QPR 2-2 West Brom: FLW report as dominant R's forced to settle for a draw | OneFootball

Sam Field's brace has moved QPR a point clear of the relegation zone but Marti Cifuentes' side were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion despite dominating proceedings as the W12 revolution under the Spanish coach continued.

The R's took a deserved lead through Field only for two goals in two minutes from Mikey Johnston and Grady Diangana to turn the tables before the break. There was more drama to come after the half as Michael Frey had a penalty saved and Cedric Kipre avoided punishment despite punching a goalbound header over the bar before the Albion academy product completed his brace to ensure the points were shared 10 minutes from time.

Despite being 15 places and 21 points below the Baggies at kick-off, Cifuentes side dominated the play-off bound Baggies and on another day would've made it four wins on the bounce. As it is, they have to settle for a draw that pushes them a point above the bottom three.

As for Albion, they remain fifth and extend their lead over seventh-place Norwich City to five points courtesy of the Canaries' defeat to Middlesbrough.

QPR 2-2 West Brom

R's talisman Ilias Chair has scored or assisted in each of the West Londoner's last three games, helping them win all three, so it was no surprise that he forced the first save of the match inside 10 minutes, his powerful effort from the left flank threatening to sneak in at the near post and forcing Alex Palmer to beat it wide.

Oozing with confidence on the back of their three-match winning run, Cifuentes' side were on top from the start and took a deserved lead through Field in the 16th minute. It was Lucas Andersen that teed the midfielder up on the edge of the six-yard box after Palmer had spilled Chair's long-range strike into the path of Frey, who took a touch and a tumble past the keeper, which allowed his fellow free-agent signing to pick out Field.

But the R's joy lasted just eight minutes as a quickfire Albion double saw them turn the game on its head. Johnston showed his speed to cut in unchallenged from the left flank and let fly from the edge of the box - the Celtic loanee hammering his fourth goal in six games in off the inside of the post.

Within two minutes, the Baggies were ahead as Diagana landed the second of Albion's one-two punch. Tom Fellows raced down the right and fired a low cross into Diangana, who gave himself space with a delightful touch past the defender before rifling a finish past Asmir Begovic to leave the travelling fans in dreamland and their hosts shellshocked.

Under previous managers, that would've been enough to sink the R's but a newfound resilience has been one of the many positives of the Cifuentes' tenure and they were soon pressing for a leveller of their own - pilling the pressure on but unable to make a string of corners pay before the break.

The West Londoners' onslaught continued after the restart and they were denied twice in a dramatic first 10 minutes of the second period.

Cifuentes' side were awarded a penalty after a handball from Adam Reach, only for Palmer to get down low to his left and deny Frey's poor spot-kick, and should have had another when Kipre pushed Field's goalbound header over the bar with his hand. Referee Geoff Eltringham was not the only one that missed the offence, which surely would've seen the Albion defender given his marching orders, as none of the R's players appealed.

Carlos Corberan threw on Semi Ajayi in place of Fellows in a bid to shore things up but the chances kept coming for the hosts, with Steve Cook nodding wide from a corner as the hour approached.

The R's thought they'd found their response in the 70th minute when Frey thrashed in a loose ball from 10 yards out, but it was ruled out - not only was the striker offside but Smyth was also penalised for a high foot as Kipre stooped to head clear.

They would get their equaliser as their constant pressure told with ten minutes to go. Jimmy Dunne's close-range header came back off the bar and Field arrived to nod in the rebound from five yards out.

Cifutentes' side were certainly not done as there was still time for a winner and Cook nearly provided it in stunning style but his overhead kick was headed off the line by Darnell Furlong.

QPR player ratings

Asmir Begovic - 6

Jimmy Dunne - 7

Steve Cook - 7

Jake Clarke-Salter - 6 (Morgan Fox (80) - 6)

Kenneth Paal - 6 (Lyndon Dykes (80) - 6)

Lucas Andersen - 8 (Chris Willock (72) - 6)

Sam Field - 9

Isaac Hayden - 6 (Joe Hodge (60) - 6)

Paul Smyth - 7

Michael Frey - 5

Ilias Chair - 7

West Brom player ratings

Alex Palmer - 7

Darnell Furlong - 7

Cedric Kipre - 7

Eric Pieters - 6

Adam Reach - 5 (Pipa (60) - 6)

Alex Mowatt - 6

Okay Yokuslu - 6 (Nathaniel Chalobah (78) - 6)

Tom Fellows - 7 (Semi Ajayi (54) - 6)

Jed Wallace - 6

Grady Diangana - 7 (John Swif (79) - 6)

Mikey Johnston - 7 (Andi Weimann (79) - 6)

Unused subs: Josh Griffiths, Yann M'Vila, Callum Marshall, Jovan Malcolm

Attendance

The attendance at Loftus Road for QPR v West Brom was 16,818.

That includes 1,559 travelling Baggies fans.

"I have been told that West Brom played with two keepers for a while, yes." Cifuentes replied when asked about the handball decision. "Football is a game with mistakes and unfortunately the refs can make mistakes. They have a difficult job, the second most diffficult job after being a manager."

He added: "We need to be better in the margins. (Against Leicester) we were very good with our chances in the last game, today was the opposite. We created a lot of chances and we could've scored more than the two goals."

"I think that we need to believe in ourselves and be brave in our approach because when we did, we played perhaps the best 45 minutes I've seen since I'm manager. When we are brave and are aware than we can be really, really competitive then I think we'll play even better."

Carlos Corberan post-match reaction

On the controversial handball decision, Corberan said: "I haven't watched it.

"I don't remember and I don't have in my mind the action. I was watching a lot of attacks from them so I can't even remember the action. Hopefully, the referee's decision is the right one but unfortunately, mistakes happen."

The Baggies boss was very complimentary of Cifuentes' side and revealed he was happy with the point but not his team's performance.

He explained: "Pleased with a point, yes, because for me a point was the maximum result that we could've achieved today.

"Of course, you don't want to defend as much as we were defending today in the second half. We want to attack more and we don't want to concede the number of chances and corners that we conceded today."