QPR 1-1 Wigan Athletic: Maloney leveller stuns QPR

QPR manager Harry Redknapp admitted he and his players were “low” after a last-minute Shaun Maloney free-kick salvaged a 1-1 draw for Wigan.

Scorers: Queens Park Rangers - Remy (85); Wigan Athletic - Maloney (90)

The hosts had played with ten men for much of the game after Bobby Zamora was shown a straight red card for catching Jordi Gomez in the face with a high boot, but Rangers looked to have secured a vital win when Loic Remy put them ahead with five minutes remaining.

But Wigan, also fighting for survival, equalised in dramatic fashion when Maloney curled home a free-kick in stoppage time to earn a share of the spoils, with the draw leaving both teams inside the relegation zone.

Redknapp felt Rangers had done enough to win the game despite their numerical advantage and revealed the equaliser hit him hard. He said: “We didn’t deserve that, we deserved to win. It was a fantastic performance from everyone one of them. It (the result) was criminal. Even with 10 men I thought we deserved to win. (The players are) low, just like I am, very low.”

Wigan boss Roberto Martinez felt the early red card actually worked against his side, who could have leapfrogged Sunderland and Aston Villa with a win.

“I don’t think in the position we are in we can go to places and try and get a draw,” he said.

“But the draw at the end is a very good result for us. The sending off affected us more than anything because all of a sudden you feel the responsibility of winning a football game.

“The players took it too seriously and didn’t enjoy their football at all, they were pedestrian. We got cagey and forced the play and getting on the ball and playing was a tough job today.

“The sending off should have been an advantage but it ended up being a disadvantage because all of a sudden QPR became well organised and the crowd got behind them.”