Kevin Nolan’s Match Report: Queens Park Rangers v Charlton (21/12/2019)

Kevin Nolan reports from Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium.

The scenes on and off the field when referee Matt Donohue’s whistle brought this game to a close to an end after 96 pulsating minutes were all too familiar. One group of players slumped in despair while their opponents capered, screamed in jubilation and joined their supporters behind the goal in riotous assembly.

As Charlton have conceded a series of added time goals this season, it’s been their hearts that have been regularly broken. But this time the boot was firmly on QPR’s foot. Only seconds from a victory that seemed theirs for the taking and having spent the dying throes of the game camped in their visitors’ half, Rangers were shattered by an equaliser scored by unlikely hero Naby Sarr,

Sent upfield as a last desperate gesture by Lee Bowyer, Sarr had, frankly, made little impression. But his manager was aware that despite his huge frame, the popular Frenchman is capable of cool finishing under pressure. And as Dillon Phillips murmured a prayer and launched a long ball into the home penalty area, Sarr moved on to Geoff Cameron’s disastrous misheader, took a touch to steady himself and used his weaker right foot to slot an especially crucial equaliser past Joe Lumley. Although their winless streak extended to eleven games, the point they wrested from this awkward fixture could be a turning point.

Much earlier, Sarr’s defensive error had contributed to Rangers’ opening goal. His weak, wrongfooted stab at Ebere Eze’s right wing delivery found Cameron only eight yards from goal. The American’s crisp half-volley duly punished Sarr’s blunder and made Charlton’s difficult task even harder.

As the Addicks briefly wilted, sharpshooter Nahki Wells twice let them off the hook. His point blank header after Jordan Hugill nodded another fine cross from Eze back from the far post clipped the crossbar on its harmless way to safety. It was a bad miss but Wells wasn’t quite through for the afternoon. Sent clear by Ben Purrington’s dreadfully underpowered backpass, the profligate striker bore down on an advancing Phillips, with Spurs loanee Luke Amos urgently making up ground to offer support to his left. With the hopeful keeper outnumbered, a simple squared pass would have made Amos’ tap-in a mere formality. Instead Wells selfishly elected to shoot and was brilliantly blocked by Phillips; beside himself in frustration, meanwhile, Amos’ language doesn’t belong on this family website, understandable though it was at the time.

Handed an improbable lifeline, the Addicks steadied thermselves and gradually improved. Precocious kids Alfie Doughty and Albie Morgan, on as a 12th minute replacement for latest casualty Jonathan Leko, orchestrated the recovery and there was always hope with Lyle Taylor up front. The inspirational goalscorer took time to assert himself but a sharp low shot, saved smartly by Lumley, offered promise. Another of the kids -Conor Gallagher – also tested Lumley as the pendulum began to swing in the visitors’ favour.

Taylor’s twisting header hit the bar early in the second half and it was no surprise that Charlton drew level before the hour. Gallagher’s right wing corner was inconclusively cleared to Morgan, hovering just outside the penalty area. Young Albie’s powerful shot returned the ball with interest and was nimbly turned past Lumley by Taylor, the most alert player among the cluster surrounding the unsighted keeper. It was no lucky ricochet, merely the predatory reaction of a born poacher.

The removal of Wells minutes later and his replacement by the silky skills of Bright Osayi-Samuel promptly reclaimed the initiative for Mark Warburton’s men. Scorer of a wonder goal at Birmingham recently, the newcomer began to run at Charlton’s increasingly dogeared defence to devastating effect, Shimmying through two challenges, he left Jason Pearce in a tangle on his way to the right byline, before cutting back a pass which left Marc Pugh the simple job of tapping home Rangers’ second goal with 20 minutes remaining.

Still the Addicks plugged away doggedly, with Doughty’s fierce crosshot shaving the right post. But it was no more than hit-and-hope that inspired Phillips’ agricultural delivery and Cameron’s more than helpful misheader. The educated touch and calm finish by Sarr, however, was different class.

Winless now since October 19th, Charlton can hardly expect results elsewhere to keep them out of the relegation maelstrom. After all, the “kindness of strangers” upon which she depended served Blanche Dubois well in A Streetcar named Desire only until she ran into roughhouse brother-in-law Stanley Kowalski (Marlon Brando) in New Orleans and look what happened to her. I don’t have a clue what Tennessee Williams’ play has to do with Charlton’s relegation fears but I thought I’d mention it. Feeling the pressure a bit, I reckon… or just showing off.