Queens Park Rangers vs Middlesbrough. Sky Bet Championship.
Loftus Road StadiumAttendance14,140.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between QPR and Middlesbrough at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium as Boro battled back twice before Albert Adomah's own goal earned them a point
Wednesday 9 February 2022 23:37, UK
Albert Adomah's own goal spared Joe Lumley's blushes and helped Middlesbrough secure a point in an action-packed 2-2 draw at QPR.
Ilias Chair put Rangers ahead before defender Dael Fry levelled in first-half stoppage time with only the second goal of his career.
The hosts regained the lead just 16 seconds into the second half following a horrendous error by their former goalkeeper Lumley on his return to the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium.
Lumley collected Anfernee Dijksteel's back-pass and inexplicably gifted the ball straight to Chris Willock, who helped himself to a goal.
But Adomah, also playing against his former club, inadvertently equalised for them on the hour mark.
Isaiah Jones nutmegged Lee Wallace on the right flank and, in attempting to cut out the Boro man's low cross, Adomah diverted the ball into his own net.
The result meant QPR stayed fourth in the Sky Bet Championship and Middlesbrough climbed back up to seventh, with both sides maintaining their impressive runs.
Boro had won seven of their previous nine league matches and have lost just once since Chris Wilder took over as manager in early November.
Rangers, meanwhile, are now unbeaten in their past seven games, although they struggled to create clear-cut chances in a match their opponents dominated for large spells.
Morocco international Chair, recently back from the Africa Cup of Nations, brilliantly opened the scoring against the run of play in the 29th minute with his seventh goal of the season.
Chair controlled Willock's pass near the edge of the penalty area and sent a curling right-footed strike beyond Lumley and into the far corner of the net.
David Marshall had been by far the busier 'keeper, showing great reflexes to deny Neil Taylor and to tip over Andraz Sporar's close-range header.
Boro continued to threaten after going behind and were rewarded with an equaliser shortly before the interval.
After Jonny Howson's shot was blocked, R's defender Jimmy Dunne attempted to clear but Fry nicked the ball away and fired past Marshall.
They reacted in a similar way to going behind again, and Sporar volleyed against the crossbar shortly before Adomah's mishap.
The visitors ended the match with 10 men after Martin Payero was stretchered off in time added on with Boro having made all their substitutions.
Payero, who had come on just a couple of minutes earlier, was hurt in a challenge from Sam Field.
QPR's Mark Warburton: "We rode our luck, I think it's fair to say. We scored against the run of play and then conceded at a poor time, just before half-time, but to be fair a neutral would say that they deserved it. Likewise in the second half - we rode our luck a little bit and were way below our best. We didn't take care of the ball and lost too many duels and challenges.
"But the overall message is that if we can be below our best against a very good opponent and emerge with a point then it could be a vitally important point. That's the overriding feeling. Two good teams who are going to be there or thereabouts went toe-to-toe and we were below our best. They were the better team on the night. But I think we would have lost that game 12 or 18 months ago. Tonight we stood up."
Middlesbrough's Chris Wilder: "That's a collective mistake because there were two or three situations before Joe's. One mistake led to two, led to three, and Joe obviously takes the rap for that. But he really shouldn't because there were various opportunities [to clear the ball]. The goalkeeper makes a mistake, let's get on with it. Everyone makes mistakes. It was a collective mistake because we should first spin the ball down the side and then go forward, but we invited them on and then the mistake happened. But it shouldn't have got to that situation."
"We continued in the manner that I want to see us play. Our reaction to going 2-1 behind was fabulous. We were dominant and dictated it. We went to get back in the game, which we did, and went for the win. We just couldn't get the third goal which I think would have maybe been a reward for a great night's work."
