So as the winter weather gets fiercer by the day and the rain and wind leave us looking like drowned rats there was only one place to spend the weekend. At the seaside resort of Blackpool. Yes that damn fixture computer gave us one of the best fixtures of the season in the middle of January so the fun int he sun had last March was never likely to be repeated. Still me and Carly decided to make a weekend of it anyway so drove up to our hotel on Friday morning.

Along the way we managed to see several team coaches such as Everton, Rochdale and the Swansea team at a service station but it was with much delight that we spotted the QPR coach. I struggled to see through the coach windows to see if it was QPR so had my face pressed against the car window like a deranged fool before seeing the QPR Team bus sign on the front and giving them a big childish wave.

It was only then that Carly pointed out that my mouth was covered in Chocolate and I looked like a five year old with Dairy Milk smudged all over my face so I'm sure if any of the team did look out at me waving to them they would have had a good laugh at the chocolate covered bloke waving from below.

Anyway upon arriving at Blackpool it was pretty cold and being the only people staying in our hotel it was rather quiet but after a good nigh tout on Friday we were ready for the big game.

Around the town centre on Saturday was plenty of QPR shirts as Yates filled up with QPR fans drinking and having a laugh. We arrived at the ground just before kick off with some of the Blackpool fans less than friendly about us. I overheard two fans saying they hoped it pissed down so us cockneys get soaked and if it doesn't they'll come over and piss on us themselves which I thought was rather harsh.

Thankfully it didn't rain but the uncovered temporary stand was not the greatest away end we've been but we were sat right on the halfway line so at least we had a good view. Unfortunately we had no tannoy in the away end so we had to guess who the subs were when the teams came out. Rangers were unchanged despite several injury worries as we looked for our first away win since the start of November.

Rangers started the game by attacking towards the end where we were housed last season which is now just a demolition site so Blackpool had the advantage of shooting towards their fans in the first half. They looked quite neat and tidy early on playing some nice football but Rangers were getting stuck in and not allowing them too much time on the ball. Early on we were looking slightly the better side with Gallen holding up the ball for Rowlands and McLeod to run at the full backs and we got into some decent positions without creating too much.

The game burst into life with the controversial moment of the game after about 15 minutes. Wellens went in with two feet on Bircham with Rangers awarded the free kick but Bircham seemed to react by raising a hand to Wellens and the midfielder collapsed to the floor holding his face. It was hard to see if he touched him or not but it was a silly thing to do and Bircham was lucky to get away with a yellow card.

This made him public enemy number one as the crowd urged the ref to book him again every time he put a tackle in. Blackpool could sense he as getting upset and flew in with some tough tackles on him but Bircham reacted well and put in a strong performance for the rest of the game.

Blackpool raised their game after the Bircham incident with the crowd right behind them and they started to cause us problems. Some tough tackles were going in as Rowlands found himself in the book for a late tackle and we began to look a little suspect at the back.

Scott Taylor had the games first real chance with a good effort which was saved by Chris Day but it was the first of many as Blackpool looked more like title chasers than we did. Taylor met a cross with a firm header which beat Day but Rowlands was on hand to clear off the line and one of a number of free kicks given away was fired over the bar. Rangers began to wake up with McLeod finding pace on the left and we slowly got back into the game. Gallen had a shot easily saved before Rowlands did well to create some space and fire a shot which was well saved by the keeper.

Rangers then took the lead after Taylor missed a glorious chance at the other end. Furlong did well holding a long ball up and shooting on the turn. The keeper should have made a routine save but parried the shot and Rowlands ran in to slot the ball into the net for his seventh goal of the season. We didn't really deserve the lead but we were battling well at this stage and if we could hang on till half time we looked a good bet for the three points.

Shittu then headed wide as he looked for his first goal since last April and needed some treatment after taking a boot to his face. The ref then blew for half time which was a relief to the QPR fans after a scrappy first half. The game was pretty dull to watch in all honesty with neither team looking too good but this was a gem we had to get something out of and style was being sacrificed for hard work and a smash and grab type victory.

During the break Shane Ritchie made an appearance on the pitch, no idea why as we had no tannoy in the away end but he was wondering around doing something with the home fans. Rangers made no changes at the start of the second half and as the wind picked up a bit we started the second half looking to hold on to what we had which is never good to watch.

Blackpool sensed we were sitting back and threw everything at us in a nervous 15 minute spell. Shittu and Carlisle were having to get in some great tackles to keep them out and when they did get in behind us they found Chris Day in sensational form. Taylor broke through and shot for Day to save and the keeper quickly reacted to deny Murphy who looked certain to score.

Plenty of balls through the middle were causing problems as Day had to be alert to spot Taylor before a shot from the edge of the area hit the post. As we looked for the linesman's flag with Murphy unmarked from five yards out an equaliser seemed certain but Day got back up and made an unbelievable save keeping out the leagues top scorer with his feet.

That seemed to be the turning point as Blackpool began to accept this wasn't going to be their day. At the other end we began to create openings with Bean put through after a nice move but his shot was weak and he was offside anyway.

The central midfield partnership were really coming into their own fighting for everything and getting the ball up to the forwards quickly.

As we all know the downside of Bircham and bean in the middle is that we get very little support for the front two and this was the case again with Gallen and Furlong having to create their own chances and they were more often than not out numbered. McLeod then went off after taking a heavy knock from the keeper with Matthew Rose coming on to play on the right wing. Rose did well out wide cutting inside a lot and helping us protect the lead we were working so hard for.

Furlong had a chance to extend the lead turning well in the box but his shot was too weak to beat the keeper. Blackpool then came back at us but didn't really look like scoring during the last spell of pressure. Taylor had a good shout for a penalty turned away but in truth he stayed on his feet and got the shot away so he can't have too many complaints.

The tannoy was finally heard as it was announced that QPR coaches will be outside after the game which was the cue for the "We're not going home" song in the QPR end.

A late corner saw the keeper come forward for Blackpool as hearts went into mouths int he away end but we were just to strong for them at the back as a mixture of luck and poor finishing saw us hang on for a vital three points. The players celebrated with the fans afterwards as we ran down to the front to get a good view of the players and Carly flashed her smile at Carlisle and Bircham but they didn't seem to notice her.

Several fans stayed in the town for the night drinking plenty and enjoying another win but most of us knew it had not been our best performance of the season. Still it's results that matter as this was a massive win for Rangers, the battling performances of Shittu, Bircham, Carlisle and Padula were great to see and results elsewhere mean we can go back to the top of the table if we have a good day next Saturday so plenty to look forward to.

Man of the Match: Chris Day

Players Ratings:

1. Chris Day: An outstanding performance from Day making some unbelivable saves. 9/10

2. Terrell Forbes: Worked hard and despite some poor passes he defended very well. 7/10

3. Gino Padula: Worked hard all game and kept Bullock very quiet which is not easy. 7/10

5. Clarke Carlisle: Kept things tight against his old club and despite the odd mistake he had another good game. 7/10

6. Danny Shittu: Dominant in the air and cleared his lines brillianlty. 7/10

8. Marc Bircham: After almost getting sent off he calmed down and gave a very good performance. Laughable that Steve Mcmahon slated Bircham after the game when Mcmahon made a career out of winding up the opposition fans and players. 7/10

17. Marcus Bean: Much better from Bean who got stuck in and worked hard all game. 7/10

14. Martin Rowlands: Took his goal well but had a quiet game by his high standards. 6/10

22. Kevin McLeod: Pretty quiet throughout but didn't really get much of the ball to cause problems. 6/10

10. Kevin Gallen: Worked hard and jeld ontot he ball very well late on. 7/10

29. Paul Furlong: Doesn't look fully fit yet but did well up front. 7/10

Subs:

7. Matthew Rose: Worked hard and did a decent job on the right. 7/10