A trip down the road to our local rivals Fulham brought out a reasonable number of QPR supporters and a last chance to visit Craven Cottage before it is developed from a third division ground to a Premiership one. On the way to the game we stopped off for a few pints in the William Morris pub which was busy with loads of QPR fans having a laugh and singing some songs.

No problems whatsoever but police then came into the pub and the atmosphere turned a little nasty. I found out later that they went over to some Fulham fans in the corner and told them to not make themselves known. They found this very amusing considering it was obvious they were Fulham fans now the Police had said this. Despite our reputation among Fulham fans, we are not all evil monsters out for a fight and these Fulham fans were very safe as all we wanted to do was have a few drinks and a laugh before the inevitable defeat.

Still the more alcohol consumed the belief began to grow and talk of a shock win started. We all knew deep down it wasn't to be but it made a change to be optimistic. So a 20 minute walk to the ground and the terrace wasn't full this year. The decision by the police to stop tickets being sold saw us have just over 1,500 tickets unsold and it looked as if Fulham hadn't sold out either. If the idea behind that was to make sure the game wasn't a sell out it worked but I can't see the point of it.

Anyway after all this a game was taking place and Holloway made some changes. We switched to a 4-5-1 formation with Rose and Knight in for Ngonge and Scully who were both injured. Crouch was on his own up front as loan signing Leon Knight played on the right wing against Rufus Brevett.

The first twenty minutes were quite close. Fulham had plenty of possession but we defended deep and they didn't create to much. We battled well and Ready and Plummer did very well against the front two. Both Saha and Hayles were pretty ineffective throughout the game which came as a surprise to me as not many sides keep them as quiet as we did.

The main thing that let us down was we defended very deep to stop Fulham and that meant we never got enough men forward to worry them. When we did break Leon Knight looked very lively but we lacked the a bit of quality in t he final third. You can't really blame Holloway for playing so deep, it would have been great to go and attack them but the higher up the pitch you defend against Fulham the more space Saha and Hayles have to run into and destroy you.

Due to our lack of pace at the back it was the best way to play against Fulham and it seemed to frustrate them. You got the feeling though that if Fulham scored we wouldn't have enough to come back but with a bit of luck and good goalkeeping we did well. Fulhams best moments came from out wide and one corner was headed against the bar by Saha and Lee Clark also hit the bar with a shot just after.

The atmosphere was very quiet during the first half as QPR fans just seemed to be waiting for the inevitable and Fulham fans seemed a little nervous as failure to beat us would be very humiliating for them One of our best moments of the half came from Leon Knight who produced a wonderful dummy to leave Brevett for dead and his pace got him away on the left but his cross couldn't reach Murray.

John Collins was next to go close for Fulham after a good passing move. His shot was brilliantly saved by Harper and he produced another excellent save just before the goal. He pushed away a shot but Rangers failed to clear and Steve Finnan ran into Murray and a penalty was given. As a QPR fan I am obviously going to say it was never a penalty but it wasn't. Finnan ran into Murray and if that had been anywhere else on the pitch it would have passed without comment or even a free kick. A good indication is usually how the players react and not many Fulham players appealed. Still you have to live with these things and Saha took the penalty which Harper almost saved and Fulham had the lead they deserved.

The main worry now was if we'd cave in, thankfully we reacted quite well and for all Fulhams possession they didn't create much more in the half. During injury time we had a golden chance to pull level. Mark Perry ran forward with the ball and played it to Crouch and he did well to put Peacock clean through. Eight yards out no Fulham defenders around and just the keeper to beat, you'd out your mortgage on Peacock scoring but he fired over the bar and I still don't know how he missed it.

So 1-0 at half time and for all Peacock fist clenching as he went off I was furious with him for that miss. At least it gave us hope though as with our first decent attack we cut Fulham apart, we just needed to do this more often. Second half began and we looked a bit better. We started to push Fulham back and were passing the ball quite well. Crouch was giving it away to often and his first touch was awful at times but Leon Knight was beginning to get on the ball and cause problems. Knight almost grabbed us a goal when a cross caused Fulham problems and Knight's shot was cleared off the line by Brevett.

It was looking better and Chris Kiwomya came on to bolster the attack. We worked hard all half and Fulham did what they had to do well, they passed the ball around and defended well but we just lacked the confidence and ability to create a goal. Peacock had a shot which went over but as the game came to an end and we threw more men forward we left ourselves open to the counter attack. After a free kick which Ready almost got his head to, Fulham composed themselves and broke away, Lee Clark was put through with a good pass by Collins and his finish was a good one and it was all over.

So another local derby defeat but a big improvement for all to see since the Sheffield United game. Rangers look more organized and were able to frustrate Fulham something we just couldn't have done a few weeks ago. We lacked the imagination needed going forward but Fulham are the best team in the division and the performance we gave was not as bad as it could be and we have something to build on in the coming weeks.

We now look to Fulham to help us out and beat those teams around us between now and the end of the season but I got the feeling that most Fulham fans would love to see us go down due to a small minority of our supporters. On the way out there was some trouble as the police sent QPR fans one way and Fulham the other, problem was we were both going to meet up in the middle and a few fights started up. It was nowhere near as bad as last year but still sad to see and what was worse to see was so called fans in QPR and Fulham shirts on mobile phones arranging fights. What angered me was seeing all the police in Hammersmith when the fights were going off in the opposite direction.

So the last visit to Craven Cottage has come and gone, it was a decent day out shame about the result but good luck to Fulham in the Premiership next season. The supporters who stood by their club during the dark days of the third division deserve all the success they are enjoying at the moment.

13. Lee Harper : Made some good saves and had a good game 7/10

24. Perry : Defended well and got forward whenever he got the chance. 7/10

3. Ian Baraclough : Found himself drifting into the middle to help the central defenders and had a decent game 7/10

5. Ready : Was very solid at the back and never gave up. 7/10

17. Plummer : A 100% player and played well again today. 7/10

14. Leon Knight : A good debut by him in difficult circumstances. He was quick and skilful and will hopefulyl play up front next week. 7/10

22. Darlington : Had to defend more than he would have liked and needs to look for the simple ball at times rather than do it on his own. 6/10

12. Matthew Rose : Had a fair game in midfield but went off injured again. 6/10

8. Peacock : Missed a great chance and doesn't have the pace to play the role he did yesterday. He got through a lot of work though which went unoticed by many 6/10

7. Paul Murray : Is looking very good at the moment, he can play better but he is just back from a bad injury and is getting back to his best 7/10

26. Crouch : Can't really play up front on his own, he struggled to win balls in the air and gave it away on the floor, he didn't improve much when Kiwomya came on 6/10

Kulscar : On for last few minutes and didn't do much

6/10 Warren : I'm not sure why he is back in the first team squad but did Ok 6/10

Kiwomya : Caused them problems with his running off the ball but didn't get much service. 6/10