Football Feb 12, 2026

Charlton 0-0 QPR: London rivals have to settle for point as Joe Walsh makes quality saves to earn draw

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By Admin
Sports Journalist
Charlton 0-0 QPR: London rivals have to settle for point as Joe Walsh makes quality saves to earn draw

Charlton were left to rue missed chances as they were held to a goalless Championship draw by QPR at The Valley.

Goalkeeper Joe Walsh made some vital stops for the visitors, who only really came to life as an attacking threat in the closing stages of a fiercely-contested derby.

QPR arrived in south-east London missing a number of key men - including top-scorer Rumarn Burrell and talisman Ilias Chair - and failed to produce a shot on target in the first half.

QPR's Harvey Vale was booked after four minutes for a high boot on Conor Coady, who needed his head bandaged up.

Charlton's starting frontline contained two former Rangers players and one of them, Lyndon Dykes - a January signing from Birmingham - saw a shot deflected wide by Steve Cook's challenge in the 15th minute.

Dykes was proving a physical handful for his former club and also smashed the ball over after a sharp turn as the Addicks built up a spell of pressure.

Charlton's top-scorer Sonny Carey sent another effort narrowly over the crossbar from captain Greg Docherty's pass as QPR were forced to defend their box as they absorbed a sustained spell of dominance from the hosts.

Liverpool loanee Luke Chambers' free-kick was kept out as QPR goalkeeper Walsh made a plunging save to his right in the 31st minute.

And Walsh was required moments later to deny Coady a goal on his home debut, keeping out the holding midfielder's shot with his left boot.

Walsh was called into action early in the second half, pushing Charlie Kelman's strike over the crossbar and parrying an effort from Chambers in the 54th minute.

Charlton continued to fail to convert chances, the QPR stopper denied Dykes after he had muscled into a dangerous position inside the penalty area.

The away side finally produced an opening of note after 73 minutes as Richard Kone's pass sent Harvey Vale through but his shot headed into the away end housing 3,300 fans.

Charlton switched to a more attacking left flank with Tyreece Campbell replacing Chambers and within seconds the Jamaica international's cross was met first time by the sliding Carey but sailed wide of the target.

The west Londoners had their first shot on Thomas Kaminski's goal in the 80th minute but it was a straightforward claim for the Charlton number one.

Carey, whose quick feet helped him net the opener in last weekend's 2-0 victory at Leicester, produced two wild finishes from the edge of the box.

It was Kaminski's turn to provide the heroics in stoppage-time as he raced out to foil substitute Rayan Kolli, while QPR captain Jimmy Dunne had a goal-bound header hacked clear in a frantic finish.

Charlton's Nathan Jones to Your Site:

"In the last eight minutes, I'm really happy with the point. But the previous 90, I'm really disappointed we didn't win the game. We were excellent first half, without having that real of cutting edge quality to have scored one or two. That can happen.

"We stopped doing the things we were good at and allowed them to come into the game. Their subs had a better effect than ours and at the end, it would have been a travesty [if they had scored]. I'm pleased with the overall performance but disappointed we didn't show the quality to win the game.

On Vale's challenge on Coady: "We don't want to see people get reds but I remember a Champions League game where Nani got a red for less than that [for Manchester United against Real Madrid].

"It's a dangerous challenge but I'm not sure I want to see a red for that in this day and age. A yellow card was common sense."

QPR's Julien Stephan to Your Site:

"I was not very happy at half-time to be fair and we wanted to react strongly for the second half. We did well in the second half. We had better situations and in the second half we deserved more. But we have to be more efficient.

"We finished with 18 shots in this game, so more dominant in the second half. It was a third away evening in a row, we were able to continue the clean sheets - but we have to be more efficient if we want to score.

"We fixed some problems at half-time. First, it was the quality of our first line of pressure. It was crucial today and was better in the second half. The team block was better with the defensive line, that made the difference in the second half. The last 15 or 20 minutes, we had more space, chaotic moments and transitions.

"Our goalkeeper made good saves. He had a bad injury in the first half of the season, but now he comes back well. Personality, character and good quality as well. It's a special position, goalkeeper. Consistency is very important, but for his confidence, it's good."

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