Queens Park Rangers 1-1 Norwich City: Rs still in peril as Canaries frustrated
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Lyndon Dykes scored his second goal in three games for QPR after previously going 14 without one
Queens Park Rangers and Norwich City ground out a high-energy stalemate that did little to help their respective hopes for the remainder of this Championship season.
The hosts ended the night just one point above the drop zone with an inferior goal difference to sides around them, while play-off hopefuls Norwich missed the chance to climb into the top six.
Rangers took the lead early through Lyndon Dykes before Adam Idah levelled just after the break.
Neither side were able to seize the initiative and claim a victory which both clubs desperately needed for different reasons.
Dykes opened the scoring in the ninth minute. Ilias Chair clipped the ball into the box and the Scotland striker finished coolly from just outside the six-yard box - handing QPR the lead for the first time in seven games.
Norwich looked ragged following the goal, struggling to find any kind of composure or rhythm in the opening stages.
The visitors should have found themselves two down in the 23rd minute when a reckless challenge allowed Kenneth Paal to curl a low free-kick across the face of goal. The ball struck the foot of the far post only to be desperately cleared away.
The game threatened to boil over with challenges flying in from both sides - a feisty period which saw QPR boss Gareth Ainsworth and a Norwich coach booked following an angry confrontation.
The Canaries wasted no time in responding after the break.
Idah, a half-time substitute for Marquinhos, had been on the pitch for less than a minute before levelling the score.
Gabriel Sara's shot was palmed away by Seny Dieng, but Idah reacted quickly to nudge the loose ball over the line and equalise.
The hosts should have restored their lead after 54 minutes when Tim Iroegbunam won the ball on the edge of the box and ran towards goal unchallenged, but Angus Gunn kept the effort out with his legs.
Norwich had to dig deep when persistent QPR pressure led to a 73rd-minute corner, which Gunn tipped over just as it dipped towards him.
The home supporters were roaring for a penalty 10 minutes later when Jamal Lowe was brought down in the box, but referee Keith Stroud simply shook his head.
Luke Amos went close for Rangers late on but neither side were able to find a winner.
QPR boss Gareth Ainsworth:
"Without a shadow of a doubt they feel they can stay up. We're not even below the line, and that's important, but there are going to be twists and turns.
"The boys know exactly where they've been, sliding for quite a while now, and it's about trying to address that slide and stopping the rot.
"I think it's going to go to the wire without a doubt. There are five or six teams there and we're going to try to get as many points as we can to get out of this.
"We didn't get beaten by a team that's pushing for the play-offs, so I think it's a good result. But we do need more points - I know that - and we've got to make sure we keep playing with the same attitude."
Norwich boss David Wagner:
"It's disappointing because we only got the draw. In the first half we didn't start at our best, conceded a very avoidable goal where we have to stop the cross much more aggressively and with much more passion and desire.
"Apart from the last five minutes of the first half I don't think we were very creative or put much pressure on the opponents.
"The second half was better. No complaints about the effort or how the players fought, but in possession we didn't play to our best."