SARR NABS GOAL IN NICK OF TIME
Equaliser with just 11 seconds remaining
CHARLTON boss Lee Bowyer is hoping for some new signings for Christmas after nicking a dramatic draw at QPR.
The injury-plagued Addicks rescued a point courtesy of Naby Sarr’s equaliser with 11 seconds remaining. But their injury crisis worsened when Jonathan Leko went off with a knee problem and Bowyer is desperate to strengthen.
Bowyer said: “The only good thing is that January’s coming. We need to bring some bodies in because these lads can’t keep doing what they’re doing. They’re running through brick walls every week and they need some help.”
And Bowyer hopes that the late equaliser will signal an upturn in his team’s fortunes.
He said: “It may be that change of luck. For the ball to fall to Naby a couple of things went our way – they should probably have cleared it and it ended up going into Naby’s path. Hopefully that’s the bit of luck that we needed and things start going our way because of late there’s a lot of things not been going our way.
“It was the least we deserved.”
Geoff Cameron’s sixthminute goal came courtesy of an error by Sarr. Ebere Eze chipped a free-kick into the area and Sarr’s poor clearance fell straight to Cameron, who scored with a side-footed volley from near the edge of the six-yard box.
Charlton almost equalised when Lyle Taylor was denied at point-blank range by keeper Joe Lumley after being found by Ben Purrington’s low cross.
Nahki Wells then missed two glorious chances to double QPR’s lead. He headed against the bar from close range after Eze’s right-wing cross had been headed down by Jordan Hugill and also failed to capitalise after being sent through by Purrington’s appalling backpass, shooting straight at Dillon Phillips. And a poor clearance by Wells led to Charlton’s equaliser. Conor Gallagher swung in a corner and Wells succeeded only in prodding the ball out to Albie Morgan, whose low strike was diverted in by Taylor.
Wells was soon replaced by Bright Osayi-Samuel, who set up Marc Pugh’s goal just four minutes after coming on. He twice twisted away from Jason Pearce on the right before teeing up Pugh for a simple closerange finish.
Charlton nearly levelled when Gallagher’s corner was met by Sarr, whose header back across goal was nodded on to the bar by Taylor. But the visitors’ persistence was rewarded in dramatic fashion.
Cameron attempted to clear but instead the ball bounced off the back of the American’s head and straight to Sarr, who made no mistake.
QPR manager Mark Warburton said: “We weren’t clinical enough. Everyone will focus on an equaliser with 11 seconds to go, but the fact is the game should have been over by then.
“The game should have been out of sight. We didn’t finish them off. Football’s about putting the ball in the net and if you’re not clinical you can pay the price – and we paid the price with 11 seconds to go.”