For the third time this season Rangers faced a midweek away game but this time it was a long trip to Crewe on a Tuesday night rather than a short trip across town to Gillingham or Watford.

Due to the lack of trains back to London we opted for the official supporters coach to get to the game, which was full of the usual faces seen at midweek away games. After a long coach journey we arrived at Crewe in time to have a few pints in the Brunswick pub before kick off along with many other QPR fans.

The atmosphere before the game seemed to be one of confidence after Saturdays win and I felt very relaxed ahead of the game, which is odd for me.

As we got into the ground we found some seats right on the halfway line in time for the teams to come out. It was difficult to hear the teams being read out on the public address system but Rangers were unchanged for the first time this season. Kevin Gallen went up for the coin toss and Rangers changed ends for the first half so we attacked the stand to the left of us, which had no fans in.

The ref shook hands with the players and had a joke with Marcus Bignot and when he went up to Marcus it was amazing to see how short the referee was. He was looking up to Bignot who is hardly a giant.

The game started off with both sides looking to get an early goal but Crewe were looking the more dangerous. An attack down our right ended when Bignot miss timed his tackle and brought down Mark Rivers. The ref showed Bignot the yellow card which was a harsh decision for his first foul and that left the ref with no option but to book someone for every foul for the rest of the game and turn a clean game into one which had several bookings.

From the free kick Crewe almost took the lead as the ball was whipped in for Ashton but Bean did well to clear just as Ashton was rising to meet the ball. Ashton then headed over from a corner when he should have done better and the England under 21 international was looking Crewe’s best bet for a goal.

Rangers started to come into the game and Cook linked well with Gallen and they found Furlong who didn’t worry about another pass and just fired in a strong shot just over the bar. With the rain lashing down it was well worth having a shot from distance and the keeper just managed to palm it over the bar after trying to catch it. We began to apply pressure putting balls over the top and forcing the home defence into mistakes. A corner won on the left almost brought a goal with a clever set piece as Bircham came from nowhere to run onto a Gallen corner but Moses did well to head clear as Bircham charged into space at the far post.

A goal came for Rangers just after twenty minutes. Furlong was fouled around 30 yards out and Rangers lined up the free kick. Furlong looked so confident walking up to take it I fancied him to score but didn’t quite expect it to be so spectacular. I was thinking he’d hit it low and on the wet surface the keeper would struggle but instead Gallen touched the ball to his left and Furlong powered an unstoppable shot into the top corner. Ben Williams dived for it but he may as well have saved himself the bother, as this was a goal the moment it left Furlongs boot. The 900 or so Rangers fans celebrated singing pig bag and there’s only one Furlong as the QPR forward walked off celebrating as if he’s scored a two yard tap in.

We continued to push forward with Marcus Bean closing Crewe down all over the pitch and passing the ball well to get attacks moving. Lee Cook ran at his full back but his shot was over the bar as Gallen screamed for a cross.

A few more corners came to nothing and Crewe ended the half stronger looking to get back in the game. Rose and Santos had dealt with everything Crewe had thrown at us but one ball in between the two of them saw them both hesitant and Ashton got free and shot against the post. The communication was poor between the two defenders and the keeper but this was the only criticism of these players who were excellent other than this one moment.

Steve Jones was next to have a go as he got away from Bignot, who looked a little tentative after being booked so early, but Chris Day wasn’t troubled as the shot flew wide.

The half time whistle came just at the right time for us as Crewe were getting on top and it gave us a chance to settle down and come out and take control of the second half. The PA announcer sounded devastated as he read out half time scores from across the country, Crewe were only losing 1-0 but by the sound of him they could have been 10-0 down and all set for relegation out of the football league, he just sighed at one point and said “Oh well at least Stoke are losing 1-0” before news came through that Stoke had equalised in injury time of the first half.

Holloway made no changes to the team for the second half and the players did a huddle before Crewe kicked off looking to attack down our left. After a few minutes it seemed clear Holloway had made a tactical switch to keep control of the game with Gallen going into midfield in a 4-5-1. Gallen seemed to revel in is new role attacking from deep and getting plenty more of the ball.

Crewe had very little to offer in the way of attacks as they looked to build from the back but only once a through ball opened us up and Chris Day was on hand to come off his line and save at Rivers feet. The offside trap was working to perfection with the back four working very hard to catch the lively Ashton offside time and time again.

We were well in control of the game by now passing the ball around well and playing most of our stuff in the Crewe half.

Rowlands and Gallen were getting more involved but it was Furlong who set one attack up with a quality piece of play. A ball up to him was controlled by Furlong with his chest and with four men round him he just held them all off turned and put Cook away down the left. The Crewe defence just couldn’t get the ball off Furlong and Cook’s dangerous cross missed the onrushing Gallen by inches.

We were playing some good football now and a nice move on the right found it’s way to Gallen in the middle who took a touch and went past the last defender before shooting just wide of the keepers near post. Gallen was looking sharper than in the last few games and seemed desperate to get a goal but Moses blocked another effort from the edge of the box. With the football we were playing looking very encouraging we still needed a second goal. Matthew Rose almost got it with a surging run from the back, which he used to be so good at. He frightened the life out of Crewe as he ran 50 yards with the ball into the box but he couldn’t finish it off with the goal he deserved.

George Santos was again looking a star in the centre of defence winning everything in the air and winning some excellent tackles to come away with the ball at his feet and then a cross field pass out wide. It was lovely to see and the fans were chanting Georges name as those who dubbed Santos Holloway’s worst ever signing before he had kicked a ball look slightly foolish.

Marcus Bignot was also having a good game at right back and he made me chuckle as the ball went out for a throw in and a QPR fan caught the ball only for Bignot to scream “Keep it” to the R’s fan in a bid to slow Crewe down. Santos capped a brilliant performance with the killer goal halfway through the second half. More closing down from the Rangers players won us a corner on the right. Gallen lofted it to the far post and Santos rose above the defence to head past Williams and get us another three points.

Santos was now the hero and he played up to it like a pantomime hero with every header and clearance greeted with roars of approval by the QPR fans. He did have one disappointment though as Jones tried to run past the big defender but seemed to run into Santos and come off far worse. Santos was booked and the Crewe fans seemed to think Santos had used an elbow but from my seat it was difficult to tell.

The free kick was in a dangerous position and with just over ten minutes left fans began to worry that Crewe might do to us what they did the last time we were in this division and come back from two down to nick a late point. Thankfully the free kick was rubbish and it was going to take a huge cock up by Rangers to go home with anything less than three points. Crewe had one late chance, as Rangers got slightly lucky.

Padula brought down Varney and as the last man he really should have been sent off but the ref decided to just book him. Gino was a lucky boy and Rangers got lucky as the free kick hit the wall and then a ball in found Ashton eight yards out. A consolation goal looked certain but his effort was brilliantly saved by Chris Day and pushed onto the post before Santos cleared and Day had a clean sheet to celebrate along with the three points.

After what seemed like a good five minutes injury time the referee finally blew for full time and we had a fourth win in five games. So after all the speculation about Ian Holloway future last week the team and manager have responded with two wins in a row and we’re started to look at home in this division as we move up to twelfth place.

This was a very good performance from Rangers. We defended well and worked hard all over the pitch to win the ball back. We also passed it far better than we did against Plymouth and created some decent chances, which on another night may have given us the win by a few more goals.

The three hour journey home brought time for reflection on the first eight games and I think at the start of the season I would have taken this position. We haven’t played at our best yet this season but still find ourselves mid table and getting better all the time.

Onto Brighton now, which will be another tough away game, and with Leon Knight without a goal all season you may as well put your mortgage on him breaking his duck against us. Still if we continue where we left off in this game then I see no reason why we can’t take at least a point out of a difficult away fixture this weekend.

Man of the Match: George Santos

Players Ratings

1. Chris Day: Only really had the one save to make but he produced a brilliant stop to deny Ashton when called upon and he always in control at set pieces. 7/10

2. Marcus Bignot: He looked a little worried after his early booking so his tough tackles were not going in as hard as usual but he worked so hard on the right and was always looking for the ball and giving the midfield an option to pass to him. 7/10

3. Gino Padula: He played like a man possessed at times charging into tackles and getting forward well but he was very lucky not to be sent off for a blatant professional foul. 7/10

7. Matthew Rose: Another very good game from Rose. He defended very well and even broke forward with some weaving runs with the ball at his feet, which almost brought him a goal. 8/10

23. George Santos: A magnificent performance from Santos. He won everything in the air, defended well and always made himself available for a ball to feet as he tried to pass out of defence rather than hoof it. His well deserved goal was the icing on the cake for an impressive nights work. 9/10

8. Marc Bircham: Not at his best yet as he gave the ball away far too often but he worked so hard off the ball trying to win us back possession he can be forgiven for the weaker aspects of his performance. 6/10

16. Marcus Bean: Getting better with every game. Bean won tackle after tackle and used the ball sensibly. What I like about Bean is he just gets on with things and if he does make a mistake he works his socks off to win the ball back and make up for it. 8/10

14. Martin Rowlands: He got more of the ball in this game and looked more of a threat with some good crosses into the box but he can still play better which is good as we are still winning games without one of our best players performing to his potential. 7/10

17. Lee Cook: Worked hard again for the team but he’s not quite clicking with the rest of the team yet and seems to need one touch too many rather than getting crosses into the box. 7/10

29. Paul Furlong: Yet another good night for Furlong. A brilliant goal and his hold up play and passing was just top class. 8/10

10. Kevin Gallen: Looked sharper than in previous games but didn’t look too confident in front of goal. His passing was much better though and when he dropped into midfield he seemed to get more of the ball and was able to get the team playing some good football. 7/10