Swansea City have started the New Year by salvaging a 1-1 draw against Queens Park Rangers.
QPR goalkeeper Robert Green handled a shot from Wayne Routledge outside of his box in the opening minutes, but escaped without a booking.
The hosts then took the lead thanks to Leroy Fer's powerful strike into the corner from range.
Routledge was sent off late on for the Swans, but they grabbed a point in stoppage time when Wilfried Bony turned and fired an effort into the top corner.
Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at the events that unfolded at Loftus Road.
Match Statistics:
QPR:
Shots 24
On Target 6
Possession 43%
Corners 4
Fouls 22
SWANSEA:
Shots 25
On Target 6
Possession 57%
Corners 9
Fouls 5
Was the result fair?
The very least that Swansea deserved from this match was a point. A huge refereeing decision went against them inside the opening minutes of the match, when Green handled outside his box. The keeper should have gone, but he stayed on the pitch and QPR went on to take the lead. While the hosts may have been slightly better in the first half, the Swans took control after the break and they were finally rewarded with a goal in stoppage time as Bony clinically fired in.
QPR's performance
QPR could have been down to 10 men just moments into the New Year, but they rode their luck to enjoy a decent first half. They were on top when Fer fired in from range and they managed to strike the post just before the break. Charlie Austin headed onto the woodwork five minutes into the second half and they were putting the visitors' defence under a huge amount of pressure, but they were very much second best from the hour mark. It seemed only a matter of time until they would concede and in the dying moments their poor defensive record came back to haunt them as they were finally breached.
Swansea's performance
There is no doubt that Garry Monk will be livid at the controversial decision that went against his team early on, but he will be pleased at the determination that they showed to draw level at such a late stage. The Swans were far from their best and their passing game was not up to their usual high standards. It is unclear what would have happened if they had played against 10 men for more than 80 minutes, but they created so many chances in the second half that it would have been a huge disappointment for them to lose a second game in a row away from home.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Leroy Fer: The Dutchman was involved in many of his side's best moves and he showed his class with a stunning goal that opened the scoring. He came close on a couple of other occasions and looked QPR's most dangerous player this afternoon.
Biggest gaffe
While the referee made the biggest mistake of the match, the player who struggled the most was Bafetimbi Gomis. The striker has not had too many chances to impress this season and he has only scored twice for the club since his arrival in the summer. He didn't look close to extending that record today and missed a few very decent openings to get his team back into the match.
Referee's performance
Anthony Taylor is sure to come under some pressure after a controversial decision in the opening stages. He should have shown a red card to Green for handling the ball outside his box, but failed to spot the incident. He did send off Routledge in the final minutes of the game, but it seemed like a very harsh call, although the midfielder appeared to kick out at Karl Henry.
What next?
QPR: The Hoops will welcome Sheffield United to Selhurst Park in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday.
Swansea: Swansea are also in cup action and they face a trip to Tranmere on Saturday.
Alex Meyers
