Caulker’s header earns QPR a point

QPR 1 Birmingham 1

Steven Caulker’s goal earned QPR a point at Loftus Road. 

Caulker headed home Tjaronn Chery’s right-wing corner six minutes before half-time to haul Rangers level. 

Birmingham had opened the scoring when Jacques Maghoma’s left-wing cross was headed back across goal by Michael Morrison at the far post and the unmarked Lukas Jutkiewicz had the simple task of scoring from close range.

The goal came shortly after striker Jutkiewicz had been denied by keeper Alex Smithies after drifting in behind Grant Hall.

Earlier, Jordan Cousins fired over with keeper Adam Legzdins to beat after Hall’s long ball had been nodded on by Idrissa Sylla, who made his full league debut for the hosts.

Rangers were then dealt a blow when Cousins limped off injured on the quarter-hour mark – and worse followed for them when Birmingham took the lead, before Caulker netted his second goal of the season.

But Rangers switched off again and were unlucky not to concede just before the break when Maghoma’s left-wing corner was blazed over by Morrison.

QPR, who have won just one of their last seven league matches, were much more threatening after the break

Cousins’ replacement, Pawel Wszolek, created two second-half chances for Chery, who saw one shot blocked by Morrison and another saved by Legzdins after the Polish winger had pulled the ball back from the right.

Legzdins, playing in place of the injured Tomasz Kuszczak, also did well to keep out efforts from Sylla and Massimo Luongo as the home side tried in vain to find a second goal.

Rangers manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has recently attracted criticism from fans, partly because of his reluctance to play with two out-and-out strikers.

On this occasion though he sent on Sebastian Polter to partner Sylla in an attempt to get the victory, but Birmingham stood firm.

R’s skipper Nedum Onouha tried his luck, volleying over following Jake Bidwell’s left-wing corner.

The impressive Legzdins produced another save late on, this time diving to his left to gather a powerfully-struck effort from Ariel Borysiuk.

And in injury time, Wszolek popped up on the left and delivered an excellent cross to the far post, where Sylla headed over.