QPR fans call him their pub landlord but the only thing Richard Dunne is serving up is clean sheets.

And the locals are drinking it down.

Since joining Harry Redknapp's revolution in the summer on a free transfer, centre half Dunne, whose physique and no-nonsense defending has brought about the comparison, has played seven games in all competitions and has yet to concede a goal.

That's nearly 11 happy hours without letting an opposition player break through and although it's far from been a one man effort, his individual performances have merited the sensational clean sheet record.

When trouble is brewing, Dunne, who will celebrate his 34th birthday on Saturday, clears it.

When one of his teammates makes a mistake, Dunne covers them.

Even when his strikers need a helping hand, he powers up the other end and creates carnage in the opposition area.

He twice came close to scooping QPR all three points in this tightly contested game courtesy of Joey Barton's set-pieces.

Firstly, seeing a header cleared off the line by an array of Brighton bodies on 51 minutes before diverting another headed shot inches over the bar from a Barton free-kick in the dying stages.

A goal was the only thing missing from an otherwise faultless 90 minutes.

Dunne missed the whole of last season at Aston Villa with a persistent groin problem and Premier League clubs were put off signing the Irish international because of fitness worries.

However, Rangers rolled the dice on his limbs holding out and, so far, their numbers have come up.

The west Londoners are unbeaten in the league and went top of the Championship pile with this stalemate.

"You've got remember he arrived late and we had to be very careful with him," first-team coach Joe Jordan said.

"He missed quite a lot of pre-season and we only got a grip of him when we went to Austria. He's caught up and he's eventually got the games and we've done it without any effect on the injury.

"His form speaks for itself. Whether it was tonight or at the weekend, he's been very consistent and it shows that he's a Premier League player."

In Barton too, they possess a player with Premier League prowess.

His bold start to the season continued against the Seagulls.

Brighton keeper Thomas Kuszczak had to match the brilliance of a 48th minute Barton free-kick, pushing it around the post at full stretch.

The visitors rarely threatened in the final third but under new boss Oscar Garcia their pass-at-all-costs style will earn them many friends and Championship points over the season, especially when their lethal striker Leonardo Ulloa returns from suspension.

Without him they lacked a focal point to their intricate build-up play.

QPR weren't much more accomplished in that department.

Charlie Austin, who scored his first league goal for the club on Saturday against Birmingham City, held the ball up confidently but struggled to sniff out any clear cut opportunities.

A powerful header that was palmed away by Kuszczak just before half-time was as good as it got for the R's front man.

No surprises to note it was Barton again that sent in the pinpoint corner.

More will be needed in the coming weeks from the former Burnley man as Jordan revealed that strikers Bobby Zamora and Andy Johnson are struggling with knee injuries.

"Bobby had an operation on his knee, and it will keep him out for a number of weeks," Jordan said.

Johnson, who missed nearly all of last season with a cruciate ligament injury, "twisted his knee and felt something" in training said Jordan, adding that the former Fulham man is definitely out of Saturday's match at Yeovil.

However, the lack of striking options may not be too costly.

With Dunne in such dominate mood, QPR will only need to score one to win matches.

Lewis Jones