Town’s Boxing Day home game with QPR ended in a drab 0-0 draw. Neither side created many chances throughout the 90 minutes, while the Blues had a good case for a penalty in the final minute when Joe Garner’s header was handled by Jack Robinson, shortly after the visitors were reduced to 10 men when Josh Scowen was dismissed for a second bookable offence.
Teddy Bishop was handed his first start of the season as Mick McCarthy made five changes from the team which lost 1-0 at Wolves on Saturday.
Jonas Knudsen, who missed out at Molineux as he was ill, David McGoldrick, Dominic Iorfa and Freddie Sears also returned to the XI with Bersant Celina, Grant Ward, Jordan Spence and Myles Kenlock dropping to the bench and Kevin Bru, who was at a funeral, out of the 18.
With Cole Skuse still sidelined with his ankle injury, Bishop, whose only other start in 2017 was at Rotherham in April, joined Callum Connolly in one of the deeper lying midfield roles with Sears and McGoldrick either side of Martyn Waghorn behind lone out and out striker Joe Garner.
For the visitors, who had gone 18 games and 50 years since last winning away on Boxing Day, Jordan Cousins came into the midfield for Bright Osayi-Samuel, who was among the subs.
Former Blues loanee Massimo Luongo also started, while Jamie Mackie missed out due to a glute injury despite having returned from a suspension.
Town dominated the early exchanges with Garner shooting over from a Waghorn knockdown in the third minute.
A minute later, McGoldrick was fed on the right of the area by Waghorn and struck a goal-bound effort which QPR keeper Alex Smithies saved down to his left.
From Waghorn’s corner, skipper Luke Chambers bundled a bouncing ball wide of the near post from six yards.
QPR began to see more of the ball but without creating a chance as the game moved past the 10-minute mark.
On 14 Luke Freeman played in Cousins inside the box after the former Arsenal youngster had found himself in space midway inside the Town half, but Chambers slid in to block as the former Charlton man shot.
Four minutes later, Bishop took himself past two defenders on halfway with a brilliant turn before being upended by Luongo. Scowen was shown his first yellow card of the afternoon for kicking the ball away.
Knudsen joined him in the book in the 24th minute for hauling back a breaking Cousins. From the freekick, Freeman floated the ball to the far post from where Jake Bidwell volleyed from a tight angle and Bartosz Bialkowski palmed over. From the resultant corner., Alex Baptiste headed into the Town keeper’s arms.
QPR were by now in control having most of the ball with the Blues struggling to break into the Hoops’ half.
But as the game moved past the half hour mark Town began to regain the ascendency and on 33 McGoldrick curled a shot not too far beyond Smithies’s right post from just outside the box.
Idrissa Sylla volleyed over for QPR on 40 before Bishop, who had looked lively and had made headway running at the opposition, was replaced by Ward having picked up another injury. The 21-year-old made his way to the tunnel, clearly frustrated at having been forced off by another fitness problem.
In the final scheduled minute of the half, a Waghorn corner from the right ran loose inside the six-yard box at the near post but no Town player was able to get in a decisive touch.
In two minutes of injury time, with Town ending the half strongly, Garner cleverly backheeled towards Sears on the right of the box but the ball was intercepted, then Connolly hit a powerful shot from 25 yards which Smithies saved down to his left. The loose ball ran to the Blues right and Iorfa who teed-up Garner, who shot over.
Referee Andy Davies’s whistle ended a half of few chances at both ends. The Blues had started brightly, McGoldrick forcing Smithies into the game’s first save, but they subsequently allowed the visitors to get on top and Bidwell’s chance which Bialkowski turned over was the best opportunity of the period.
Town took charge again towards the break and were putting the Hoops under pressure in the minutes before the whistle.
The half’s big negative was Bishop being forced off, the midfielder, who underwent groin surgery in August, having spent so much of the last two and a half years on the sidelines.
QPR had the better of the opening minutes of the second half, Cousins sending over a dangerous ball from the right, which flew just beyond Sylla nine minutes after the restart.
Moments later, Waghorn looked to have been fouled by Luongo five yards outside the area on the right but referee Davies waved play on and the Australian brought the ball into the area before hitting a shot which was blocked by one of a number of Town players who dived across its path.
In the 63rd minute Pawel Wszolek caught Knudsen in possession on halfway but Webster did well to get back to take the ball from him on the right of the box. At the other end, Garner played McGoldrick in on goal but the Irish international was flagged offside.
Chances if anything were rarer in a dull second half than they had been in the first but on 74 Knudsen crossed from the left and Sears flicked a header well wide. Garner tried to get the ball back in from the right but the danger was cleared.
QPR replaced Sylla with Matt Smith on 80 with Town fans starting to call for introduction of Celina, who had been warming up on the touchline for some time already changed into his shirt.
On 81 Chambers superbly blocked a Wszolek cross from the right, then seconds later the Polish international chipped over.
Celina was finally introduced for Sears in the 84th minute, then two minutes later the visitors were reduced to 10 men.
Ward threaded a clever pass in for Waghorn, who took the ball on before returning to the sub, who was felled as he broke towards the area by Scowen, who was showed his second yellow and then a red card, referee Davies’s first since Boxing Day last year. Celina took the freekick and curled it just over the bar.
Rain was falling heavily as the game moved into its final few minutes. There was controversy in the 88th minute when Celina crossed from the right, Garner powered a header goalwards and Robinson blocked.
The Town striker claimed the Rangers defender had used a hand and photographic evidence suggested he had a very strong case but referee Davies waved the appeals away.
In injury time Rangers also had a penalty appeal of their own when Iorfa chested the ball away on the edge of the box under pressure, but it was difficult to argue that the on-loan Wolves man had handled deliberately even if the ball had struck his hand, which wasn't clear.
The visitors who had the better chances in the closing moments, sub Smith shooting straight at Bialkowski, then in the final seconds another sub, Bright Osayi-Samuel, hit an effort over.
Boos greeted the final whistle after a disappointing display from the Blues, their poorest at Portman Road for some weeks.
Despite having spells on top they never really put the visitors under sustained spells of pressure and Smithies was forced into only a couple of saves all match.
Celina made an impact having come on and it was a surprise that the Kosovan international wasn’t brought on earlier with the Blues having made little headway for much of the second half.
QPR will feel they had opportunities to turn their point into three, even after being reduced to 10 men, although like Smithies Bialkowski was hardly overworked.
Drawing at home against a side in 18th place with a poor away record must be considered two points dropped by the Blues, who remain 10th but now five points off the top six ahead of Saturday’s home game against Derby.
Town: Bialkowski, Iorfa, Chambers (c), Webster, Knudsen, Connolly, Bishop (Ward 42), McGoldrick, Waghorn, Sears (Celina 84), Garner. Unused: M Crowe, T Smith, Spence, Kenlock, McDonnell.
QPR: Smithies, Baptiste, Onuoha (c), Robinson, Wszolek, Cousins (Osayi-Samuel 82), Luongo, Scowen, Bidwell, Freeman, Sylla (M Smith 80). Unused: Lumley, Furlong, Hall, Washington, Chair, Osayi-Samuel. Referee: Andy Davies (Hampshire). Att: 18,696 (QPR: 703).