After the delights of Brighton withdean stadium on Saturday it was a step up in class we traveled to a top Premiership ground with this Carling Cup tie against Aston Villa. It's the first time we've played a Premiership side away in the cup since 1997 when Charlton beat us 1-0 in the 2nd leg of a second round game. Hope wasn't exactly high of an upset but around 3,500 QPR fans made the trip to enjoy the delights of Premiership opposition.

A nightmare journey by coach saw us get to the ground late after being stuck in the Birmingham traffic for what seemed like a lifetime. Once we got to Villa Park it was like rolling back time to the last time I came here when QPR were a Premiership club. Villa Park is often named as one of the best stadiums in the country but unlike some of the newly built stadiums it does have it's problems.

Getting into the ground is not easy with one way in and one way out making it difficult to get to your seat and it's hard to believe there hasn't been a crush of some sort with such tight gangways to go in and out of the stadium. We were sat right down the front of the stand, which doesn't give the best of views, but once we sat back and looked around it was hard not to be impressed by the stadium with the Holte End one of the most impressive home ends in the country.

As with most top stadiums the Public address system drowns out any pre match atmosphere and as Pig bag blared out for us to sing along to it was hard to hear yourself think. The teams then came out and it was good to see Rangers in blue and white hoops away from Loftus Road for the first time this season.

The noisy QPR fans roared the team out but were in for a shock as Ian Holloway made six changes to the side, which won at Brighton on Saturday. Out went Padula, Rose, Santos, Bircham, Cook and the in the form Furlong as Edghill, Johnson, McLeod, Gnohere and Dan Shittu got into the first eleven along with new signing Serge Branco. Rangers started with a 4-5-1 system with Gallen up front and Cureton and McLeod were given the task of supporting Gallen from deep.

Rangers swapped ends for the first half attacking towards the QPR fans for the first forty five minutes and we started the game well. Johnson was seeing a lot of the ball in midfield and he was using it well but it didn't take long for him to get caught in possession and then struggle to find a blue and white shirt with a pass.

Rangers almost stunned the home team early on with some good opportunities to take the lead. Villa obviously have plenty of time to build from the back in the Premiership but with McLeod and Gallen closing down well Sorensen rushed a clearance, which fell to Cureton. The keeper was out of position and Cureton smashed it towards goal and it was going in all the way until Mellberg got across and headed it away just a few yards away from the line. The resulting corner was wasted but it was encouraging stuff.

We sat and waited for Villa to slip into gear and walk away with the game but they struggled to open us up as Dan Shittu defended brilliantly and the defence played the offside trap to perfection. We continued to create chances although not too many clear cut. A nice passing move involving Gallen and Rowlands ended up with Johnson playing in a beautiful cross in front of goal but no one read it and the ball curled harmlessly wide when it was crying out for someone to tap it in.

Gallen almost gave us the lead after controlling the ball with his back to goal, he held off his man before turning and his lofted shot looked for a moment like it would beat Sorensen but Gallen didn't get enough power or pace on his effort and the keeper kept it out.

We were looking pretty comfortable but Villa had so much firepower in attack it was always going to be difficult to keep them out. After a few comfortable saves for Day, Villa took the lead with a fine goal. It came from a mistake though as Rowlands gave the ball away cheaply something which has cost us in the Championship this season so was always going to prove costly against a top Premiership side. Villa intercepted Rowlands pass and within six passes they were 1-0 up. They made it look easy as they passed and moved and Rangers had no answer with Darius Vassell finishing it off with a good strike past Chris Day.

I feared that heads may drop at this point but we kept going and McLeod almost got us level as he lifted a shot over Sorensen but the ball bounced just before it reached the line and went wide. We kept working hard throughout the team and the team didn't look outclassed against opposition expected to beat us easily. A second goal looked like it had killed the game off as half time approached.

We again gave the ball away cheaply from our own throw in and Bignot was forced to hack down Barry as he raced through and picked up a yellow card for his troubles. The free kick was crossed to the far post where Gnohere had gone to sleep and left Juan Pablo Angel totally unmarked and a striker said to be worth around £15million was not going to pass up this opportunity and he headed past Day to put the home side two goals up.

Fears again began to grow among the Rangers fans that we may collapse and it was a relief that Villa took their foot off the pedal and settled for 2-0 at half time. Rangers had done well though in the first half and I felt 2-0 slightly flattered the home side although they did deserve to be ahead.

Holloway made one change during the break bringing on former Birmingham striker Paul Furlong to a chorus of boos from the home fans and we went 4-4-2 with Gallen dropping into midfield. The change had an immediate effect as Villa looked to cruise through the second half and Rangers went for it from the first kick of the half.

Furlong was holding the ball up well whilst the wide players began to get in the game a little more with Gallen finding team mates with his passes unlike Johnson who had been picking out ball boys and stewards with his cross field balls. A long ball up field seemed harmless enough but good pressure by Cureton forced Mellberg into a mistake. His back pass went through Sorensen's legs and McLeod had the easy task to tapping into the empty net. It had looked like game over but with plenty of time left we had a chance of taking the game to extra time at least.

The goal woke Villa up and they looked for the killer goal and De La Cruz came close after a good run and a thumping shot which had Day beaten and curled onto the post and went wide.

Rangers then had a very good 15 minute spell where an equaliser looked on the cards. Gallen was doing well in central midfield alongside the hard working Branco whilst Cureton was again looking sharp and causing problems.

A free kick on the right found Dan Shittu unmarked but the big defender got no power on his header and made it an easy save for Sorensen. Balls to the far post were causing problems for the home side and a McLeod cross found Furlong unmarked in acres of space. In his current form an equaliser seemed certain but he dithered on the ball and for once his control let him down as Sorensen palmed his effort away.

The best chance of the game for us followed soon afterwards. Some nice football by Rangers ended with Cureton bursting into the box and passing to Furlong who had timed his run to perfection. He was five yards out unmarked and we were already celebrating as he went to hit the ball but instead of an easy goal Furlong hit his shot straight at the diving Sorensen and the chance was gone. Furlong looked furious with himself it felt like our chance was gone.

A long break in play followed as Gnohere went down with what looked like a serious injury. He was in agony and looked in tears as he was stretched off past the QPR fans. George Santos replaced him whilst Rowlands also came off for Lee Cook as McLeod switched to the right wing. The changes meant it took a few minutes for everyone to settle down again and before we knew it the game was over.

Shittu, who looked exhausted at this stage, brought down Carlton Cole and it was a free kick in a similar position to the one Chris Day was caught out on at the weekend. This time Day got his positioning spot on but he had no chance as Nobby Solano curled a brilliant free kick into the top corner.

It was disappointing but not unexpected and Villa pushed to get even more goals with Angel and Cole both missing very good chances to give make the score line one that most people had expected. We kept going though and some good tackles by Santos and two shots wide by Branco and Cureton were all we had left before the referee blew the final whistle.

All in all a decent night for QPR.I knew we'd get beat but the players gave everything and didn't look out of place against a very good premiership side. I thought Bignot, Day, Gallen, McLeod and Cureton all had very good games whilst Dan Shittu was simply magnificent at the back playing like a one man defence at times. If he keeps this up he'll be a Premiership player by the end of the season.

Serge Branco was decent as well. He worked hard, very much in the Bean style of midfield player but I thought he looked a decent player. Only downside was I didn't understand why Holloway brought Johnson in.

I can understand resting Furlong and Santos with so many games and Gino has been poor recently whilst McLeod deserved his chance but Johnson was a very strange choice to make after he'd struggled n his other appearances this season.

Still plenty of positives and a superb turn out of Rangers fans for midweek game.

Man of the Match: Dan Shittu

Players Ratings

1. Chris Day: Day had very little chance with any of the goals but he had a good gam. His kicking was very good whilst he made several good saves to make sure we stayed in the game. 7/10

2. Marcus Bignot: Yet another very good performance. His driving runs forward in the second half set up several attacks. 7/10

4. Richard Edghill : Not his best night as he looked a rusty. His passing was poor and he was given a tough time by the very impressive Solano. 6/10

22. Arthur Gnohere: Poor marking for the second goal but he did well against a very good Villa attack. 7/10

5. Dan Shittu: It was like he's never been away. An immense performance from Big Dan and if he keeps this up the sky is the limit for him. 9/10

19. Serge Branco: A good debut for Branco. He worked hard and used the ball well. 7/10

6. Richard Johnson: Very poor performance, gave the ball away far too often. 5/10

14. Martin Rowlands: Played a more central role and did well showing excellent work rate and his passing was excellent. 7/10

18. Kevin McLeod: An impressive performance and he got a deserved goal. 8/10

15. Jamie Cureton: Another good display by Cureton. He looked sharp and was unlucky not to score. 8/10

10. Kevin Gallen: Worked hard in the lone strikers role and did well when moved to midfield for the second half. 7/10

Subs.

29. Paul Furlong: Even against Premiership opposition he was a huge threat but should have scored at least one of the chances that came his way. 7/10

17. Lee Cook: Not on for long and never really got into the game. 6/10

23. George Santos : Made some excellent tackles and formed a promising partnership with Dan Shittu.