A couple of drinks in the Wetherspoons pub before the game and the mood was that of confidence not only that we'd win today but that promotion would follow in a few months. I wasn't so sure, Brighton are excellent at home and we still have a lot to improve on before we can think about promotion.

Anyway arrival at Preston Park saw us walk down an ally to the stadium alongside Brighton fans and plenty of good-natured banter as some Brighton fans warned us of the state of this stadium but we assumed they were joking.

The laughs we were sharing was good to see but on arrival at the Withdean the amount of police around was quite ridiculous. They had already questioned us on the way to Brighton station and now it looked like Millwall were in town not 756 Queens Park Rangers fans. The stadium itself was a death trap in my opinion.

The away end looks like it was put together with cardboard and blue-tac and on the way into the ground the stewards made sure I would not cause any trouble by taking my deodorant away from me. Perhaps I was going to spray someone to death but they told me it was flammable but didn't seem to care that I don't smoke so I had no lighter or matches with me. Never mind though some of the Rangers fans walking in with us found it amusing as my girlfriend cringed with embarrassment.

The away end had portakabins for toilets and hot dogs that looked like something that hadn't been flushed down the toilet properly.

To get to your seat you had to walk under the stand that just did not look safe at all and I am sure I wasn't the only one looking forward to getting the hell out even before the game started. As you sit down in the away stand the entire row of seats move with you, which was a bit of a worry.

One end of the stadium was completely open and you have to feel a bit sorry for the Brighton fans who must hate being in that stadium every week but I have little sympathy for the club who charged us £16 to sit in this dump.

It was hard to imagine this was actually a football stadium, the athletics track around the pitch made it almost impossible to generate any sort of atmosphere and it seemed like a pre season game rather than an important league match.

The teams came out to the right of us and we had made a couple of changes. Dou Dou and Andy Thomson were left out and in came Dave Mcewen and Leroy Griffiths. The atmosphere was non-existent around the stadium and you could clearly hear the players talking which is never a good sign.

Rangers started quite well and should have gone ahead early on. A good move involving Connolly and then Griffiths saw Bignot put clean through on his left foot but instead of drilling into the bottom corner, Marcus managed to hit the post when it seemed easier to score. That seemed to effect him for the rest of the game as Marcus wasn't his usual self in midfield and had one of his quietest games for the club, I suppose he was due a bad one eventually.

Brighton got themselves on top for a good twenty minute spell as defended deep and couldn't get the forwards in the game. Mcewen was playing on the right and was struggling defensively as was Bruce on the left.

Brighton had several good chances as Brooker hit the bar with a header and Watson saw his curling free kick hit the post which should have provided a warning for later in the match. It was looking like we might hold on as several corners and free kicks were being dealt with quite well but we didn't look quite as composed as previous games at the back.

Rangers seemed to weather the storm and came back into the game towards the end of the half. Mcewen had a half chance to score but blasted over and Leroy looked dangerous at times but the final ball was still lacking and we went in at half time goalless.

At half time it was good to see two famous Rangers fans, Maurice Fitzgerald carrying some drinks and food and apparently Kevin Gallen was also in the away end supporting his favourite club although I didn't see him myself.

Holloway made one change at half time, Dou Dou came on for Mcewen who was struggling on the right and Dou Dou gave us more options going forward which showed in the second half.

We started the half much better and were on top for the first 15-20 minutes. Dou Dou was looking a threat but again received no protection from a quite awful referee who seemed to be going for the world record of most free kicks given in a game to a home side.

Referees like this ruin matches stopping and starting the game and never playing an advantage, it leads to scrappy games and neither team looks as good as they can do. It was typical though that the opening goal would come from a free kick. Bruce needlessly fouled deep in the Brighton half and didn't get back in time as they ran down the left and the cross found Bobby Zamora unmarked to head past Day.

Forbes or Askar should have been marking Zamora but they seemed to be cutting across to cover for the missing in action Bruce and Chris Day perhaps should have done better as it flew past him. This led to Brighton looking very strong going forward and a second looked on the cards.

The defence looked very shaky as shots rained in on us but to our credit we didn't concede and Holloway made two changes to sort out the troublesome left side. Karl Connolly came off to be replaced by Matthew Rose who went to left back whilst Bruce went further forward and Andy Thomson replaced the ineffective Robert Taylor.

This change seemed to settle us down and we looked like getting an equaliser. A Paul Bruce free kick sailed just wide before we got what looked like a useful point. Bignot won a tackle in midfield and the ball was sprayed wide to Forbes who had loads of space and cut inside on the right before crossing for Andy Thomson to finish well and shut up the Rangers fans who were mostly already moaning and calling the player over paid tossers.

We then went for a winner and Brighton looked very shaky at the back all of a sudden as the keeper began to flap at crosses and Leroy came into the game again.

It looked like a draw though but that was soon to be ruined by a last minutes free kick. In a similar position to the one in the first half Rangers should have learnt their lesson and had a man on the post as from my viewpoint this was only going one place and that was the bottom corner.

A man on the line would have cleared the danger but instead we left it open and Chris Day just couldn't reach it in time and we had thrown away a point to a last minute goal for the second away game in a row.

This lead to Rangers fans either leaving or slagging everyone off which doesn't help in the position we are in. We had one last attack but it was all too late and we had lost again on the road.

I think I may have been the only one clapping at the end as I thought he players didn't play well but despite that we almost became the first team to get a point at Brighton since February. Fans behind made sure I knew what a c**t I was being but trying to support the team and I left the ground more depressed and fed up with our own supporters than I have for a long time.

Man of the Match: Aziz Ben-Askar

Players Ratings:

1. Chris Day: Perhaps should have done better for the goals but made one excellent save just after half time. 6/10

17. Terrell Forbes: Didn't get forward as often as he should do and when he did he set up the goal. A decent defensive performance again. 6/10

3. Paul Bruce: Woeful at times as he always seems to be out of position at lot of the time but occasionally he puts in some good tackles and he looks like he is badly lacking in confidence. 6/10

4. Steve Palmer: Not his best game at the back but he is always trying to help those around him and leads as a captain should. 6/10

28. Aziz Ben-Askar: He was booked for being fouled again and will soon have fickle fans saying he has a problem with self-discipline. Probably our best player again today despite a few mistakes. 7/10

19. Dave Mcewen: Not really a right winger so struggled at times to get into the game, I'd like to see him given a chance up front. 5/10

2. Mark Perry: Pretty average performance as he was caught out on several occasions, I'd prefer to see him in defence or on the right wing. 5/10

11. Marcus Bignot: Seemed to be struggling after a knock in the first half but wasn't at his best today. 5/10 1

0. Karl Connolly: Hardly in the game at all, gave the ball away on the left and didn't create to much. 5/10

14. Leroy Griffiths: Full of confidence and has a presence about him up front. He looks like someone who believes he will score goals but it might help if we create something for him. 6/10

18. Robert Taylor: Some nice layoffs and tried to do as Holloway said and link the forwards and midfield but the midfield was pretty poor so all his work was wasted and he offered little else to the team. 5/10

Subs

27. Andy Thomson: Took his goal well and looked pretty sharp for the last 15 minutes. 6/10

29. Dou Dou: Was booked for dribbling past 4 players and being hacked down, no free kick was given so he reacted and was given a yellow. Nice to see refs try and protect skilful players. 6/10

12. Matthew Rose: Didn't really notice him to be honest, came on for Connolly to allow Bruce to get as far away from the defence as possible. 6/10