the ball in our own half and a good ball to Rowlands saw us break away. Rowlands got down the left and his deep cross found Gallen who was unmarked but his first time effort was miss hit and Camp had a comfortable save to make. Rowlands was next to go close after a good run and cross by Lee Cook but his header went wide of Camps post.

It was a good spell from Rangers but Derby were soon back on top with the games stand out player Idiakez pulling the strings in midfield. The Spanish midfielder was a huge threat with his set pieces and he twice went close to giving his side the lead from what looked like impossible angles. The first was again out on the left wing and as we all waited for a cross he went for goal curling it towards the top corner and Royce did well to tip it over.

Once again the set piece was bang on target and I didn’t think I’ve ever seen a player hit so many quality free kicks from all over the pitch which always seem to hit the target.

Derby were well on top now and Rangers switched to a 4-5-1 with Gallen going out to the right and Rowlands in midfield. This seemed to help control the game but the home side were well on top still but were finding chances from open play hard to come by.

It didn’t matter too much to them though as a foul by Shittu gifted Idiakez another free kick from 35 yards out which is as dangerous as a penalty to be honest. This time his free kick was curled towards the top corner and had Royce totally beaten but he hit the bar much to the relief of our travelling supporters. Royce looked relived and even kissed the crossbar as he went to collect the ball.

With the half coming to an end we needed to go into the break at 0-0 but Derby were pushing hard and went close again to taking the lead Rose was beaten on the left by Smith and he put in a dangerous cross that beat Royce but Shittu headed it over the bar with a Derby forward in close attendance behind him.

The referees whilst was very welcome and we needed to re group at half time and try to find a way to stop Idiakez in the second half.

As the teams emerged for the second half Lee Camp got an excellent reception from the QPR fans and he seemed pleased with the applause he was given by us. His team were still on top though and it took a good save by Royce to keep us in the game after a decent effort from their top scorer Rasiak.

After that Rangers finally got into the game and had a good spell of pressure, which almost got us the three points. It all started through Kevin Gallen. He chested down the ball from 30 yards out and with everyone expecting a pass he smashed a volley past Camp and inches past the post. It was so close and seemed to give the team hope that we could win the game.

We began to play more football in the Derby half and the home side didn’t really threaten the Rangers goal. A foul outside the box gave us the chance to try out a set piece. Paul Furlong took control of the situation and fired in a cracking shot from 30 yards out but Lee Camp was equal to it and made a good save.

Lee Cook and Matthew Rose were beginning to link as they had done on Saturday and a good breakaway saw them exchange passes before Rose was put away down the left. He looked up and put in a lovely cross, which Camp flapped at and Furlong just couldn’t get on the end of it. It was frustrating though to see so few bodies in the box after such a swift counter attack.

Cook was getting more in the game now and his lopping cross beat Camp but Gallen couldn’t get a touch on it at the far post to give us the lead. The Rangers captain though was having an excellent game up front and he went closest to giving us the lead. He was at the heart of the move from the start as he swapped passes with Cook and Rose before getting the ball out wide on the left.

As Derby awaited a cross Gallen went for goal and curled a quite brilliant effort over Camp and it just went wide of the far post with Furlong running in unable to get on the end of it. It was so close and would have been a goal that Gallen thoroughly deserved for his performance.

Derby began to get back in the game again as the game became quite scrappy. Ian Holloway opted for an attacking switch taking off Marc Bircham and bringing on Gareth Ainsworth but we spent most of the last ten minutes defending rather than attacking. Derby were desperate for a goal and with minutes to go they won a number of corners.

Before the first one Matthew Rose went down injured much to the annoyance of the home fans and he was taken off to leave us down to ten men. Idiakez whipped in a brilliant corner for a Derby forward to head wide although the ref gave another corner. This time Royce leapt up to claim the ball and the danger was gone.

At the other end Santos had one last comical effort as he did well to win the ball before firing a shot, which went out for a throw in. Gareth Ainsworth didn’t see the funny side, as he was totally unmarked just a few yards away.

In the dying seconds Derby won yet another free kick and lets face it this could have been 60 yards out and with Idiakez it would have been a threat. This one though was wide on the left and it was clear he was going to shoot. He curled in a spectacular effort, which was heading for the top corner but once again Royce was equal to it and tipped it away fro a corner.

Royce was again excellent at the corner as he rose above the defence to claim the ball and his performance was a real highlight of the night.

As the final whistle the QPR fans seemed pretty pleased with the result and Lee Camp swapped shirts with Furlong whilst hugging every QPR player as well as Ian Holloway. Such a shame we couldn’t make his loan signing permanent. Still one loan signing we could do with making permanent is Simon Royce who was excellent once again. He claimed so many corners with great authority and some of his saves from Idiakez free kicks were stunning.

This was a good display by Rangers although Bircham, Santos and Bignot have all had better nights. Andrew Davies and Shittu were both excellent whilst Cook got better as the game wore on. The front two were again a threat and Gallen is looking more like his old self with a very good display up front.

So a well earned point which puts us just four points behind the playoffs and if we can build on this to get a win at Rotherham on Saturday then the playoffs could be a very real possibility.