Charlton Athletic 2 v QPR 2

An absorbing London derby played on a bright and crisp Boxing Day saw Charlton settle for a point after a pulsating second half which should have seen them notch their first win in 15 games. Having said that, QPR had a third ruled out near the finish, so most of the 21, 203 left the ground satisfied. If the first half looked like a continuation of the uninspiring 90 minutes at Norwich, the second half saw us play the most attacking half of the season. 

McEveley came back in for Basey but the rest of the side remained unchanged; Elliot, McEveley, Hudson, Fortune, Cranie, Bouazza, Semedo, Bailey, Sam, Gray and Waghorn. Semedo and Bailey were playing just in front of our back four in the first half and, whilst that provided more protection, it left us short of any attacking penetration. Bouazza had a poor first half showing for a change and his communication with McEveley was non-existent. Lloyd Sam was better supported on the right, notably by Semedo but Gray and Waghorn were again toiling for scraps.

QPR started confidently in front of a decent West London following. With 18 minutes gone, Lee Cook opened the scoring after stepping up to flight a left foot curler beyond Elliot after Charlton conceded a soft free-kick. The goal came from nowhere and there was little for either side to shout until then. QPR were at least getting forward and forced a number of corners. Rob Elliot saved a header from Blackstock but there wasn't a lot else to worry about.

After the break and kicking towards the Covered End, Charlton played with much more urgency and an unlikely looking equaliser arrived within three minutes of the re-start. A fast break on the right resulted in Sam firing a near post cross. With two QPR defenders waiting to head clear, Nicky Bailey surged into the box and threw himself at the cross, reaching it ahead of the opposition as well as Andy Gray and he directed it past Cerny into the top corner. That set the scene for twenty minutes of Charlton domination which should have resulted in us taking the lead but we lacked a cutting edge. McEveley was tearing down the left and hitting great far post balls and Lloyd Sam was causing Rangers just as much trouble with his running and crossing from the left.  The visiting fans were silent for most of this spell but they came to life after 69 minutes when slack marking let them play the ball into Dexter Blackstock who was occupying a five-yard exclusion zone in the Charlton box. He took a touch, steadied himself and picked his moment to beat the advancing Elliot to restore an undeserved lead. It looked like another kick in the stomach but we continued to attack and Nicky Bailey got us level with another unlikely header which owed as much to quick thinking as any aerial prowess. Cerny had come to punch clear in front of a melee of players but could only knock the ball out five yards. Nicky Bailey was lurking and sensing he couldn't get a shot past the players in front of him dived instead and looped a header over all of them which beat a surpised Cerny. 

We then got our chance to win the game when another far post ball, this time from Basey who was on for McEveley, reached Lloyd Sam but he somehow managed to head back across the goal and wide. That seemed a signal for Rangers to wake up and they responded strongly in the final five minutes of full time. Heider Helguson was on by now and he crashed a shot off the post. With Elliot beaten, the ball rebounded across the face of the goal and Ledesma thought he'd won it when he smashed the ball in off the bar. Fortunately, the referree had flagged for a foul and the goal was disallowed. QPR continued to press in the four minutes of added time but couldn't get a breakthrough.

Rob Elliot deserves to retain his place after another impressive performance and several decent saves. The back four played well again despite conceding another two goals. In the second-half, Bailey's performance won him my man-of-the-match award from Lloyd Sam. Semedo had a busier game but was again booked for a lazy chllange, as was Martin Crainey. Hameur Bouazza had the poorest game and probably deserves to be dropped. Neither Waghorn or Gray managed to create any space against a lanky Rangers back-line. Deon Burton had no joy either after coming on for Waghorn, so it was just as well that the midfield went into attack mode in the second period.

A point at home is still not enough and on Sunday we should equal our worst ever sequence without a win of 16 games. It should also mark the end of Phil Parkinson's care-taker role as he can't be handed the job after no wins in what will be eight games and only three points from a possible twenty-four. Doncaster are winning at Nottingham Forest as I write and that will see us rock-bottom once again.