West Ham United drew 1 to 1 with Queens Park Rangers in the Championship on Friday night, Oct. 9, at London Stadium, a result that kept the Hammers out of first place. QPR goalkeeper Pierce Charles was the reason, and what he did in the final minutes left 62,140 fans in disbelief.
West Ham stay second in the table. QPR, unbeaten on the road this season, climb to fifth with 14 points from nine games.
How did QPR take the lead at West Ham?
It started with a call almost nobody in the building agreed with. In the 18th minute, Tomas Soucek, making his first appearance of the season, lost the ball to Paul Smyth, chased him down and won it back with what replays showed was a clean tackle well outside the box. Referee Ruebyn Ricardo pointed to the spot anyway.
Here is the detail that makes the moment sting more. The Championship has no VAR. In the Premier League, where West Ham played just five months ago, a video review would almost certainly have overturned the decision. Here, it stood. West Ham assistant Rui Pedro Silva was booked for protesting, and Arne Engels was booked for stamping on the penalty spot. Nicolas Madsen ignored all of it and rolled the ball into the bottom corner.
Why did West Ham struggle for so long?
The Hammers had crushed Wrexham 6 to 0 in their last home game, but this was a different team. QPR kept the ball, frustrated the crowd and nearly doubled their lead before halftime when Rayan Kolli curled a shot that Mads Hermansen tipped away.
Manager Nuno Espirito Santo made a double substitution at the break, but West Ham did not land a shot on target for 70 minutes. Nuno later said his players looked rusty and lacked energy, possibly because of the international break, and admitted slow starts have become a pattern his team must fix.
How did Jarrod Bowen bring West Ham back?
The captain did it himself. In the 70th minute, Bowen won the ball with a crunching tackle that left him with a bloody nose, cut inside from the right, saw his first shot blocked and buried the rebound at the near post. It was his seventh goal of the season and West Ham’s first shot on target.
The stadium came alive. Charles had to make two sharp saves from Joel Piroe and Bowen as the Hammers poured forward. A winner felt close.
What happened in stoppage time?
The clock ticked into the 91st minute. QPR substitute Amadou Mbengue grabbed Pablo’s shirt inside the area, and Ricardo pointed to the spot for the second time. This time, the penalty went West Ham’s way.
One kick from first place. Bowen stepped up.
Charles dove low to his left and pushed the shot away. The rebound fell to Engels, and Charles, still on the ground, sprang back up and kept that out too. QPR manager Julien Stephan said afterward he did not know if he had ever seen a save like it.
Who is Pierce Charles?
He is 21 years old, on loan from Manchester City and already Northern Ireland’s No. 1. Over the international break, he kept clean sheets and saved a penalty for his country. On Friday, he saved another.
There was one more layer to the night. Before kickoff, West Ham honored Ludek Miklosko, the club’s former goalkeeper who died in September. On an evening meant to celebrate a goalkeeper, the one who decided the game wore the other team’s colors.
West Ham have now failed to win three London derbies this season. For QPR, a penalty they did not deserve and a save few could make added up to a point that felt like a victory.
