Well the day had finally arrived. After nine months of dreaming and hard work we had made it into the playoffs and for the first time ever, QPR would be taking the field in a playoff game.

2,700 Rangers fans made the trip North and thankfully I was among them after getting a ticket earlier in the week.

We left Langley at about 8 in the morning for the long drive and it was great to see so many other cars with QPR flags, scarves and shirts on the M6.

At the service station we stopped at it was packed with QPR fans and even Chief Executive David Davies was spotted stuffing his face with a Burger King meal at about eleven in the morning.

We arrived in Manchester at about half eleven after some shit directions from the hotel we are staying at told us to go off the M6 at junction 20 which had us on the way to Wales. By this stage the nerves were unbearable and meeting a few mates and my Dad in the Waldorf pub it was a quieter than usual atmosphere with all of us pretty nervous ahead of the big game.

We got to Oldham just after 1pm and had a few pre match drinks in the Spinners pub before heading to the ground ready for whatever the afternoon had to throw at us.

The stand was pretty packed when we arrived and the atmosphere was brilliant. Kevin Gallen's magic hat was sung as Gallen turned and clenched his fists towards the away fans and urged us to sing louder. The players looked well up for this game as did the fans who were making themselves heard.

After all the fuss about Oldham wanting some of the away end it was annoying to see empty seats in the main stand above the dugouts. There seemed to be quite a few empty seats in the corners and that was confirmed with the attendance over 1,000 below capacity. Still you can understand why Oldham wanted as many seats as possible for themselves and I'll be surprised if David Davies complaint to the Football League is even read.

As the teams came out my voice was already starting to go after singing non stop since finding a seat and the noise was deafening in the away end.

Rangers had been forced into a few changes after three of the usual back four were all ruled out. Carlisle and Kelly were suspended and Padula was out with a virus leaving us with a second string defence which was still pretty strong.

Forbes, Rose and Williams were the lucky men to start the game whilst the rest of the team was pretty much the same as it always is. Oldham decided to change ends so Rangers attacked towards our own fans in the first half.

We started the game well getting the ball up to Gallen and Furlong and the front two were big and tough enough to keep the ball for us and win us an early corner.

Williams delivery was not as good as we've been used to with Gino Padula but the Oldham keeper was all over the place and although Oldham cleared the danger.

Oldham didn't look as good at the back as they can do and we had a goal disallowed after about ten minutes when the keeper flapped again at a cross and Steve palmer bundled the ball over the line.

It was quickly disallowed though for a foul on the keeper but judging by this clown it was hard to know if he had been fouled or just fell arse over head.

Gallen then had a chance at the edge of the area after a nice layoff by Furlong but his effort was poor and went wide. Furlong himself also had a great chance to give us the lead but with a free header he placed it over the bar when he should have done better.

We had another chance though after more poor defending in front of a nervous keeper, A header going high towards the keeper saw Langley challenge and the keeper make a mess of it and Danny Shittu hit the volley but it was deflected over the bar. It was good stuff by Rangers and we were well on top but a fussy referee broke the game up with several bookings for both sides despite the game being a hard fought one and not really dirty.

This allowed Oldham some time to sort themselves out and Fitz Hall began to get to grips with the Rangers attack and Oldham began to get back into the game.

A couple of corners for them saw Chris Day having to be alert to clear and Matthew Rose made one excellent tackle to stop Andrews bursting through.

Then a foul on the edge of the box brought problems. It was well within range for David Eyres and looking at the angle it was really difficult for Day to see the ball.

I thought that if he got this on target he'd score as Day wouldn't be able to react until it was to late and as I sat down hoping to proved wrong the ball hit the back of the net after taking a wicked deflection. Oldham fans went mad and Dowie was mobbed by his players, this meant everything to them and in such a tight game any goal is going to be priceless.

The goal did seem to knock the stuffing out of us and as an attacking force we offered very little for the rest of the half. I'm sure I wasn't alone in wanting to get to half time at 1-0 because Oldham looked like they would add a second. We defended well though and the midfield was a complete scrap with neither team taking much time to put a foot on the ball and create anything.

So at half time the Rangers fans were a little downhearted by what was happening. We were showing plenty of effort but didn't really look like scoring since Oldham had taken the lead. We came back out for the second half though looking determined and started the half the same as we had done in the first.

We pushed them back from the first minute with Gallen and Furlong pressing them and once again the nervous keeper began to panic. Rangers finally worked out that with Oldham's wing back system we had two against one on the left and Williams and McLeod exploited this to create some space for Williams who hit a high cross into the box which should have been an easy catch for the keeper.

Thank god this bloke was in goal though as he flapped it and managed to get in the defenders way before Richard Langley put the ball in the back of the net to send the Rangers fans mental.

Fans jumped on the seats and hugged complete strangers as we got back in the game. R U watching Loftus Road was the chant aimed at the 4,000 QPR fans watching on a big screen at Loftus Road as we pushed forward for a second goal.

Richard Langley hit the side netting with a shot which he probably would have been better off crossing for the unmarked Furlong but then it all went a bit flat.

Rangers began to sit back and the midfield began to get over run. Palmer and Bircham were losing out far to often and Oldham had chances to win the game. Former Rangers player Paul Murray had the best one as a ball into the box saw a slip by Shittu and Murray had time and space but lifted his shot over the bar. Thankfully his shooting hasn't improved since leaving Loftus Road.

The game was getting a bit more physical now and Darren Sheridan went in with a very high and late challenge on Terrell Forbes. It left Forbes on the floor in agony but the referee didn't book the player. This set off the key moment in the game and could possibly cost us a place in the final.

Langley was fuming over the decision not to book Sheridan and went out to get the player booked himself. From a throw in Langley threw himself to the floor as if he had been shot and was quite rightly booked for diving. Steve Palmer rushed over to calm Langley down but it was to late now and despite Holloway quickly getting a sub ready, Langley had lost his head completely.

Sheridan knew this and along with the experience of David Eyres they made sure Langley got sent off. A little word in Langleys ear and a pull of the shirt saw Langley react and Eyres went down holding his face. From where I was sitting I really couldn't see what had happened but the Oldham fans went mad screaming for a red card which the referee delivered.

Having seen it on tv since it is hard to work out what Langley actually did as the incident seemed pretty innocuous but reports in the newspapers suggest he backed his head into Eyres face. I think the ref should have had a word with Langley and tried to calm him down but he seemed desperate to send someone off from either team and Langley gave him the perfect excuse.

So now we had to face Oldham with ten men for the last ten minutes, which wasn't going to be easy. Any chance of an away win seemed over now as Gallen moved back into midfield and left Furlong on his own up front.

The home side though didn't create many chances and only a few slip ups at the back saw them get opportunities but a great last ditch tackle by Tommy Williams and one by Matthew Rose stopped them getting a shot on goal.

Rose then went up for a header but landed badly on his arm and looked in agony. He was carried off to a standing ovation with what looked like a very nasty injury. Richard Pacquette replaced him as Palmer went into defence and Pacquette went onto the right wing.

Oldham got a few free kicks around the box but the Rangers defence stayed solid.

We had one last chance to grab a vital lead as a cross from the left found Pacquette having his shirt pulled and he couldn't get a good contact with his header.

The ref, who quite rightly booked Langley earlier for diving, ignored a terrible dive by an Oldham player near the end where the bloke flew through the air like a mad man. The ref played on and seemed to gesture a dive but didn't book him. Some sort of consistency would be nice.

Oldham then got a free kick on the left after Andrews seemed to get the ball caught between his legs but by now the ref was making some barmy decisions for both teams. Pacquette then kicked the ball away getting himself booked which was a stupid thing to do.

The free kick came to nothing though and after five minutes of injury time we hung on for the 1-1 draw.

The players came over to clap the fans who had been superb throughout the afternoon and we were reasonably happy with the draw. It's all down to the second leg now with winner takes all on the night.

Oldham may even be slight favourites now with their superb away form but we know it's going to be another very tight and tense match and at the moment it's very difficult to predict a winner.

Hopefully we'll have Padula and Carlisle back on Wednesday, as they will be needed in one of the biggest games seen at Loftus Road in years.

Man of the Match: Danny Shittu

Players Ratings