.

The Australian international looked off the pace after travelling to Australia and back for their World Cup qualifier in midweek, even though he didn't play.

QPR had taken an early lead but Villa were well worth their equaliser on the stroke of half-time from the penalty spot, having had four or five good chances leading up to the break.

Luongo was replaced by Ryan Manning, before Villa goal-scorer Albert Adomah added his second of the afternoon shortly before the hour-mark.

Jake Bidwell and Massimo Luongo

Holloway brought on Conor Washington soon after in a bid to get QPR back in the game, but the boss would have made a different change at the break had they held on to their 1-0 lead.

"It left with me one decision short to put in another attacking threat on. I had to bring Massimo off with how bad he felt," said the Hoops manager.

"The way we were and the way we were balanced, if we had been 1-0 up at the break I would have put Darnell Furlong on and that would have given me a better balance.

"It would have allowed me to do something else on a more attacking front, but when you've got two substitutes left and you go 2-1 down, it isn't always ideal.

"But I'll take the performance and I'll look at the stats, and for me I don't want us affected if we do try and play out and we give it to someone and they nearly score.

"You have got to keep believing because of the stuff we did was excellent, the way we got it work with wing-backs and we played it down the side when we got it off a man.

"We need to capitalise on the chances we do create and I am sure when I look at the stats back, we'd have had at least as many as them, if not more."

Luongo's international team-mate Mile Jedinak played the full 90 minutes and scored a hat-trick, before returning to England to be part of Villa's squad.

He didn't start but came on towards the end to make sure of a win for his side, bolstering the midfield and defence.

"Villa didn't start Jedinak, did they? They told him not to even come back and just meet them in London," said Holloway, when asked further about Luongo.

"But Massimo has been magnificent, part of my midfield three, who basically pick themselves every week because they've been doing so well.

"I felt it was still a good performance from us. I made some changes as we didn't play very well before the international break.

"We have made a few mistakes trying to come back into a game that we've let two goals in last time. We were too desperate and left ourselves too open but I didn't see that at all against Villa.

"They are a threat on the counter attack and a threat when Steve Bruce's teams get in front, because defensively they are really well organised.

"You wouldn't expect them not to be as he was a very good centre-back. I felt we deserved something out of the game but we didn't get it."