Stam stunned by home horrors
BOSS Jaap Stam bemoaned Reading’s profligacy as they failed to win for a third game in succession.
With off-field controversies that have dogged manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink seemingly put to bed, QPR took the lead through Pawel Wszolek 14 minutes in.
But the R’s have not won a home league game since the opening day and were pegged back seven minutes later with Danny Williams on target.
After the break Reading looked the most likely to win it and Stam felt the point was nothing to celebrate.
Stam said: “I think if you look at the chances and the chances we created in the second half, we should have scored.
“That’s a thing we didn’t do well, but we defended well and worked very hard. We attacked well at times and created chances, but I think we should have scored.
“I think we should have won. We always try to play out from the back and they made it hard for us by pressing high from the beginning. We conceded the goal in the first half by trying to play the ball out ourselves and that makes it difficult when you are playing against a physically strong side.
“We came back and it was a good cross and a good finish from Danny Williams. After that we kept on searching for a second goal but there is always a threat in how they play.”
The hosts took the lead through the game’s first chance. Olamide Shodipo’s chip was taken down by Wszolek before he prodded the ball beyond Ali AlHabsi for his first goal for the club.
The goal certainly woke up the visitors and Garath McCleary stung the palms of R’s goalkeeper Alex Smithies from 18 yards.
McCleary turned provider for the equaliser midway through the first half when he hit a leftwing cross to the far post and Williams found the far corner with a neat volley. The Royals finished the first half strongest but both sides were quick to threaten after the break with Williams and then Shodipo seeing efforts from distance blocked.
In the 55th minute QPR striker Sebastian Polter wasted a giltedged chance as he headed Tjaronn Chery’s corner wide when unmarked six yards out.
Polter was almost made to pay for his miss on the hour but had Smithies to thank as he denied Roy Beerens at his near post with a fine block.
Stam’s side were beginning to up the tempo and Smithies once again saved from McCleary, before Yann Kermorgant saw his powerful header narrowly drift wide of the target.
QPR finished with three strikers on the pitch but the closest either side went to finding a winner was when Beerens fired over the crossbar 15 minutes from time.
Hasselbaink said: “My boys gave everything. We were very positive in the substitutions and on another day it might have worked.
“It’s unfortunate that we started ever so well and for the first 20 minutes we were the better side.
“We deservedly took the lead and then we stopped doing what made us the better side. We need to keep on going and in the second half we tried to pick that up again.
“It’s frustrating to draw again. That’s why we tried to go for it and put three strikers on in hope of getting the three points.”