West Ham United vs Queens Park Rangers; Sky Bet Championship
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West Ham United vs Queens Park Rangers. Sky Bet Championship.
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West Ham 1-1 QPR: Jarrod Bowen's stoppage-time penalty saved by Pierce Charles as Hammers held at home on return from international break
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between West Ham United and Queens Park Rangers at the London Stadium on Friday night; Jarrod Bowen's 91st-minute penalty saved by Pierce Charles as points shared on return from extended international break
Friday 9 October 2026 23:01, UK
Jarrod Bowen saw his 91st-minute penalty saved as West Ham missed the chance to move top of the Sky Bet Championship after a 1-1 draw with QPR.
Nicolas Madsen put Rangers 1-0 up, rolling home a penalty awarded in highly controversial circumstances.
But the Hammers came alive as the conclusion approached, with Bowen slamming in his seventh goal of the season to equalise after his first shot was blocked.
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In the 90th minute, Amadou Mbengue tugged the shirt of Pablo in the penalty area and Bowen had the chance to win it from the spot.
But Pierce Charles dived low to his left to keep out the initial effort, then reacted in a flash to tip Arne Engels' follow-up over the bar.
How a dramatic evening unfolded in East London
Nuno Espirito Santo's side thumped Wrexham 6-0 in their last home game, but found themselves nowhere near that level in the first half. The display was sedate - they had two shots, with a total xG value of 0.07 - and they found themselves behind after only 18 minutes.
Tomas Soucek - making his first appearance of the season after recovering from an ankle injury sustained at the World Cup - slid in on Paul Smyth as the QPR livewire looked to break into the box.
The Czech midfielder got the ball - but referee Ruebyn Ricardo saw otherwise and pointed to the spot. Soucek's reaction was one of sheer disbelief.
"That's definitely not a penalty. No way on Earth. This is an absolute howler," said Lee Hendrie on co-commentary.
Speaking at half-time, studio guest Rob Green added: "The referee didn't let the situation breathe. He didn't give himself a moment to think: 'hold on a minute, what's actually happened here?'
"He just saw the ball move, the player move, the player fall over and gave the penalty."
Madsen coolly tucked away the penalty - and until the 70th minute that was all that separated the sides.
But West Ham came alive and were level when Bowen darted away from substitute Tariq Lamptey, hit one shot that was blocked, then made no mistake with the second.
The captain was denied another by a sharp Charles save, but with 90 minutes on the clock, Mbengue's overzealous tug was spotted by the officials and Bowen had the chance to be the hero once again.
Instead it was Charles who took the plaudits with two brilliant quickfire saves to preserve the point that sees QPR climb to fifth.
Soucek: Ref has admitted he was wrong - but he didn't speak to me on the pitch
West Ham's Tomas Soucek speaking to Sky Sports:
"I was so happy I won the challenge and recovered the ball!
"Straight away, I didn't know what the referee was doing and, from my perspective, it's a massive, massive mistake.
"We are just disappointed because, when I saw it inside, it looks even worse. I can't change it, but I cannot accept it.
"After the game, he told me he was wrong, but during the game, he just didn't want to speak with me any more.
"I was disappointed he didn't even want to speak with me so he could explain to me what he saw.
"I am disappointed because it had a big impact on me, but even more on the team. It was tough to take, but at least we got a point."
Nuno: We have the quality to do much better
West Ham's Nuno Espirito Santo speaking to Sky Sports:
"We could have won in the end, but we didn't start the game well. Once again, we were not precise in our passing, the game didn't flow. The first half was not good.
"We were able to react from a goal down and we had chances to win the game until the end.
"We always know, after an international break, there's a question mark over the players, also the players that have been involved in national teams. It was maybe an explanation, but we expect much more. We have enough quality to do much better."
On the controversial penalty award: "Unfortunately, it's not a good decision. The ref didn't get it right in that moment. The images are clear. There's not much more to say about that."
