Veteran Queens Park Rangers defender Clint Hill insisted the London club could stay in the English top flight after he scored his first Premier League goal in the 3-3 draw with relegation rivals Aston Villa.

Tuesday's result kept QPR in the bottom three but meant they were just two points from safety and three behind Villa, for whom striker Christian Benteke scored a hat-trick.

Matt Phillips opened the scoring, although Benteke's two first-half goals gave Villa the lead in Birmingham.

Hill made it 2-2 before Charlie Austin put Rangers 3-2 up with 12 minutes left only for Benteke to complete his hat-trick with a 25-yard free kick five minutes later

"I'm glad I've got the goal because it's been bugging me for a number of years, I'm 37-years-old and you don't think you'll get to play another Premier League game," Hill told QPR's official website. "I'm glad that's off my back and I'm glad I played my part.

"To go in 2-1 behind we could have kept our heads down and sunk, but we showed a lot of character and going 3-2 up you think you've got the precious three points in the bag but they scored a fantastic free kick in the end."

However, Hill added: "We have dragged teams in to it now, Villa probably thought they could win the game and pretty much put themselves safe.

"It's about the team and players who hold their head and keep calm who will prevail and stay in this league.

"The positive is we have four points from difficult travels and we're right in the battle now so we're looking forward to the next game," he said of Sunday's west London derby at home to leaders Chelsea.