Hall scores as QPR draw with Reading

QPR 1 Reading 1

Grant Hall scored his first goal for QPR but it was not enough to give them victory at Loftus Road.

Hall, outstanding for Rangers this season, met Alejandro Faurlin’s left-wing corner with a looping header that Oliver Norwood was unable to prevent dropping in at the far post.

But the Royals hit back four minutes before half-time when Andrew Taylor crossed from the left and Yann Kermogrant’s skilful first-time lay-off teed up Deniss Rakels, who finished emphatically.

In an even first half, both teams created openings before eventually finding the net.

Ali Al-Habsi made two comfortable early saves, gathering Ben Gladwin’s header and Sebastian Polter’s shot.

The Reading keeper was given a tougher test by Tjaronn Chery’s 28th-minute free-kick, diving to his left to deny the Dutch midfielder what would have been his sixth goal in his last seven home matches.

At the other end, Stephen Quinn’s left-wing cross was steered into the side netting by Kermorgant from close range.

Goalkeeper Matt Ingram, making his home debut for QPR, then saw a dipping shot from Rakels flash narrowly over before Reading midfielder Simon Cox sent a right-footed volley wide.

And after hauling his team level, Rakels missed an opportunity to put them ahead a minute before the interval when he blazed over after finding himself in on goal.

Ingram was called into action almost immediately after the restart, superbly pushing away Norwood’s free-kick and then keeping out Jake Cooper’s header from the resulting corner.

Al-Habsi was kept busy in the opening stages of the second half too, saving a shot from Polter and then the German’s header from Massimo Luongo’s cross.

Teenage left-back Cole Kpekawa, making his full league debut for Rangers, headed over from a Faurlin corner, before the home fans appealed in vain for a penalty when the ball ricocheted off Anton Ferdinand’s hand after the former QPR defender had slipped over in the area.

Reading appeared to run out of ideas as the second half wore on. George Evans blasted well over the Rangers bar and a free-kick from Norwood was not much closer to the target.

Chery and Polter were also guilty of wayward finishes when they missed late chances for Rangers.

Chery miscued his shot from near the edge of the six-yard box after Polter had pulled the ball back from the left-hand touchline.

And when a cross by substitute Michael Petrasso dropped to Polter, he misjudged his header and succeeded only in nudging the ball wide from close range.