Kevin Nolan’s big-match verdict: Naby Sarr’s goal deep into stoppage time could be turning point for Charlton after a difficult two months

QPR 2
Cameron 6, Pugh 70
CHARLTON 2
Taylor 56, Sarr 90
BY KEVIN NOLAN AT THE KIYAN PRINCE FOUNDATION STADIUM

Victimised so often this season by goals scored against them in added time, it was Charlton’s turn to celebrate in front of their delirious fans as unlikely hero Naby Sarr combined touch and composure to equalise in the fifth of four official extra minutes.

For sheer guts and determination, Lee Bowyer’s wounded warriors, further depleted by the 14th minute loss of Jonathan Leko, deserved their late reward.

Cocky and complacent, Rangers seemed to have capably managed the last throes of a pulsating game and were seconds away from trousering all three points when Dillon Phillips murmured a prayer and launched a huge free-kick into their penalty area. American defender Geoff Cameron made a hash of his attempted headed clearance, which allowed Sarr, switched up front in a last desperate throw of Bowyer’s dice, to control neatly and efficiently before ramming a potentially season-changing leveller past Joe Lumley.

This second consecutive 2-2 draw had a totally different vibe to it than that heartbreakingly shared with Hull City eight days previously.

It may, in fact, be  remembered as the game which began Charlton’s recovery from a two-month slump of ominous proportions. It certainly confirmed that while down, they’re far from out.

Much earlier – in the sixth minute to be precise – the fortunes of Sarr and Cameron had converged in dramatically different circumstances. Meeting Ebere Eze’s right-wing delivery, a wrong-footed Sarr managed only a weakly scuffed clearance directly to Cameron’s feet. From eight yards. the centre-back half-volleyed crisply past Phillips. Once again, the Addicks had made a mountain even bigger than it was.

Fortunately, Mark Warburton’s unpredictable side wasted a string of chances to settle the issue before half-time.

Their main offender – or benefactor from the visitors’ point of view – was Nahki Wells, who began a one-man mission to keep Charlton in with a shout by spurning a couple of copper-bottomed chances to increase QPR’s lead.

From no more than five yards out, Wells contrived to head over the bar after Jordan Hugill had nodded another of Eze’s excellent crosses back to him from the far post. If that miss was at least explicable, the selfish mess Wells made minutes later of a gift made to him by Ben Purrington was no doubt the first item on an irate Warburton’s half-time agenda.

Purrington’s intended backpass to Phillips from just inside his own half was not only ill-advised but abysmally weak. Latching on to the ball, Wells bore down on an exposed Phillips, with Tottenham loanee Luke Amos alertly shadowing him to his left. A simple two-on-one walk-in for Amos was clearly on the cards but Wells had no intention of sharing the glory. Shooting prematurely, he was brilliantly foiled by the ice-cool Phillips.

The pendulum of a one-sided game had swung decisively. And the visitors sensed they were in with a chance.

With Lyle Taylor back from his lengthy lay-off, there was added sharpness to Charlton’s attacking. Gradually warming to his task, Taylor turned smartly on to Conor Gallagher’s free-kick to his feet and forced a fine save with his feet by Lumley.

His header also struck the bar later on when Sarr returned Gallagher’s corner from the far post. But his 56th-minute equaliser demonstrated that his prolonged absence had not dulled the poacher’s instincts which account for many of his goals.

Another corner from Gallagher was feebly cleared by fall guy Wells to early substitute Albie Morgan, whose firm, first-time drive was nimbly turned in by Taylor, who was first to react among a cluster of players obscuring Lumley’s vision. There was no suggestion of a lucky ricochet, more a born striker’s heads-up reflexes.

The 67th minute replacement of the hapless Wells by Bright Osayi-Samuel turned the tide again for the west Londoners. Full of running and tricks, the newcomer weaved past three baffled defenders to the right byline and set up Marc Pugh with an easy tap-in from four yards.

A fine save from Phillips from Osayi-Samuel kept the lead at one goal but as referee Donohue’s final whistle was being prepared, Pugh’s strike seemed to have done the trick for Rangers.

But Sarr proved hard to discourage and snatched a goal which could yet re-energise Charlton’s declining campaign.

It might help their cause that they’ve unearthed another young diamond in Alfie Doughty. And he’s one of their own….

Charlton (4-4-2): Phillips 8, Matthews 7, Lockyer 7, Sarr 7, Purrington 4 (Pearce 27, 6), Pratley 6, Gallagher 7, Doughty 8 (Oshilaja 88), Leko (Morgan 12, 8), Bonne 5, Taylor 7. Not used: Maynard-Brewer, Ledley, Solly, Dempsey.

PICTURES BY PAUL EDWARDS