Pierce Charles double-save earns QPR a 1-1 Championship draw at West Ham and denies Hammers top spot
On 9 October 2026 QPR goalkeeper Pierce Charles produced a stoppage-time double save from a Jarrod Bowen penalty at the London Stadium to secure a 1-1 draw with West Ham in a Championship match. The point denied West Ham top spot in the Championship.
The match opened with a contentious penalty awarded to QPR after referee Ruebyn Ricardo penalised Tomas Soucek for a foul on Paul Smyth, a decision that replays showed occurred well outside the area and with Soucek getting the ball. With no VAR in the Championship the call stood despite visible displeasure inside the London Stadium, and West Ham assistant coach Rui Pedro Silva was booked for his protests. Arne Engels was also booked after stamping on the penalty spot, and Nicolas Madsen calmly rolled the resulting spot-kick into the bottom corner to give Rangers the lead.
QPR’s 21-year-old goalkeeper Pierce Charles, who had kept four clean sheets and saved a penalty for Northern Ireland during the international break, produced the decisive interventions at the death. After Jarrod Bowen’s stoppage-time spot-kick was saved, Charles then somehow pushed Arne Engels’ rebound on to the crossbar to preserve the draw.
Jarrod Bowen cancelled out Madsen’s opener by scoring in the 70th minute, ending what the report described as a frustrating evening for him against Rangers left-back Boy Kemper. Bowen won the ball back with a crunching tackle on Ronnie Edwards — sustaining a bloody nose in the challenge — then received Pablo’s return pass, saw his first attempt blocked and converted the rebound.
West Ham manager Nuno Espírito Santo responded to the early deficit as he had at Millwall the previous outing, making a half-time double substitution by sending on Pablo Felipe and Edvin Austbø for Tomas Soucek and Kyle Walker-Peters. Those changes were part of West Ham’s attempt to recover after falling behind.
Rangers threatened to extend their lead from a West Ham corner when a swift counterattack left recalled striker Rayan Kolli with a shooting chance 15 yards out, but Mads Hermansen produced a fine save. Smyth nearly doubled the advantage when he danced past Konstantinos Mavropanos and into the area, only for the Greek defender to make a crucial recovery tackle.
As West Ham pressed for a winner Bowen’s scuffed effort was tipped past a post by Charles before stoppage time. Then, after substitute Amadou Mbengue grabbed a handful of Pablo’s shirt and referee Ricardo pointed to the spot, Charles denied Bowen’s penalty and again stopped Engels’ follow-up to ensure Rangers took a point.
The draw left West Ham unable to reclaim the Championship’s top spot while QPR left the London Stadium with a valuable away point secured by Charles’s late saves.