After a terrible December where Rangers lost all five matches played it was a fresh start as the New Year arrived and a chance to put a bad month behind us.

Brighton were the visitors to Loftus Road and Ian Holloway made a bold decision dropping three players after the defeat against Crewe. Gino Padula, Lee Cook and Marc Bircham were all dropped with Georges Santos, Marcus Bean and Gareth Ainsworth all back in the starting line up.

Rangers started the game on fire looking determined to get an early goal to settle the nerves around the stadium. Ainsworth started as he meant to go on throwing himself at a tackle and storming past his full back into the box. His shot was saved and best scuffed the rebound into the grateful arms of the Brighton keeper.

Brighton played some neat football but never really looked a threat and it was Rangers who were creating all the chances. Good work by Ainsworth and Best set up Gallen but his shot was cleared off the line. Gallen was looking far better in midfield alongside Bean. His passing was improved and he was linking well with Rowlands but a lack of movement by some of his team mates made it difficult to get many fluent moves going. Gallen fired another shot just wide before Marcus Bean had a great chance to give us the lead. A ball in from the left found Bean unmarked and from yards his placed shot was well saved by the keeper but again it lacked the power to really trouble the visitors.

At the back Rangers made a few problems for themselves with a lack of communication. First off it was Shittu who got no call from Day and hoofed the ball clear when he didn’t need to and then Bignot waited for Day to come out and claim the ball but Day hesitated again leaving Bignot with a tough job to scramble the ball away.

Shittu was looking quite down after a few misplaced passes so it was good to see Gallen and Ainsworth go over and try to lift Shittu with encouragement which seemed to help him.

Shittu almost grabbed the first goal of the game. A corner on the right was flicked on by Furlong and Shittu found space and shot from the edge of the box. The ball beat the keeper but hit the inside of the post and came back out. The ball came out to Leon best who hit it well but Kuipers somehow kept it out to deny Best his first goal for QPR.

Santos was booked right on half time for a dreadful tackle and he was a little lucky it wasn’t a red card. Rangers could cpunt themselves unlucky not to be a goal up by half time and despite not being at our best we were by far the better side in this encounter.

The start of the second half saw an improved noise from the crowd as Pantomime villain Leon Knight was introduced and got ready to defend his Olympic diving medal. Knight though did inject some life into Brightens attacks and he had our back four a little worried but they continued to create very little.

Leon Best was starting to link well with Furlong and a good break saw him send Furlong away but our leading scorers shot was again well saved by Kuipers.

Leon Knight’s dives were becoming more and more embarrassing. He rolled over and played dead after Bignot breathed near him and collapsed holding his face when Ainsworth got within five yards of him. The ref didn’t fall for it but to be honest should have booked the little cheat. Ainsworth provided some more entrainment though as ran back to Knight and threw himself on the floor in front of Knight to make his point clear. Even the Brighton fans seemed to be laughing at that one.

It was still all Rangers at the other end and we went agonisingly close to getting that vital goal. A good run by Best saw him brought down as he was about to shoot. Furlong stood over the ball and blasted his shot through the wall into the bottom corner. Sadly Brighton defended it well with Guy Butters on the line and he hacked the ball away with the keeper well beaten.

Bignot and Ainsworth then linked well as Ainsworth beat his man for the 107th time in the game. His cross was flicked on by Furlong and best got a head on it but the keeper again saved.

Kuipers then had a moment of madness as he came running out and missed the ball totally. Furlong had an open goal but the angle was too tight so he crossed for Gallen and Best but neither of them could get on the end of it. I think it would have been better for Furlong to take a touch and just roll it in himself but it’s easy to say that in hindsight.

Leon Best was taken off near the hour mark with Kevin McLeod coming on. Martin Rowlands was moved into central midfield with Gallen up front. As we reorganised we almost fell behind. Leon Knight showed what he can do when he stays on his feet and his shot was saved by Day although he couldn’t hold onto it and Day did well to save at Harts feet from the rebound.

Furlong went close again after a nice cross by McLeod. Furlong hit it on the volley but the keeper saved again and was keeping his side in the game no only with some fine saves but with his blatant time wasting tactics as well.

The referee then completely lost the plot with some barmy decisions. Harding clearly handballed on the right wing almost catching the ball. Everyone saw it even the linesmen who was 40 yards away but the ref gave nothing until the linesmen was flagging like a maniac. Andy D’urso then decided not to book the player for the offence or even talk to his assistant to ask what he was giving a free kick for.

D’Urso and his assistant then missed a blatant stamp by Oatway on Marcus Bean deciding a goal kick was a fair decision for that one. The decisions were getting worse as the man in black began to stamp his authority on the game. Leon Knight then went for a tumble and a few rolls after a strong tackle by McLeod. Knight was rolling around as even his teammates ignored his antics and just got on with it. No wonder Mark Mcghee wants to get rid of the little cheat.

With time running out Rangers were dealt a terrible blow as Paul Furlong was sent off. A Long ball forward saw Furlong clearly being wrestled away from the ball by Adam Hinshelwood for a free kick to Rangers. Nothing was given though and as the defender appeared to fall over Furlongs trailing leg a free kick was given to Brighton and Furlong was off. After seeing it on television today it is still not clear if Furlong did have a kick at the defender and it was a yellow card at the most.

Furlong will now face a four game ban, as the FA can’t hear an appeal, as they are not working over the weekend. Brighton then almost nicked it as a corner in was missed by inches as Oatway flew himself at the ball. If he was an inch taller we would have been facing a sixth defeat in a row.

So a 0-0 draw and not the best result but at least the sequence of defeats has come to an end and we have something to build on over the next few weeks. The performance of Gareth Ainsworth was simply outstanding as he ran his heart out for the team and tore his full back apart all game. If he can continue this form then we should get out of this bad run sooner rather than later.

It wasn't a great performance but it was the kind of one you see after a side has had a bad run then scraps a battling 1-0. Very disappointing to not get the three points and we badly need a win from somewhere at the moment but not the end of the world. If we can get a point or more at Leicester that would be superb and set us up for a war against Stoke in two weeks.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Gareth Ainsworth

Players Ratings:

1. Chris Day: I've no idea how he was given man of the match by the match sponsors but he didn't do much wrong. He made one decent save from Knight but I felt he could have communicated with his defence far better during the first half. 7/10

2. Marcus Bignot: Gave it his all as he always does and he got forward well especially in the second half. 7/10

4. Richard Edghill: A solid performance although it was a little worrying to see him pull out of a few 50/50 tackles. Given his injury record though I suppose it is understandable. 7/10

5. Dan Shittu: Had a nervous start t the game but got better as the game went on. 7/10

23. Georges Santos: Defended well throughout the game but was a little lucky to only get a yellow for one terrible tackle in the first half. 7/10

11. Gareth Ainsworth: I don't think I've ever seen a winger get through as much work as Ainsworth. He ran his heart out, won tackles and gave his full back a nightmare time. When he plays like this I don't think there are many better right sided players in the division. 9/10

16. Marcus Bean: A disappointing performance by Bean. He worked hard but never really took his chance to replace Bircham. 6/10

10. Kevin Gallen: A much better performance from Gallen. He passed the ball around and linked well with the wide players. He did look more comfortable though when he went up front for the last half an hour. 7/10

14. Martin Rowlands: Had a decent game ont he left but got better when he went in central midfield where he saw a bit more of the ball and looked a threat. 7/10

29. Paul Furlong: Led the line well all game and was very unlucky not to score. The red card he received was very harsh and he'll be badly missed in the next few weeks. 7/10

28. Leon Best: Best is getting better the more he plays. He linked up well with Furlong and looked a threat. He just needs a goal to give him some more confidence. 7/10

Subs

18. Kevin McLeod: Looked bright when he came on making a few good runs and crosses down the left. 7/10