Charlton were held to a scoreless Championship draw by QPR at The Valley and were left to regret the missed opportunity.
Goalkeeper Joe Walsh made some important stops for the visiting side, but it wasn’t until the final stages of the hotly contested derby that they really came into their own as an attacking threat.
QPR, who arrived in south-east London, were missing many key players, including top scorer Ruman Burrell and talisman Elias Chair, and could not get a shot on target in the first half.
QPR’s Harvey Vale was booked after four minutes for a high boot on Conor Coady, which required a head bandage.
Conor Coady required bandage after head injury sustained by QPR’s Harvey Bale
Charlton’s starting line-up included two former Rangers players, one of whom, Lyndon Dykes, signed from Birmingham in January, had his shot deflected wide after a challenge from Steve Cook in the 15th minute.
Dykes proved more physical for his former team, smashing the ball away after a sharp turn as the Addicks increased the pressure.
Charlton’s top scorer Sonny Carey took another shot from captain Greg Docherty’s pass, which went just over the crossbar. QPR were forced to absorb the hosts’ persistent advantage and defend their box.
A free-kick by Luke Chambers, on loan from Liverpool, was saved by QPR goalkeeper Walsh on the right in the 31st minute.
And Walsh had to deny Coady a goal on his home debut moments later, blocking the holding midfielder’s shot with his left spike.
Charlton and QPR had to settle for a goalless draw at the Valley
Walsh came on early in the second half, pushing Charlie Kellman’s shot over the crossbar and then parrying Chambers’ shot in the 54th minute.
Charlton continued to fail to convert chances, with the QPR stopper denying Dykes who was positioned dangerously in the penalty area.
The visitors finally took the lead in the 73rd minute when Richard Cohn’s pass found Harvey Vale, but his shot sailed into the away side, which was packed with 3,300 fans.
Charlton replaced Chambers with Tyrese Campbell, switching to a more attacking left flank and within seconds Carey slid in for the first time to meet the Jamaican international’s cross, but it went wide.
The west London side had their first shot on goal in the 80th minute through Thomas Kaminski, but it was a clear claim for Charlton’s number one.
Carey, who scored the first goal in last weekend’s 2-0 win over Leicester, produced two wild finishes from the edge of the box.
Kaminski produced some heroics in second-half stoppage time to deny substitute Rayan Kohli, while QPR captain Jimmy Dunne cleared a goal-bound header with a desperate finish.
managers
Charltons’ Nathan Jones on Sky Sports:
“I’m really happy that we got the points in the last eight minutes, but it’s really disappointing that we didn’t win the game in the 90 minutes before that. We were good in the first half, but we didn’t have the cutting edge quality to score one or two goals. That can happen.”
“We stopped what we were good at and let them play. Their subs were more effective than us and in the end it would have been a travesty (if they had scored). I’m happy with the overall performance, but it’s disappointing that we didn’t show the quality to win the game.”
On Vale’s challenge to Coady: “We don’t like to see people get reds, but I remember the Champions League game (Manchester United vs. Real Madrid) where Nani got a red for less.
“It’s a dangerous challenge, but in this day and age you don’t want to get a red for it. A yellow card was common sense.”
QPR’s Julian Stephen told Sky Sports:
“To be fair, I wasn’t too happy with half-time and wanted to react strongly for the second half. We went well in the second half. We had better situations and we could have gotten a better result in the second half. But we have to be more efficient.”
“We finished with 18 shots in this game, so we were even more dominant in the second half. It was our third consecutive away night, so we were able to keep clean sheets, but we have to be more efficient if we want to score.”
“We were able to correct some issues at half-time. First of all, it was the quality of our initial pressure line. That was decisive today and we got better in the second half. We blocked the team better with our defensive line and that made the difference in the second half. In the last 15 or 20 minutes we had more space, chaotic moments and transitions.”
“Our goalkeeper made some good saves. He had a bad injury in the first half of the season, but now he’s back on track. He’s got character, class and quality. Goalkeeper, it’s a special position. Consistency is very important, but that’s a good thing considering his confidence.”
