The name on everyone’s lips before this game was Kevin Gallen. Everyone seemed to be backing him for first goalscorer and the mood was upbeat for a change before a match.

Gallen was in the starting eleven as expected alongside Doudou up front with Andy Thomson on the bench. Changes were made throughout the team as Danny Shittu and Matthew Rose came back into defence with Steve Palmer moving into midfield and Oliver Burgess got a chance on the right wing.

This was the smallest crowd of the season at Loftus Road but the atmosphere was the best it’s been for a while. Kevin Gallens name was sung loud by the Rangers fans as the teams entered the pitch and Neil Ruddock also got a decent reception after his loan spell with the club a few years ago.

My first impressions were amazement on how big this Danny Shittu is. He is huge and can only be described as a Devon White lookalike. I’d hate to have to be marked by a player of his size and the Swindon players didn’t look to keen either.

Rangers attacked the school end in the first half and got off to a brilliant start. From the first minute this looked a different QPR team. Alex Bonnot was spraying the ball around in midfield, Gallen was holding it up for his teammates and Doudou and Burgess were full of running and causing problems from the start.

It didn’t take long for the first goal to arrive. It came after good work by Gallen on the edge of the area as he cleverly put a pass through to Doudou who was unmarked and slotted his chance past the keeper to send the crowd into delirious celebrations. Doudou got the praise, as did Gallen as the crowd acknowledged the part he played in the goal and the debutant wasn’t finished yet.

Just a few minutes later Gallen did well on the left and played the ball back nicely for Steve Palmer to shoot but that was saved pushed away by the keeper straight into the path of Oliver Burgess who scored his first senior goal for the club. Rangers were running riot and Swindon just fell apart.

We passed the ball better than we have in ages and even Warren was looking the part at left back, we never looked in any trouble at all and Doudou could have added more when put through by Gallen again but his shot was pretty poor. Karl Connolly and Christer Warren both also went close to adding a third before Gallen himself made it a dream start to his second spell at the club.

Gallen found himself outside the area and he beat his man with ease and struck an excellent shot past the keeper. The crow reacted with a mixture of disbelief and joy as the fans sang Gallens coming home and the Magic Hat song was taken away from poor Leroy Griffiths and handed back to Kevin. They say in football you should never go back but Gallen was showing the QPR fans that he should never have left in the first place.

The only moment of note for Swindon was a rash tackle by Ruddock, which saw him needing to be pulled away from Ian Holloway. It was a disgraceful moment for the Swindon coach as he totally lost the plot for a while but yet somehow the referee failed to book him.

The very impressive Oliver Burgess then picked up an injury. As he jumped for the ball he seemed to land awkwardly and despite trying to run it off he was eventually replaced by Bignot to a standing ovation. Lets hope its not to serious.

At half time I couldn’t have been any happier and was desperate for the second half to start so we could see some more. Sadly the second half was a bit of a let down as Rangers settled for what we had and ran out easy winners. Swindon had a lot of possession in the second half but hardly ever threatened but then again neither did we as we seemed quite happy to sit back and enjoy the supporters singing the praises of the team.

With about 20 minutes left Doudou was replaced by Andy Thomson. Both players received a huge ovation from the QPR fans and Thomson almost made an immediate impact when he found himself in space in the box but his shot went over the bar. Thomson did get his goal though in the last few minutes as he went round the keeper with ease to slot in his 14th goal of the season.

The team recovered a standing ovation, which was deserved for an excellent night’s work. The players responded well and worked hard whilst playing some excellent football at times. More of the same please on Saturday lads.

Man of the Match: Kevin Gallen

Players Ratings

30. Fraser Digby: Can’t remember him having a save to make to be honest. 7/10

17. Terrell Forbes: He’s quick, strong and gets forward at every opportunity. One of the few players to play well on Sunday and he did well again tonight. 7/10

15. Christer Warren: Must be the first choice left back now if Danny Murphy is not ready. Warren didn’t have a lot of defending to do but did his job well and had his best game for the club. 8/10

12.Matthew Rose: Defended very well and his best display in defence for a long time. Always wanted the ball to feet and was prepared to pass the ball from the back. 8/10

31. Danny Shittu: An absolute Monster of a defender. Would have been man of the match on any other night if he played like this and thankfully his loan has been extended. Showed great character after the sad loss of his father which is why he hasn’t figured to often during the last few weeks. 8/10

10. Karl Connolly: Did OK on the left but not really involved much to be honest. 6/10

4. Steve Palmer; The first time I’ve seen him in midfield and he looked a bit lost at times but against such a poor team he settled down and allowed the more skilful players around him to get forward. 6/10

26. Alex Bonnot: His best game for a while as he passed the ball well and worked very hard for the team. 7/10

24. Oliver Burgess: Got the goal he deserved and was again impressive before he was taken off with an injury. 7/10

18. Kevin Gallen: What more can you ask for in a debut. One goal, two assits and his all round play was superb at times. He faded in the second half as we sat back but by then the job was done. 9/10

29.Doudou: Caused loads of problems with his pace and skill and linked very well with Gallen. 7/10

Subs:

1.Marcus Bignot: Gave his usual performance with plenty of heart and effort. 6/10

27. Andy Thomson: Got another goal and looked delighted with it, Also congratulations to Andy and his wife for the birth of their baby daughter earlier this week. 7/10