Failed penalty conversion dooms West Ham again as the club fails to take three points.
With a chance to come out of a listless performance with a Jarrod Bowen penalty kick, the opportunity to save the match was as listless as West Ham’s performance on the day. After giving up the early lead on a blown call by the referee, the captain failed to steal the game, and instead the Hammers and QPR stay right where they are for now.
The missed chance to go top of the Championship on Friday night, held 1-1 by QPR at the London Stadium. QPR took the lead in the 18th minute, and the home crowd was furious about how. Tomáš Souček, back in the starting XI after his injury at the World Cup, was ruled to have fouled Paul Smyth inside the box. Replays suggested the contact was minimal at best, but referee Ruebyn Ricardo pointed to the spot, and Nicolas Madsen rolled the penalty into the bottom corner. It was a harsh way for Souček to start his comeback. “I was so happy to recover the ball,” Souček said after the match. “[The referee] apologized to me after the game, but it doesn’t matter. It’s very disappointing and you can’t change that.”
West Ham struggled to find their rhythm for the rest of the first half. The Hammers had plenty of the ball but little cutting edge, and they went into the break a goal down.
West Ham reshaped the match at half-time, bringing on Edvin Austbø and Pablo for Kyle Walker-Peters and Souček. A second round of changes around the hour brought Orford and Piroe into the game, and the home side finally started to play on the front foot. The breakthrough came in the 70th minute. Jarrod Bowen’s first effort was blocked, but he followed up with a right-footed finish to level the score. It was his seventh goal of the season, and the London Stadium came alive.
With the clock running down, West Ham got their chance to win it. Bowen’s cross led to QPR substitute Amadou Mbengue pulling Pablo’s shirt in the box, and this time there was no argument about the decision. Bowen stepped up, but QPR goalkeeper Pierce Charles, the 21-year-old on loan from Manchester City, got down to push the penalty away. He was not finished. Arne Engels pounced on the rebound with a header, and Charles somehow turned that onto the crossbar. The save preserved a point for the visitors.
“We have to fix it. We have to start better.” – Nuno Espirito Santo
“We have to do much better,” Nuno Espírito Santo said post-game. “We didn’t play good. We started the game not precise with passing; the flow didn’t happen. We should have and could have played much better. Unfortunately, I’m repeating myself. We have to fix it. We have to start better.”
West Ham had 65% of the possession and 12 shots to QPR’s seven, and left feeling they deserved more. Instead, they stay in the chasing pack rather than taking over at the top.
West Ham Player Ratings (out of 10)
Starting XI
- Mads Hermansen – 5: Rarely tested. But seemed completely dumbfounded by Madson’s penalty.
- Kyle Walker-Peters – 4: Taken off at half-time as the right side offered little going forward.
- Konstantinos Mavropanos – 7: Steady at the back, and QPR’s only goal came from the spot.
- Maximilian Kilman – 6.5: Part of a back line that restricted QPR to seven shots.
- Morato – 5: Solid enough without adding much on the ball. Nuno has to get more runs and offense from this position.
- Tomáš Souček – 4: A tough return from injury. Caught up in the penalty call and replaced at the break.
- Divine Mukasa – 5: Struggled to supply the creativity the team needed in midfield.
- Arne Engels – 6.5: Pushed the team forward late on and went close with the follow-up header.
- Manor Solomon – 5: Flickers of movement but not enough end product.
- Jarrod Bowen – 7: Scored the equaliser and led the late push, but was denied from the spot.
- Valentín Castellanos – 6: Worked hard and combined well once the game opened up.
Substitutes
- Edvin Austbø – 6: Introduced at the break and helped steady the side.
- Pablo – 7: Made an impact after half-time and won the late penalty.
- Orford – 6: Brought energy as West Ham pushed on.
- Piroe – 6.5: Linked up well with Castellanos and Bowen as the game turned. Might have needed to be brought on at the half.
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