I suppose the run had to end somewhere and Preston on a Tuesday night did seem like a home win when the fixtures came out in June.

The rain was coming down like I've never seen rain before outside of Chesterfield. It was still pissing down this morning. I was soaked through by the time we got to the ground and met with an absolute farce as Preston decided to sell us tickets from a small booth and then go in through the turnstile with about 200 people queuing. We were then told to just pay cash on the turnstile and after a big rush to get to the front of the queue they had no change so we stood and waited for ages in the pouring rain.

As for the game I thought we played ok in the first half but it was very even. Holloway was forced into three changes. Dan Shittu, Jamie Cureton and Matthew Rose all missed out through injury so Padula, McLeod and new loan signing Frank Simek started.

We looked shaky to start with as Bignot played Day into trouble with a weak back pass and Healy blocked Day's clearance and it took Padula to clear it away as the seemed to be heading for the net. We took the lead after just eight minutes. It started with a Gallen free kick on the left. The Rangers captain curled it to the bottom corner and the keeper did well to palm it around the post for a corner.

It was then great to see that set piece finally work. As the corner came in Gallen ran from the halfway line as Cook took a corner and the Preston defence panicked to leave Santos unmarked and we scored. Big celebrations all round the 1,000 QPR fans and perhaps the dream of 8 wins in a row was about to come true.

An equaliser was always on the cards though and it's just a shame that the "Top of the league, we're having larf" chant couldn't last longer before they equalised. Santos made a mistake for it as he slipped and Gino did well to come across and get the tackle in on Healy but sadly his deflection took it past Day when the shot looked to be going wide. 1-1 after just 15 minutes and to be fair that was a fair reflection of the play so far.

Both sides had chances after that. Day had a very good game making a few excellent stops. Preston were on top with Healy denied by Days legs and a few dangerous crosses caught out the R's back four and just the slightest of touches would have given the home side the lead.

At the other end another Gallen free kick was well saved before our best chance of the game just before half time. A Bignot cross found Mcleod who bravely jumped at the ball and his header hit the bar. McLeod appeared to clash heads with a defender and land on top of the keeper. Furlong had an open goal with the rebound but he fired over the bar on the volley to waste a great chance. Holloway changed things to a 4-5-1 after about half an hour as Preston were controlling midfield.

Mcleod had started up front but was drifting out wide too often so it made sense to just put him out wide and have Rowlands and Gallen support Furs from midfield. The Preston keeper was then taken off after a huge delay as we waited for the Preston sub to get changed and stroll onto the pitch.

With the ref playing as much injury time as he liked Preston got a late chance for an equaliser a minute after the four minutes added time were up. Santos stupidly kicked the ball away and ended up in the book. The free kick came to nothing and someone pointed out to the ref that he should look at his watch and he realised it was half time.

The ref was booed off by home fans for his incompetent first half although to be fair he was just ruining the game for both sides and not helping anyone out by stopping the play every 20 seconds yet ignoring some blatant fouls by both teams in the penalty area. You won't be surprised to know this muppett was the same clown who refereed the QPR v Crewe game when Rangers were going for automatic promotion 18 months ago. That day he sent off two QPR players for nothing and almost caused a riot. He had a good go at causing another one in the second half and made sure he got his name in the newspapers to raise his pathetic profile.

Rangers continued with a 4-5-1 after the break with McLeod on the right and Rowlands in central midfield. It worked well as we started brightly but chances were few and far between for us. We got in some good positions and worked a few openings but the final ball or shot was not good enough to give us the lead.

Preston began to come more into the game pushing forward and creating chances.

Santos began to lose his cool and came close to seeing a red card after arguing with the ref. Preston should have grabbed a lead ten minutes into the half when a cross into the box found Lucketti unmarked and his header was very well saved by Day who was furious with his defence. Another ball into the box found the head of a Preston forward who hit the post and Day recovered well to parry the rebound away.

It looked like the home side were going to win it but we pushed forward and had a few chances of our own. A ball from the left by Cook found Furlong but his header was well saved although the ref blew his whistle anyway as it was quite clear Furlong could not win a header or even breathe without a free kick being given against him.

It was now a case of next goal wins. We got into some good positions but the final ball let us down and I felt Rowlands or Gallen needed to get in the box a bit more often to help Furlong even if it was just to take a defender away from Furs as he was against 3 players every time and the ref just kept blowing for fouls against Furlong.

A draw seemed likely until the ref had a mad minute to add to his other 89 mad ones on the night. Poor work by Rangers at our end, as Mcleod and Furlong couldn't get on the end of a cross and just walked back as Preston broke out quickly leaving the right side of midfield outnumbered. They did a nice passing move, which carved us open before Creswell surged into the box. New signing Simek seemed to foul Creswell and then Eddie Lewis scored, firing into the top corner as the ball broke free to him. 2-1 to Preston and on the balance of play probably a fair scoreline.

But the ref had blown before the ball hit the net so he had to give the penalty. It would have made sense to play the advantage and then blow if Lewis had missed it but instead the ref put himself in a terrible position. David Healy stepped up and I just knew Healy would miss it, as he never looked confident. The penalty was a poor one as Day saved and Rangers cleared.

The look of terror on the refs faces as we broke away and almost scored instantly was priceless. Our breakaway came to nothing but you just knew that old Andy Hall would try and even it up.

Within two minutes a break down our left saw a cross into the box and with Andy Hall 30 yards behind play he gave a penalty for handball despite Gino's having his back to the ref at the time. The lino franticly flagged for a pen as the ref blew to try and back his mate up and Rangers were furious. If he had only given the goal two minutes earlier we could have just got on with it rather than having the game turned to a farce.

Creswell took the second penalty and took it well firing into the bottom corner although Day got a hand to it as he tried to keep us level. The game had turned to a farce now though with the ref booking everyone and stopping the play every few seconds.

Both sets of players were getting wound up and then it all kicked off on the touchline. Cook lost control of the ball and tried to pull his leg back to scoop the ball away from Eddie Lewis behind him. Lewis thought Cook was having a kick at him and pushed Cook over. All handbags until the rest of both sides decided to join in. Bircham seemed to be acting as peacemaker but found himself booked (although he was due a booking for a few rash tackles earlier in the game) whilst Breaker was sent off from the bench for stopping the Preston physio from punching Cook in the face.

Hall seemed to be loving it and booked Lewis and Cook as well and he could see himself in the headlines as he merrily jogged off.

Teenager Scott Donnelly then came on for the last few minutes as we pushed forward for an equaliser. He looked bright when he came on but didn't get much of the ball. He had one long distance shot, which was well blocked before our last chance of the game. McLeod sprinted down the right and cut it back for Donnelly who took a touch and shot for goal only to see it blocked by a defender as it was heading in for what could have been a dream debut for the 16 year old.

The final whistle then went as the dream of winning eight games in a row was over.

The players looked devastated at the end to lose the record but hopefully they'll realise what a great achievement it's been to win seven in a row and just bounce back at the weekend.

To be honest I'd have taken 4th place in mid October at the start of the season so I'm still very happy with how things are going.

Plus points were the performances of Day, Bircham and Rowlands. I thought Rowlands looked more like his old self beating players and having a few shots whilst Bircham was everywhere winning the ball back for us and using it quite well most of the time.

New bloke Simek looked ok as well and was probably our best defender on the night and great to see Scott Donnelly get a first team debut.

Bad points were the performances of Santos who does one good thing then looks like the player many of us feared he would be when he signed. I think we all knew though that he can't perform to the high level he's shown recently in every game so I'll let him off the odd nightmare.

I also though Gino was disappointing and Mcleod just didn't appear to be as committed as he looks when he comes off the bench.

The ref was obviously rubbish but I won't blame him for the defeat as Preston looked a decent side and just about deserved the win.

Man of the Match: Marc Bircham

Players Ratings

1. Chris Day: Made some excellent saves and was very unlucky with the second penalty. 8/10

2. Marcus Bignot: For once not a brilliant display but he did OK against a good Preston attack. 7/10

3. Gino Padula: Did nothing wrong but lacked the spark he has shown in the past for Rangers and is probably lacking in confidence. Some of his passing was very disappointing. 6/10

28. Frank Simek: An impressive debut and a similar player to Darren Ward who we had on loan a few years ago. Defended well and kept a cool head when a few of his new team mates were losing theirs. 7/10

23. George Santos: Not his best nights work for Rangers. Got nothing from the ref but let that get to him and made some bad mistakes. Not all bad though as he scored and still made a few vital interceptions. 6/10

17. Lee Cook: Caused them problems when he ran at the defence but didn't do it often enough. 7/10

8. Marc Bircham: Worked so hard in midfield winning the ball back and playing some good passes. Shame he got booked but a good nights work from Bircham. 8/10

10. Kevin Gallen: Worked hard alongside Bircham and his passing was again quality as he looked good when he had the ball. I just wanted to see him push forward a little more though and get into goalscoring positions rather than sit deep and let others get into the box. 7/10

14. Martin Rowlands: A good performance from Rowlands as he started to take on and beat defenders and had a couple of long range shots go just wide. 7/10

18. Kevin McLeod: Didn't really get into the game. He had a few short spells where he looked good but he spent far too long drifting in and out of position and he'll be disappointed that he hasn't taken the chance to play up front with both hands. 6/10

29. Paul Furlong: Got nothing off the ref so his night was a long ball up to him and get a foul given against him. Kept going but Preston defended well against him. 6/10

Subs

25. Scott Donnelly: Good to see a 16 year old get his debut and this kid is supposed to be a little bit special. 7/10