Queens Park Rangers vs Swansea City. Sky Bet Championship.
Loftus Road StadiumAttendance16,110.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between QPR and Swansea at Loftus Road as Jamal Lowe opened the scoring for Rangers, but Jay Fulton hit back late on to earn a point for the Swans.
Saturday 21 January 2023 18:39, UK
Jay Fulton's late equaliser earned Swansea a point in a 1-1 draw at QPR.
Jamal Lowe's goal on his full debut, against his former club, put Rangers ahead on 27 minutes.
Swansea were unable to deal with Tyler Roberts' cross and the ball dropped to Lowe, who fired home.
But the Welsh side hit back with a well-worked goal with nine minutes remaining - their first shot on target.
Ex-QPR man Ryan Manning played a clever reverse pass to Luke Cundle, who might have looked to score himself but instead teed up Fulton for a simple finish.
It was a huge blow for Rangers, who have now won just one of their past 13 matches - a run which has included seven defeats.
They dropped to 13th in the Sky Bet Championship table and have won just one of their seven matches under Neil Critchley, who inherited an out-of-form team and has endured a difficult start to his tenure since replacing Michael Beale as QPR boss.
Having taken the lead, QPR continued to push forward after the interval and had a chance to double their advantage in somewhat bizarre circumstances early in the second half.
Harry Darling's back-pass under pressure from Ilias Chair was handled by goalkeeper Steven Benda, resulting in the home side being awarded a free-kick near the edge of the six-yard box, but Chair's strike was blocked.
And Lowe went close to scoring a second - again after being found by Roberts. The forward's volley bounced up off the ground and against the bar.
Swansea, who remain 11th in the table, had plenty of possession, especially in the second half, but struggled to create clear-cut chances.
They were also dealt a blow just after the hour mark when Benda went off after picking up an injury and had to be replaced by Andy Fisher, who had to produce a save with his legs to deny Lowe after one of several occasions when the visitors were caught in possession while trying to play out from the back.
But the Swans' patience was rewarded when they did finally create an opportunity and Fulton coolly took it.
Olivier Ntcham made a big impact after coming on for Swansea and would have given them the lead but for an important save by QPR goalkeeper Seny Dieng late on.
QPR's Neil Critchley:
"I thought he was excellent. He scored a really good goal and as a constant threat. In two or three weeks' time, when he's a bit sharper and has found a bit more rhythm, he takes one of those chances. He could have ended up walking away with the match ball.
"Because of a couple of enforced subs we've had to make because of injuries, he's ended up playing 90 minutes. He was obviously tired at the end but he put a real shift in."
Swansea's Russell Martin:
"I am happy with a point. I'm pleased with a lot of the game and frustrated by some of the rest of it. It was a poor goal to concede but there was more disappointment with the mentality of the team after that - we went a bit timid, passive and slow. We limited them to very little in the first half apart from the goal and at half-time we had a chat about it and wanted more energy and aggression. In the second half we showed a willingness to fight.
"At half-time it didn't feel like it had been us. I said that we can always accept if we're losing our way, being brave and aggressive with the ball and with intensity. It didn't feel like that enough. Let's make sure we do it on our terms. I said we'd get a chance and we scored a goal of high quality."
