QPR Under-18's began the defence of their Puma Youth Alliance League title with a narrow victory over new-boys Peterborough United on Saturday morning.

In a performance that newly-appointed Youth Team Manager Steve Brown described as 'gritty and resilient,' Rangers edged home courtesy of a 30th minute strike from last season's top-scorer Romone Rose.

After winning the toss and electing to play with a strong wind behind them in the first half, Rangers immediately put their opponents on the back foot.

Rose, along with strike partners Antonio German and James Folkes, set about the Peterborough defence, creating several early chances for the visitors.

Despite their initial dominance, Rangers were dealt an early blow when they lost central defender Ryan Myers with a knee injury after just 12 minutes.

Undeterred, they were able to make a straight swap from the bench with Michael Wright coming on to replace him in the heart of the Rangers defence.

The lively German could have given the Hoops the lead when he latched onto a long clearance by Rangers keeper Chris Goodchild, but the young striker failed to take his opportunity.

It wasn't long though before a similar launched clearance from Goodchild paved the way for Rangers' goal Taking full advantage of the blustery conditions in his favour, the R's custodian cleared a back pass into the Peterborough half and Rose's pace sent him clear of the trailing defenders to finish with aplomb past the Posh keeper.

Rose could have doubled Rangers lead five minutes later, but his stinging drive was superbly saved by the overworked home keeper.

The R's saw out the second half in comfortable fashion, ensuring that they got off to the best possible start in the defence of their League title.

"I thought we ground out a decent result on a day when it wasn't at all easy to play football," Brown said afterwards.

"It was blustery, the pitch was poor and we had to adapt accordingly. Danny Maguire made a good decision when he won the toss to go with the wind behind in the first half, as it put us on the front foot right from the kick-off.

"Even though we lost Ryan early on, Michael slotted in alongside Josh Ford very well and we looked very sound at the back.

"Our midfield three worked tirelessly and the lads earned the victory through resilience, hard work and grit. It's always nice to start the season with a win and hopefully we can go on from here."