Jay Fulton scores late equaliser to earn Swansea a point at QPR
Jay Fulton’s late equaliser earned Swansea a point in a 1-1 draw at QPR.
Jamal Lowe’s goal on his full debut, against his former club, put Rangers ahead on 27 minutes.
Swansea were unable to deal with Tyler Roberts’ cross and the ball dropped to Lowe, who fired home.
But the Welsh side hit back with a well-worked goal with nine minutes remaining – their first shot on target.
Ex-QPR man Ryan Manning played a clever reverse pass to Luke Cundle, who might have looked to score himself but instead teed up Fulton for a simple finish.
It was a huge blow for Rangers, who have now won just one of their past 13 matches – a run which has included seven defeats.
They dropped to 13th in the Sky Bet Championship table and have won just one of their seven matches under Neil Critchley, who inherited an out-of-form team and has endured a difficult start to his tenure since replacing Michael Beale as QPR boss.
Having taken the lead, QPR continued to push forward after the interval and had a chance to double their advantage in somewhat bizarre circumstances early in the second half.
Harry Darling’s back-pass under pressure from Ilias Chair was handled by goalkeeper Steven Benda, resulting in the home side being awarded a free-kick near the edge of the six-yard box, but Chair’s strike was blocked.
And Lowe went close to scoring a second – again after being found by Roberts. The forward’s volley bounced up off the ground and against the bar.
Swansea, who remain 11th in the table, had plenty of possession, especially in the second half, but struggled to create clear-cut chances.
They were also dealt a blow just after the hour mark when Benda went off after picking up an injury and had to be replaced by Andy Fisher, who had to produce a save with his legs to deny Lowe after one of several occasions when the visitors were caught in possession while trying to play out from the back.
But the Swans’ patience was rewarded when they did finally create an opportunity and Fulton coolly took it.
Olivier Ntcham made a big impact after coming on for Swansea and would have given them the lead but for an important save by QPR goalkeeper Seny Dieng late on.