QPR 2-3 Wrexham: Red Dragons Leave It Late in W12

Match Details

• Competition: SkyBet Championship
• Date: Saturday 24th January 2026
• Venue: Matrade Loftus Road, London
• Final Score: QPR 2 - 3 Wrexham
• Attendance: 17,502
• Referee: Oliver Langford (4th Official: Stephen Parkinson)

Match Stats & Key Metrics

	QPR	Wrexham
Score	2	3
Half Time	1	0
Goalscorers	Vale 6', Cook 80'	Doyle 54', Windass 90+3', Rathbone 90+4'
Formation	4-5-1	3-4-2-1
Yellow Cards	Mbengue 44', Smyth 61'	Scarr 11', Sheaf 56'
Red Cards	Mbengue 90'	-
Substitutions	Hayden 64' (Morgan), Kolli 73' (Smyth), Bennie 74' (Dembele), Field 82' (Vale)	Dobson 74' (Sheaf), Rathbone 75' (Broadhead), Smith 84' (James), Windass 84' (Scarr), Longman 90+1' (Kabore)
Attendance	17,502

The Story of the Match

WREXHAM moved into the SkyBet Championship play-off zone after leaving it late to beat QPR 3-2 at Matrade Loftus Road in front of 17,502 fans, thanks to two goals in second-half added time. It was a real smash and grab, an old-style nicking of the points at the end of a keenly fought encounter in W12 through Josh Windass in the 90+3 minute and Oliver Rathbone in the 90+4 minute, both with powerful right-footed strikes to beat Joe Walsh.

QPR came into the match off the back of one win against Sheffield Wednesday (home) 3-0, two draws against Oxford United (away) 0-0 and Stoke City (away) 0-0, and two defeats against West Ham United in the FA Cup 3 (away) 1-2 and Norwich City (home) 1-2. Wrexham arrived off the back of two wins against Derby County (away) 2-1 and Blackburn Rovers (away) 2-0, two draws against Leicester City (home) 1-1 and Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup 3 (home) 3-3 (won on penalties), and a defeat against Norwich City (home) 1-2.

QPR had won each of their last four league games against Wrexham in succession. Wrexham had won just two of their nine away league games against QPR in club history, winning 2-1 in September 1962 and 1-0 in October 1980, and this was their first visit to Loftus Road since a 2-0 defeat in March 2004 in the third tier. QPR had kept a clean sheet in each of their last three league games, drawing the last two 0-0, while Wrexham were seeking a third away win in succession in the second tier of English football for the first time.

QPR head coach Julien Stephan started with a 4-5-1 formation with Joe Walsh in goal, then a back four of Amadou Mbengue, captain Jimmy Dunne, Steve Cook and Rhys Norrington-Davies, a five-man midfield of Kader Dembele, Nicholas Madsen, Kieran Morgan, Harvey Vale and Paul Smyth, with Richard Kone up front. Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson started with a 3-4-2-1 formation with Arthur Okonkwo in goal, a back three of Dan Scarr, captain Dominic Hyam and Callum Doyle, a midfield of Issa Kabore, Matty James, Ben Sheaf and George Thomason, then Nathan Broadhead and Lewis O'Brien behind Kieffer Moore.

Wrexham kicked off the first half defending the School End, wearing a changed strip of yellow shirts and dark green shorts. QPR started well and the home side came forward through Kader Dembele, who fired a left-footed shot against the Wrexham crossbar. The ball bounced out to a Wrexham defender who lost possession to Harvey Vale, and the midfielder fired a left-footed volley straight into the visitors' net to make it 1-0 in the 6th minute.

Dan Scarr was yellow carded in the 11th minute for a pull on Richard Kone. QPR pushed for a second before the interval and pressured Wrexham strongly with good runs by Dembele, Smyth and Madsen. Amadou Mbengue saw a bicycle kick go narrowly over the Wrexham crossbar in the 30th minute, and was booked in the 44th minute. QPR led 1-0 at half time through the only goal from Harvey Vale.

Neither side made half-time changes. Ben Sheaf saw a left-footed shot saved by Walsh in the 53rd minute. Wrexham came on strong after the interval and in the 54th minute, after heavy pressure, Callum Doyle fired home with a left-footed shot at the near post to beat Joe Walsh and make it 1-1, from an influential Nathan Broadhead assist.

Paul Smyth was yellow carded in the 61st minute, as was Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson for dissent. QPR replaced Kieran Morgan with Isaac Hayden in the 64th minute. Wrexham went close again in the 69th minute but Nathan Broadhead's right-footed shot was saved by Walsh. QPR made a double substitution with Rayan Kolli and Daniel Bennie coming on for Kader Dembele and Paul Smyth, while Wrexham brought on George Dobson and Oliver Rathbone for Ben Sheaf and Nathan Broadhead.

QPR took the lead again through a Steve Cook header from a Nicholas Madsen corner in the 80th minute to make the R's fans happy. QPR took off Harvey Vale for Sam Field, while Wrexham replaced Dan Scarr and Matty James with Josh Windass and Sam Smith in the 84th minute. Kieffer Moore saw a right-footed shot saved by Walsh in the 87th minute.

The game turned in the 90th minute when Amadou Mbengue was shown a second yellow card and dismissed, leaving QPR down to ten men. With Rangers having lost their shape, the Red Dragons blundered forward and struck twice in second-half added time, Josh Windass in the 90+3 minute and Oliver Rathbone in the 90+4 minute, much to the shock of the watching R's faithful.

QPR had looked set to move up to 9th on 43 points, level with sixth-placed Bristol City, but the late collapse handed the points to Wrexham instead, sending the Welsh side into the play-off places.

Half Time QPR 1 Wrexham 0 (2 minutes added time)

Full Time QPR 2 Wrexham 3 (4 minutes added time)

Timeline of Key Events

• 6' - Goal (QPR) - Vale volleys home after Dembele hits the bar. 1-0.
• 11' - Yellow Card (Wrexham) - Scarr booked for a pull on Kone.
• 30' - Chance (QPR) - Mbengue's bicycle kick goes narrowly over the bar.
• 44' - Yellow Card (QPR) - Mbengue booked.
• HT - QPR 1-0 Wrexham (2 minutes added time).
• 53' - Save (QPR) - Walsh saves Sheaf's left-footed effort.
• 54' - Goal (Wrexham) - Doyle fires in at the near post from a Broadhead assist. 1-1.
• 56' - Yellow Card (Wrexham) - Sheaf booked.
• 61' - Yellow Card (QPR) - Smyth booked; Parkinson also booked for dissent.
• 69' - Save (QPR) - Walsh denies Broadhead.
• 80' - Goal (QPR) - Cook heads in a Madsen corner. 2-1.
• 87' - Save (QPR) - Walsh saves Moore's right-footed shot.
• 90' - Red Card (QPR) - Mbengue sent off for a second yellow.
• 90+3' - Goal (Wrexham) - Windass fires home. 2-2.
• 90+4' - Goal (Wrexham) - Rathbone completes the turnaround. 2-3.
• FT - QPR 2-3 Wrexham (4 minutes added time).

Author's Standout Players

• Harvey Vale (QPR) - Struck a superb early left-footed volley to open the scoring and was a willing runner throughout before being withdrawn late on.
• Joe Walsh (QPR) - Kept QPR ahead for long spells with saves from Sheaf, Broadhead and Moore, but was ultimately powerless to stop the two added-time strikes.
• Callum Doyle (Wrexham) - Hauled Wrexham level with a well-taken near-post finish and grew into the game as the visitors pushed for the turnaround.
• Josh Windass (Wrexham) - Came off the bench to score the leveller in the 90+3 minute and set up the winning surge, a match-changing cameo.
• Oliver Rathbone (Wrexham) - Also a substitute, he applied the finishing touch with a powerful right-footed winner in the 90+4 minute to complete the smash and grab.