QPR draw with promotion rivals Boro
Albert Adomah’s own goal spared Joe Lumley’s blushes and helped Middlesbrough secure a point in an action-packed draw.
Ilias Chair put QPR ahead before Dael Fry levelled in first-half injury time with only the second goal of his career.
The hosts retook the lead just 16 seconds into the second half after an horrendous error by their former keeper Lumley on his return to the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium.
Lumley collected Anfernee Dijksteel’s back-pass and inexplicably gifted the ball straight to Chris Willock, who helped himself to a goal.
But Adomah, also playing against his former club, inadvertently equalised for them on the hour mark.
Isaiah Jones nutmegged Lee Wallace on the right flank and, in attempting to cut out the Boro man’s low cross, Adomah diverted the ball into his own net.
The result meant QPR stayed fourth in the table and Middlesbrough climbed back up to seventh, with both sides maintaining their impressive runs.
Boro had won seven of their previous nine league matches and have lost just once since Chris Wilder took over as manager in early November.
Rangers, meanwhile, are now unbeaten in their past seven games, although they struggled to create clear-cut chances in a match their opponents dominated for large spells.
Morocco international Chair, recently back from the Africa Cup of Nations, brilliantly opened the scoring against the run of play on 29 minutes with his seventh goal of the season.
Chair controlled Willock’s pass near the edge of the penalty area and sent a curling right-footed strike beyond Lumley and into the far corner of the net.
David Marshall had been by far the busier keeper, showing great reflexes to deny Neil Taylor and to tip over Andraz Sporar’s close-range header.
Boro continued to threaten after going behind and were rewarded with an equaliser moments before the interval.
After Jonny Howson’s shot was blocked, R’s defender Jimmy Dunne attempted to clear but Fry nicked the ball away from him and fired past Marshall.
They reacted in a similar way to going behind again, and Sporar volleyed against the bar shortly before Adomah’s mishap.
QPR: Marshall, Dickie, Dunne, Barbet; Adomah, Field, Johansen (Gray 68), Wallace (Odubajo 78); Chair (Hendrick 60), Willock; Dykes.
Subs not used: Mahoney, Amos, Austin, Sanderson.
