After going four games without a win we enter November, which is a month where we traditionally struggle. QPR have won just once away from home in the month of November since 1998, a 2-0 win at Notts County being our only success. Ian Holloway and the team though are made of strong stuff and went into this game desperate to get back to winning ways.

We arrived at the ground at around half two and were sent to the end behind the goal by a steward who said the seats in the side stand were sold out. As we walked in I left Carly to go and get a seat whilst I went to the toilet and she was rather embarrassed to be the only person in the stand behind the goal and felt rather lonely watching the players warm up. After a while though the end began to fill up with around 1,000 QPR fans making the trip to Edgley Park, which is a good turnout in an expensive couple of weeks for QPR fans.

Unsurprisingly Ian Holloway made just once change from Tuesday’s nights Carling Cup defeat. Tony Thorpe was back up front with Pacquette on the bench instead of the suspended Marcus Bean.

Rangers were in our changed strip for this game and I have to say I was feeling very confident about this one after some encouraging recent displays. We started brightly passing the ball well and getting our wide players involved. Ainsworth had the beating of his full back as did McLeod on the left and we got into some good positions early on without really threatening the goalkeeper.

After just a few minutes Marc Bircham went down in a heap after attempting an overhead kick. Rowlands and Gallen immediately signalled for a change as Bircham looked in agony but he walked off and managed to play on for a few more minutes. He didn’t look right though and it was no surprise when he was taken off with Steve Palmer coming on. Thankfully the injury does not seem serious and he should be back for the Brentford game in nine days time.

Palmer’s introduction changed the way we played as more long balls were sent forward but Rowlands and Padula were making up for that with neat balls into Gallen who was in the middle of all that was good about QPR. His passing and link play was outstanding whilst the movement of Thorpe was causing problems for Stockport.

The opening goal came after another good passing move and was well deserved. Thorpe turned in the box and showed good skill to beat his man and square it for McLeod who seemed to misjudge the pass but did well to recover and quickly run onto it and cross for Gallen to tap in from close range. This was Gallen’s first goal away from Loftus Road since September 2002 and his goals will be needed in the next few weeks with Paul Furlong out injured.

Stockport had a brief flurry as the winger Welsh looked lively but his final ball was usually nowhere near as good as the skill, which got him past a few defenders. The QPR defence was looking strong but sloppy marking allowed Wilbraham to head wide and Terrell looked furious with Carlisle and Clarke needed to calm his team mate down.

Kevin Gallen was next to get upset after a poor pass by Palmer put the team under pressure and we gave away a corner. Gallen came running back and being close to the pitch it was hard not to hear Gallen shout one or two swear words to Palmer which showed to me that Gallen is really taking on the responsibility of being captain and issuing orders on the pitch.

Gallen’s rollicking to Palmer wasn’t the only one he dished out and it should be noted that Gallen seemed to spend a lot of time talking to McLeod during the game who has suffered a bit with a lack of confidence.

Gallen’s rollicking to Palmer wasn’t the only one he dished out and it should be noted that Gallen seemed to spend a lot of time talking to McLeod during the game who has suffered a bit with a lack of confidence.

Stockport had very little up front so Day was never really called upon to produce any of the quality saves he usually does on the road and at the other end we had chances to extend our lead.

Quick breakaways by Thorpe and McLeod should have resulted in better chances but they waited too long for the final ball and we had to settle for set pieces instead.

Then with half time approaching we got a deserved second goal to virtually kill the game off. It was well worked with a ball into the box finding Gallen and the Rangers captain did superbly well to hold the ball up waiting for the midfield runner before releasing the perfect pass for Martin Rowlands to fire into the back of the net. A simple goal, which had plenty of quality in the pass and finish.

We should have ended the half with a third goal after good work by Ainsworth saw Gallen try an acrobatic volley, which was well saved by the keeper. At half time though the 2-0 score line was about right and the three points appeared pretty safe.

Ian Holloway made no further changes at half time and we attacked towards the QPR fans looking to extend the lead. We looked pretty secure to be honest and without playing brilliantly we created plenty of chances to get the third goal.

Ainsworth hit a 20 yard volley but the keeper saved well and Gallen beat his man at the near post but his shot was too wide and high to test the keeper.
McLeod was getting more in the game and a cross by Gallen saw the young winger fire a shot straight at the keeper but he was unlucky not to score. McLeod worked hard through out the game and used his aerial ability very well playing as a third striker at times which sometimes left Gino exposed at left back but without Furlong the heading of McLeod is a vital attacking tool which we were right to try and exploit.

Stockport kept plugging away but didn’t really look like scoring although full credit to the home fans who never gave up and sung their hearts out even at 2-0 down.

Chances continued to come for Rangers on the counter attack but Thorpe wasn’t as sharp as we would have liked him to be up front and McLeod again went close but this time his shot was too weak to beat the keeper.

With about 20 minutes to go we began to sit back and invite them onto us, which is never a good sign. Passes to the feet of the front two turned into long balls over the top and we never kept possession allowing them a route back in the game.

A silly booking for Padula was picked up after a blatant handball showed we were getting nervous and the introduction of Chris Williams caused us more problems than we really should have had to face.

Williams had the beating of Padula but the lack of quality up front meant we were still not troubled. Williams did have one great chance to make a game of it though with a free header from six yards out which he somehow managed to head over the bar.

That was a big warning to Rangers and personally I would have introduced Pacquette at this stage to give us some fresh legs up front but the players sulk after being substituted on Tuesday probably ensured he stayed on the bench.

With the clock approaching 90 minutes McLeod fouled Williams on the touchline after Gino was once again beaten and we almost threw the game away. Williams was allowed time and space in the box to control the free kick, turn then pick his spot before firing past Chris Day. Terrible defending and memories of Northampton and Rushden came flooding back.

To be honest though I still thought we’d win the game even with around five minutes to play although we did our best to throw it away. Gallen tried to hold the ball by the corner flag but an offside against McLeod helped them regain possession for one last attack. It came to nothing though as the defence held firm and we had ended our recent sticky patch.

It wasn’t the best performance by Rangers but we dug in and won the game pretty comfortably in the end. We’ll need to play better against the top teams in the next few weeks but we needed to get a win under our belts and the team looked pretty pleased to have done that.

So onto the LDV now. I guess a few players will be rested and the likes of Culkin, Oli, Sabin and Pacquette will get a chance. Hopefully we'll win and get into the next round but the key is to not get anymore injuries on Tuesday and for a few of the fringe players to impress. I still have the mad belief that we can win the LDV without risking the majority of our key players and I think it's vital to get on a winning run before the big league games we have in the next few weeks where we have a fantastic chance to show what a good side we can be.

It wasn’t the best performance by Rangers but we dug in and won the game pretty comfortably in the end. We’ll need to play better against the top teams in the next few weeks but we needed to get a win under our belts and the team looked pretty pleased to have done that.

So onto the LDV now. I guess a few players will be rested and the likes of Culkin, Oli, Sabin and Pacquette will get a chance. Hopefully we'll win and get into the next round but the key is to not get anymore injuries on Tuesday and for a few of the fringe players to impress. I still have the mad belief that we can win the LDV without risking the majority of our key players and I think it's vital to get on a winning run before the big league games we have in the next few weeks where we have a fantastic chance to show what a good side we can be.

Man of the Match: Kevin Gallen

Players Ratings

1. Chris Day: Didn't really have a lot to do but dealt with corners with the authority you'd expect fro him. 7/10

23. Richard Edghill: Another impressive performance as he defended well and allowed Ainsworth the freedom to get forward knowing he had a good full back behind him. 7/10

3. Gino Padula: Struggled against Morrision and then Williams but still showed some of the quality which makes him so popular. 7/10

5. Clarke Carlisle: Clarke is quickly getting back to his best and was excellent again and looked so relaxed on the pitch and seems to be enjoying himself which is great to see. 7/10

2. Terrell Forbes: He's really taking his chance in central defence and was excellent again defending well and even making some neat passes. 8/10

22. Kevin McLeod: Continues to get stick from the crowd but he's a young player and had a decent game. 7/10

8. Marc Bircham: Only played five minutes and he'll hopefully be back soon. 7/10

14. Martin Rowlands: Another goal from midfield as he showed the benefits of having someone running in late to join the attack. Not at his best but a decent performance. 7/10

11. Gareth Ainsworth: His best game for a while as he went close to scoring a few times and had the beating of his full back. 8/10

9. Tony Thorpe: A good first half full of running off the ball but he faded in the second half and became very frustrating as he was second to most things outside the box. 7/10

10. Kevin Gallen: A captains performance as he scored one and provided a brilliant link between the midfield and attack. Hopefully this sort of performance will stop the frankly laughable calls for him to be dropped. 9/10

Subs

4. Steve Palmer: worked hard and didn't do much wrong and it's good to have a player of his experience waiting to come into the team when needed. 7/10