Queens Park Rangers vs Hull City; Sky Bet Championship
Queens Park Rangers vs Hull City. Sky Bet Championship.
Loftus Road StadiumAttendance14,945.
QPR 1-1 Hull: Matt Ingram stretchered off during draw in west London
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between QPR and Hull at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium as a first Tigers goal for Marcus Forss was cancelled out by Ilias Chair's late equaliser; visiting goalkeeper Matt Ingram stretchered off in second half
Saturday 19 February 2022 19:20, UK
Ilias Chair's equaliser rescued a point for stuttering QPR in a 1-1 draw at home to Hull, whose goalkeeper Matt Ingram suffered what looked a potentially serious injury.
Ingram, playing against his former club, was carried off on a stretcher with his head in a brace midway through the second half.
He landed heavily after a far-post collision with Albert Adomah and play was halted for around 12 minutes while Ingram received attention from the medical staff of both clubs.
It resulted in a league debut for 19-year-old keeper Harvey Cartwright, who was powerless to stop Chair cancelling out Marcus Forss' first-half goal.
Following back-to-back defeats, promotion-chasing Rangers - who would have gone third in the Sky Bet Championship table had they won - produced another poor performance.
Hull, meanwhile, battled hard but have won just one of their five games since Shota Arveladze took over as boss. The Tigers remain 20th but are 13 points clear of the relegation zone.
Striker Forss opened the scoring on 26 minutes with his first goal since being signed on loan from QPR's west London neighbours Brentford. Alfie Jones got his head to Callum Elder's corner and Forss' close-range effort hit the underside of the bar and bounced over the line.
Rangers, beaten by bottom side Barnsley last Saturday and by Millwall in midweek, again struggled to create clear-cut chances - and were not helped by the absence of injured striker Lyndon Dykes.
Charlie Austin's header well wide was the best they could muster until the final moments of the first half, when Chris Willock fired the ball across the face of goal and Adomah was just unable to add the finishing touch.
Rangers continued to struggle in the second half but equalised with their first significant attack after Ingram's injury.
Moses Odubajo, on as a substitute, swung in a cross from the left and Chair nudged the ball past Cartwright from five yards out.
Keane Lewis-Potter missed a great chance to restore Hull's lead when he shot wide after finding himself through on goal.
At the other end, Willock sent one effort over the bar and saw another gathered by Cartwright.
QPR briefly thought they had gone ahead when Adomah netted after Cartwright had parried Chair's shot, but the veteran winger was offside.
What the managers said...
QPR boss Mark Warburton: "I can't remember where we are in the table. You'll have to remind me. I think we're fourth. A team that's fourth in the table with a game in hand is doing OK. It was much better in the second half. There was one dominant team in that second half - one team that looked like it was going to win it. After two lacklustre displays, we needed that level of performance in the second half. We never really tested their keeper in the first half.
"The first half was slow and laboured but I was far more impressed with the second-half performance. We moved the ball quicker. There needed to be a change of pace and that change hurts teams. We have to move with pace and purpose and in the second half I think we were much better. Teams are going to drop points. For us it was a very important point."
Hull City boss Shota Arveladze: "It was a good point. I was pleased to see the boys play this way and to do so during a tough schedule of fixtures was brilliant to see. If we had conceded another goal in the final minutes it would not have changed the way I view this team. We are growing as a team and I also hope that some injured players will soon be back to join us. We had a hard time losing three games recently but the supporters stayedbehind us and it's great to see.
"The most important thing is that he [Ingram] was talking with the doctors and he feels well. He went straight away to the hospital and now we know that he is conscious and he is safe. The neurology will take time, the doctors will see him and I believe he will be treated to make sure everything is OK."
