QPR Under 18's were made to pay for their inability to finish off a spirited Gillingham side, as they were held to a 1-1 draw in the Puma Youth Alliance League.
Sam Bewick's 55th minute strike put the high-flying R's into the lead, but a missed penalty by Javonne Molloy was followed by a late header by striker Charlie Stimpson, which saw QPR drop two crucial points in their title charge.
The first ten minutes of the game set the tone for the rest of the first half with the two sides cancelling each other out.
In fact the first effort from either side came on 23 minutes when Christian Nanetti's header was cleared off the line from eight-yards out, after an in swinging corner from Frankie Sutherland.
The only other moment of note in an uneventful half came from Sutherland, whose curling free-kick from 25 yards was bent over the wall, forcing a good save from Gills keeper Connor Quinn.
After a frustrating first half, the R's came out in the second half with a lot more positivity, as they took the game to Gillingham.
This change in attitude was rewarded in the 55th minute. Good work by the Elliot Cox saw him drive down the line and his deep cross found its way to Nanetti on the other side of box.
Nanetti's drop of the shoulder allowed him to beat his marker and get to the byline where his cut back was cleared only as far as Bewick, who drove low into the bottom left corner from 15-yards out.
That goal seemed to settle the R's and they continued to play effective counter attacking football, and on 64 minutes QPR had a penalty claim turned down.
Nanetti seemed to be tripped inside the box but the referee waved play on. A penalty did come however ten minutes later when Max Ehmer's cross struck the arm of a Gillingham defender.
Molloy stepped up and shot firmly onto the inside of the goalkeeper's right-hand post, and the ball pinballed across along the goal-line and hit the other post before being cleared for a corner.
Bulmer in the Rangers goal had spent the entire game without making a single save, but was finally called upon in the 87th minute.
A looping free-kick was followed by a lofted header that Bulmer backtracked to tip over the bar.
From the resulting corner, QPR's inability to clear their lines effectively saw three deep crosses put into a packed penalty area in quick succession, and with the third centre, Stimpson bravely headed in an equaliser at the back post.
Manager Gallen was left rueing his sides missed chances, and said: "They didn't deserve a point today, its two points dropped really.
"We actually played quite well to be honest but we need to show a bit more of a killer instinct, we should have killed them off."
The Under-18's next game is on Tuesday 16th February against Barnet at Harlington, kick-off 2pm.
QPR: Bulmer, Harriman, Waters, Ehmer, Bailey, Olley, Bewick, Sutherland, Cox (Abdellah 80), Molloy, Nanetti.
Subs not used: Doughty, Perring, Parmenter, Henry- Francis.
