Championship
QPRQueens Park Rangers1FulhamFulham1

Queens Park Rangers 1-1 Fulham

Alex Smithies saves Chris Martin's early penalty
Alex Smithies has saved six of the 10 penalties he has faced for QPR

Chris Martin atoned for a saved penalty to rescue a point for Fulham in their west London derby at QPR.

Derby loanee Martin had been denied from the spot by a fine fingertip save by goalkeeper Alex Smithies early on before Ryan Manning put QPR ahead.

Manning seized on a loose pass by Kevin McDonald inside his own half before slotting in his first senior goal.

Fulham rallied in the second half and equalised when Martin cleverly diverted in Tom Cairney's goal-bound strike.

Martin's leveller 15 minutes from time denied QPR a fourth successive Championship victory while Fulham have lost just once in their past eight league matches.

After Smithies' early penalty save for QPR, his sixth in 10 faced for the club, after Sone Aluko tumbled in the box, the hosts deservedly took the lead.

Manning netted his first goal in just his fourth senior appearance only a day after the 20-year-old Irish midfielder signed a new contract with the club.

Chances came thick and fast towards the end of the game and Smithies twice denied Aluko from shots outside the area.

Cairney was fortunate to escape a late red card for Fulham when he, Martin and QPR's Joel Lynch were involved in an off-the-ball incident.

Referee Keith Stroud chose to show all three players a yellow card deep into stoppage time.

QPR manager Ian Holloway told BBC Radio London:

"I didn't think it (the early penalty awarded to Fulham) was fair. How can the referee give them a penalty like that?

"I've never seen anything quite as embarrassing in my life to be honest. Am I allowed to say that? Yeah, because I can.

"I thought it was soft to say the least and maybe some of our lads are too honest. That's never a penalty in my book.

"We're all standing here on the side being judged and hopefully Mr Stroud will be too because that was an awful performance from a referee."

Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic told BBC Radio London:

"At the start of the game we made a few mistakes and after we made another mistake, they scored a goal.

"In these conditions with a tight pitch, we found it hard to move the ball and they closed the space well. In the second half, we injected a bit more pace and moved it better.

"Missing penalties is part of the game, but it's not an especially normal situation is you shoot eight times and miss six.

"It's strange, but we have to be calm and believe we will score the next time. Shooting in training and in games are two completely different situations.

"But, Chris Martin showed incredible character to score towards the end of the game and I'm sure he'll be the person to take a penalty next time."

Line-ups

QPR

Formation 4-3-3

  • 1Smithies
  • 29FurlongBooked at 23mins
  • 5Onuoha
  • 6LynchBooked at 90mins
  • 3Bidwell
  • 21LuongoBooked at 40mins
  • 4HallSubstituted forPerchat 90+3'minutes
  • 41ManningBooked at 50mins
  • 15Wszolek
  • 40SyllaBooked at 61minsSubstituted forWashingtonat 68'minutes
  • 12MackieSubstituted forLua Luaat 83'minutes

Substitutes

  • 9Washington
  • 13Ingram
  • 16Doughty
  • 23N'Gbakoto
  • 24Perch
  • 27Shodipo
  • 28Lua Lua

Fulham

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 27Button
  • 2FredericksBooked at 36minsSubstituted forOdoiat 45'minutes
  • 26Kalas
  • 13Ream
  • 3Malone
  • 6McDonald
  • 14Johansen
  • 24AlukoSubstituted forSmithat 88'minutes
  • 10CairneyBooked at 90mins
  • 20PiazonSubstituted forR Sessegnonat 77'minutes
  • 25MartinBooked at 90mins

Substitutes

  • 1Bettinelli
  • 4Odoi
  • 8Parker
  • 9Smith
  • 15Madl
  • 17R Sigurdsson
  • 30R Sessegnon
Referee:
Keith Stroud
Attendance:
17,025

Match Stats

Home TeamQPRAway TeamFulham
Possession
Home25%
Away75%
Shots
Home14
Away15
Shots on Target
Home4
Away5
Corners
Home5
Away8
Fouls
Home18
Away9

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Queens Park Rangers 1, Fulham 1.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Queens Park Rangers 1, Fulham 1.

  3. Post update

    Attempt missed. Matt Smith (Fulham) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Scott Malone following a set piece situation.

  4. Booking

    Joel Lynch (Queens Park Rangers) is shown the yellow card.

  5. Booking

    Chris Martin (Fulham) is shown the yellow card.

  6. Booking

    Tom Cairney (Fulham) is shown the yellow card.

  7. Post update

    Stefan Johansen (Fulham) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  8. Post update

    Foul by Ryan Manning (Queens Park Rangers).

  9. Substitution

    Substitution, Queens Park Rangers. James Perch replaces Grant Hall because of an injury.

  10. Post update

    Delay over. They are ready to continue.

  11. Post update

    Delay in match Grant Hall (Queens Park Rangers) because of an injury.

  12. Post update

    Corner, Fulham. Conceded by Joel Lynch.

  13. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Matt Smith (Fulham) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.

  14. Substitution

    Substitution, Fulham. Matt Smith replaces Sone Aluko.

  15. Post update

    Attempt missed. Ryan Sessegnon (Fulham) header from the right side of the six yard box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Stefan Johansen with a cross following a corner.

  16. Post update

    Corner, Fulham. Conceded by Massimo Luongo.

  17. Post update

    Attempt missed. Tomas Kalas (Fulham) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Stefan Johansen with a cross following a corner.

  18. Post update

    Corner, Fulham. Conceded by Nedum Onuoha.

  19. Post update

    Foul by Tim Ream (Fulham).

  20. Post update

    Massimo Luongo (Queens Park Rangers) wins a free kick on the right wing.

As It Stood

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Newcastle27191754213358
2Brighton26176342182457
3Huddersfield2715483230249
4Leeds27153937271048
5Reading2614483836246
6Sheff Wed2713683126545
7Derby2712782721643
8Barnsley27125104641541
9Fulham261010644311340
10Norwich27124114540540
11Preston2711793734340
12Birmingham2791083136-537
13Aston Villa2781272827136
14Ipswich2797112833-534
15Brentford2796123435-133
16Cardiff2696113140-933
17QPR2796122637-1133
18Wolves2788113437-332
19Nottm Forest2786133845-730
20Bristol City2783163539-427
21Wigan2767142432-825
22Burton2767142637-1125
23Blackburn2767143244-1225
24Rotherham2744192760-3316
View full Championship table

Elsewhere on the BBC