Terry Smith scored a wonder-goal, as QPR Under-18's maintained their unbeaten record in the Puma Youth Alliance League on Saturday in a entertaining 3-3 draw with Wycombe Wanderers at Harlington.

It was the second occasion this season that Steve Brown's side had shared the points with Wanderers; the previous encounter between the two sides finishing 1-1 back in September.

The draw leaves Brown's side eight points clear of Gillingham at the top of the league, after the Gills suffered a shock 3-2 defeat at the hands of bottom Club Southend United.

Elsewhere, third placed Luton, who along with the Gills have played a game more than the R's, could only manage a 1-1 draw away at Colchester United.

Brown stuck with his now familiar 4-3-3 formation for the visit of the Wanderers, but shuffled his pack in midfield. Matt O'Brien took up the central position with Danny Davenport and Smith filling the wide roles.

Smith came in for his first start of the season, replacing the injured Josh Parker, allowing Chris Arthur to move to a more offensive role up front, where he was joined by Antonio German and Aaron Morgan-Cummings.

Prior to kick-off, Brown warned his players of the threat Wycombe would pose and the need to be fully prepared early on.

"I told them that Wycombe would be in their faces from the start and try to stop them playing and that's exactly what they did," he said.

Indeed, it was the visitors who took the game by the scruff of the neck right from the first whistle and their early pressure led to them taking the lead on 10 minutes, after the Rangers defence failed to deal with a corner.

Undeterred, the Hoops hit back when Smith equalised with a quite brilliant strike from distance; it was the midfielder's first goal of the campaign and he will have to go some way to better it.

Rangers' recovery looked to be complete five minutes later when Morgan-Cummings raced clear to slot home number two, but the visitors rallied and forced Rangers back, winning a couple of quick corners which eventually led to them equalising before the half-time interval.

The second half was more of a battle, with both sides trying to gain superiority, but failing to create any noteworthy chances.

Rangers eventually got their noses in front when Arthur volleyed in German's cross, and with the clock ticking down, Brown's side looked to be heading for all three points.

However, the visitors grabbed a late, late equaliser, to leave Brown reflecting on a rare missed opportunity.

Wanderers have now scored four of the eight goals that Brown's team have conceded in the league this season, a statistic that also wasn't lost on the R's Youth Team Manager.

"In recent weeks I've given our defenders a pat on the back for the way they've played and our defensive record up until Saturday was excellent," he said.

"However, we conceded two goals from set plays and that disappointed me as we haven't conceded in that manner all season. We've also only let in five league goals all year and suddenly three in one match - we'll have to look at that.

"Overall though, the performance was good and Matt O'Brien deserves a mention - he has been our most consistent player over the past few weeks and he was excellent again.

"Terry (Smith) scored a brilliant goal and he has given me another option in midfield - with Danny (Davenport) due to have an operation in a couple of weeks, I need some midfield players to stand up for me and he's done enough to prove to me he's up for it."