Coventry City’s Gustavo Hamer (right) and Queens Park Rangers’ Luke Amos battle for the ball during the Sky Bet Championship match at St Andrew’s Trillion Trophy Stadium, Birmingham.
Coventry marked their first home game back in the Championship with a thrilling 3-2 victory over QPR at St Andrew’s.
Kyle McFadzean grabbed a late winner to atone for giving away a first-half penalty which had given QPR the lead.
Lyndon Dykes’ spot-kick for the visitors was cancelled out by Matt Godden shortly before the break.
Callum O’Hare then put the hosts ahead in the second half and, after Yoann Barbet had made it 2-2, McFadzean rose highest to produce a late winner.
Rangers were the more assertive side in the first half but failed to make their possession count until Dykes gave them the lead four minutes before the break.
The penalty was awarded after a challenge from Coventry skipper McFadzean, who was beaten to a loose ball in the area by Bright Osayi-Samuel.
The home side responded immediately however, with an equaliser from Godden on the stroke of half-time.
Rangers lost concentration and excellent work from Ryan Giles down the left saw the on-loan Wolves wing-back stand up a beautiful cross from the byline, allowing Godden to take his time and head in at the far post.
Joe Lumley in the QPR goal will feel he could have done better with the effort, but it had just enough power to sneak over the line.
The goal seemed to give the hosts a huge confidence boost and they took the lead for the first time this campaign through O’Hare’s strike five minutes after the break.
An incoming O’Hare managed to pick up the deflected cross, exquisitely getting the ball under control and hitting low and hard past Lumley.
However, the visitors managed to get back on level terms after 76 minutes. Coventry failed to clear an Ilias Chair corner, allowing Barbet to bring the ball down and blast a vicious left-footed finish into the roof of Coventry’s net to make it 2-2.
The impressive Gustavo Hamer, a summer signing from Dutch side PEC Zwolle, put an outswinging corner into the QPR box which was met by McFadzean, who rose above everyone else to plant a header into the net to make amends for giving away the penalty which led to the opener.
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