The 31-year struck nine minutes from time to claim United's second Premier League win in eight attempts with the game seemingly heading for stalemate.
Alan Pardew: “I know the crowd weren’t particularly pleased when I took Cisse, a goalscorer, off but I just felt Shola, he’s a big man and this was a big occasion and he likes big occasions.
“QPR was a massive match but really it was bigger than that, I think we all knew that and Shola has that calm head - he knows what is demanded here - to produce a quality goal, and it won us the game.
“I wanted to get Shola on the pitch, and thank goodness I did because it was a really class finish.
“He could have taken the shot with his right foot, which is his stronger foot, but to have that composure in that area is first-class.
“The pudding will taste a little bit sweeter. I feel sorry for our fans. We have put them through the rack, really, over this last period.
“They have watched some football that hasn’t been our best. But you have periods in your tenure as a manager and sometimes a season.
“Last season, we sailed through one or two low moments but not many. This year, it’s been a sustained little run.
“But the last five games, two wins in the last four Premier League games, they are starting to look the right sort of stats now.
“Now we need to back that up and get a big win against one of the big clubs, and that would really cement us into mid-table.”