Sheffield Wednesday vs Queens Park Rangers. Sky Bet Championship.
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Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Sheffield Wednesday and Queens Park Rangers at Hillsborough on Saturday | Barry Bannan strikes for Owls and then Alfie Lloyd replies for Rangers in enthralling stoppage-time finish.
Saturday 14 September 2024 19:29, UK
Two goals in stoppage time ensured an incredible end to the game as Sheffield Wednesday drew 1-1 with QPR at Hillsborough.
Owls captain Barry Bannan thought he had given his side victory with a superb finish but substitute Alfie Lloyd scrambled in an equaliser with the last kick of the game.
Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl made five changes from the 3-0 defeat at Millwall, with Akin Famewo, Liam Palmer, Marvin Johnson, Olaf Kobacki and Josh Windass coming into the starting XI.
QPR manager Marti Cifuentes brought Hevertton Santos and Lucas Anderson into his line-up.
The away side had the first sight of goal, with Kenneth Paal having a go from distance but his effort whistled wide of a post.
Following that, it was all Wednesday. Kobacki cut onto his right foot and stung the palms of Paul Nardi in the QPR goal.
Yan Valery squared into the six-yard area but Ike Ugbo could only place his shot over the crossbar. Then, Johnson's cross found Windass in the box but again, his effort sailed too high of the target.
The Owls continued to have the lion's share of possession in the final third but could not make any of it count before half-time.
Rangers substitute Paul Smyth's curling effort flew just over James Beadle's goal in the first chance of the second period.
At the other end, Michael Ihiekwe knocked down for Palmer but Nardi spread himself well to make the save - it would not have counted anyway as the offside flag was raised.
The Rs nearly nicked the points with 10 minutes remaining with a couple of quick-fire chances. Substitute Koki Saito sent an effort inches wide and Karamoko Dembele saw his drive from range stopped by Beadle.
Three minutes into added time, Bannan scored with an stunning acrobatic finish which kissed the underside of the crossbar. With so little time remaining, Wednesday looked set to claim their second win of the season.
But then, in the sixth minute of time added on, Lloyd poked the ball past Beadle following a huge goalmouth scramble to send the away fans crazy and snatch QPR a point.
The draw sees the Owls end a run of three straight defeats in the league, while the Rs remain 12th in the table.
Sheffield Wednesday's Danny Rohl:
"This was our best performance since the first game against Plymouth. We did everything I wanted us to do and I'm happy with all of my players.
"We worked as a team, our direction was much better and we got the basics right. You can see what we changed today and we must take the positives from this.
"After 90 minutes we were thinking we'll take 0-0 but with scoring so late, of course this is a game we want to win. But in football, anything is possible and we have to take this on the chin.
"We showed passion, courage and the right attitude. It was just a shame to concede at the end after making all the chances and playing so well for 95 minutes.
"If we continue to trust playing this way and keep performing at these levels we will see the wins come in the following weeks. We were so much better today than in the previous games."
QPR's Marti Cifuentes:
"I think this was a game of two halves; Sheffield Wednesday in the first half and us in the second.
"In the first half I will admit Wednesday were better than us. We really struggled against a team with a high press and there were mistakes in our build-up. There were lots of unnecessary turnovers.
"In the second half we made some adjustments, we managed to get out of the press and that is when our confidence started to grow.
"We were much quicker in our play and that's when we started to create chances.
"I'm proud the players showed resilience and all of us are happy because we managed to get a point at the end. For me, the most important thing is the team never gave up."
