West Ham were briefly denied the chance to go top of the Championship table after a controversial draw with QPR.
West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo and midfielder Tomas Soucek were not suspected of refereeing error during Friday’s draw with Queens Park Rangers. The visitors went ahead from the penalty spot after Soucek was penalized for a challenge on Paul Smyth.
Not only did he challenge on the edge of the pitch, but Soucek won the ball cleanly. Although there was no VAR in the championship, referee Ruebyn Ricardo’s decision was changed and Nicolas Madsen was sent off.
West Ham leveled in the second half through Jarrod Bowen. However, the captain missed a golden chance to complete the turnaround after his last-minute penalty was saved by QPR goalkeeper Piers Charles.
The draw leaves West Ham in third place in the table, with Middlesbrough just behind them after their win at the weekend. After the game, both Nuno and Soucek had their say on the penalty in the first half, with the latter even claiming that the referee had admitted to making a mistake.
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“I think the pictures are clear,” Nuno said. “I had a chance to see them. They speak for themselves, it’s clear. It’s a mistake that punishes us.”
Soucek added: “I was very happy to win the challenge. I saw him inside and it was worse than I thought. I wanted to talk. [the referee] but he didn’t talk – he told me after the game that he was wrong.”
Nuno, a former goalkeeper in his playing days, gave full credit to Charles for saving a late penalty. The Northern Ireland international, on loan from Manchester City, followed up Arne Engels’ stop with an even more impressive save to deny him the comeback.
“Amazing. Credit to him,” said the former Nottingham Forest boss. “Especially the second one. I don’t know where he got that from.”
“Even when I’m in goal, I always believe that the advantage is the side that hits the ball. So we’ll try and repeat and see if we can improve.
“We scored three penalties and conceded two. That’s not a good average, is it?”
Rangers manager Julien Stephan was similarly impressed by Charles’ heroics and offered bigger and better things for the goalkeeper. “I don’t see much limit for him in the future,” the 21-year-old said.
“I think he has maturity for his age. He’s very humble, hard-working, high-class, high-class, high-personality, high-mentality. He’s a very modern goalkeeper. We’re very lucky to have him with us this season.”