QPR goalkeeper Pierce Charles produced a remarkable double stop from a Jarrod Bowen penalty deep into added time to preserve a 1-1 draw away to West Ham. The 21-year-old arrived in excellent form after recording four shutouts and saving a spot-kick for Northern Ireland during the international break, and his late heroics prevented the hosts from moving to the top of the Championship.
Bowen had earlier brought West Ham level after Nicolas Madsen converted a highly disputed first-half penalty. However, when the home captain was given the chance to score again from the spot, Charles blocked his attempt before somehow tipping Arne Engels’s follow-up on to the crossbar.
West Ham had been left furious by the earlier penalty award, which came after Tomas Soucek was judged to have fouled Paul Smyth. Replays indicated that the incident occurred well outside the box and that the midfielder had played the ball. With video review technology unavailable in the Championship, referee Ruebyn Ricardo’s call remained unchanged, much to the frustration of the home crowd at the London Stadium.
Assistant coach Rui Pedro Silva received a booking for protesting, while Engels was also cautioned after damaging the penalty spot. Madsen remained composed despite the disruption and guided his effort into the bottom corner.
Rangers nearly extended their advantage following a West Ham corner, breaking forward quickly and creating a shooting chance for recalled striker Rayan Kolli from 15 yards, but Mads Hermansen responded with an excellent save.
As he had done when his team trailed 2-0 at Millwall, West Ham manager Nuno Espírito Santo made two changes at the interval, introducing Pablo Felipe and Edvin Austbø in place of Soucek and Kyle Walker-Peters. Rangers still came close to scoring again when Smyth moved beyond Konstantinos Mavropanos and entered the penalty area, but the Greek defender recovered in time to make a vital challenge.
Bowen had struggled to make an impact while being closely contained by Rangers left-back Boy Kemper, but the forward finally found a breakthrough in the 70th minute. The England player regained possession with a forceful tackle on Ronnie Edwards, suffering a bloody nose in the process. Pablo then returned the ball to Bowen, who drove into the box, had his initial attempt blocked and converted the loose ball.
West Ham pushed for a winning goal, and Bowen’s mishit attempt appeared to be heading in until Charles reacted sharply to turn it around the post. In stoppage time, Rangers substitute Amadou Mbengue pulled Pablo’s shirt and referee Ricardo awarded another penalty. Charles then made outstanding saves from Bowen and Engels to secure a point for the visitors.
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