Coca Cola Championship
Friday November 17th
Cardiff City 0	Queens Park Rangers 1
	R.Jones

The two highest scoring teams in the division met at Ninian Park as Rangers travelled to Cardiff in front of the Sky TV cameras so an end to our recent goal fest was an absolute certainty.

The Sky camera meant that most QPR fans could watch the game without making the long trip to Cardiff on a Friday night.

John Gregory took his side to a Cardiff side unbeaten at home all season and top of the league.

Still confidence was high in the Rangers camp after a good recent run and despite starting the night in the bottom six the team found themselves just five points away from the playoffs.

Gregory was able to name an unchanged side after extending the loan of Michael Mancienne. Kevin Gallen's injury saw him miss the cut as Ray Jones returned from his hip injury/contract row to be among the substitutes.

The Sky camera meant that most QPR fans could watch the game without making the long trip to Cardiff on a Friday night. Those fans who did go many of them missed the start of the game due to traffic problems meaning only a handful were in the away end when the game kicked off.

I opted for the comfort of my front room to watch the game with a few beers and a pizza as I sampled life as an armchair supporter, which I don't think will last, as I doubt the neighbours appreciated some of the language aimed at the TV over the next 90 minutes.

Rangers kicked off attacking the end where the QPR fans were sat and got off to a good start.

The home side looked a little nervous and tentative on the ball as Rangers got stuck into the league leaders. Jimmy Smith went close in the first minute turning inside the box and curling a shot just wide of the far post.

It was a bright start by Rangers as we kept the ball well in midfield and looked to get Cook in the game at every opportunity but Cardiff had done their homework and were doubling up on Cook from the start.

Gareth Ainsworth took an early knock as he fell awkwardly and after virtually begging to come off for several minutes Gregory eventually made the change bringing on Nick Ward to slot in on the right.

It was now a very inexperienced midfield and I feared for us against a strong Cardiff side but to Rangers credit the midfield stood firm. Ward, Bailey and Smith all worked their socks off to make sure Cardiff had no time on the ball and when we attacked they all looked to get forward and support the front two.

Midway through the first half Cardiff had rarely got into our half let alone trouble us and we began to show a bit more ambition and had chances to take the lead.

Cook was the man creating the chances as he made some space for himself on the left and whipped a cross to the far post, which Blackstock met but headed wide.

Cook then went close to scoring his first league goal since April with a wonderful run. He made the chance himself dribbling past three players at the heart of the Cardiff defence before curling the ball with the inside of his left foot which swerved in the air and was well saved by the keeper.

The Premiership scouts will have been licking their lips at that but Rangers struggled to get Cook into the game as much as we usually do and Cardiff began to come back into the game.

A mistake by Rehmann almost opened the door for Cardiff as he headed across his own box with Royce screaming for the ball but Stewart scrambled the ball away. Cardiff had very little going forward though with a Joe Ledley shot the only effort of note on goal, which Royce had covered anyway.

At the other end we had another chance to take the lead. A poor back pass put the keeper in trouble and his volleyed clearance was blocked by Blackstock who seemed all set to score but slipped as he went to shoot and the keeper kept out his effort. Perhaps Blackstock could have taken a touch to make the chance easier but credit again to the youngster for his work rate in closing down a lost cause and making a chance for himself.

Stefan Bailey was impressing in central midfield. He was very strong in the tackle taking the ball cleanly on most occasions, he was also comfortable on the ball and showed the kind of form that had QPR fans praising him last season.

Cardiff appealed for a penalty in the final few minutes of the half but in truth it was a pathetic attempt to get a penalty as Chopra ran straight into Stewart and the referee quite rightly laughed off the appeal.

After three minutes of injury time the referee brought an end to the half and Rangers were the happier of the two sides and in all honestly I couldn't see Cardiff scoring which is saying something after the way we've defended this season.

The second half though saw the pattern of the game change slightly and the home side were controlling the game far better than they had in the first half. Rangers were on the back foot from the start but were not in much danger of conceding.

Cardiff had the better of possession but the Rangers back four were standing firm.

Stewart again was having a solid game whilst the full backs especially Bignot were excellent against the wide threat from Cardiff. I've been critical of Rehmann all season but he hardly put a foot wrong as the home side looked for an opening goal and were reduced to long-range efforts.

One of those long-range efforts almost broke the deadlock as Mancienne's slip allowed McNaughton to cut inside and fire a shot, which beat Royce but hit the top of the bar. This chance woke the home fans up who were very vocal now and saw Scimeca also try his luck from distance but shot over the bar.

The Rangers captain Marcus Bignot was calling for calm from his side and he almost opened his account for the season after a good interchange of passes with Cook and the full back tried his luck from a narrow angle and saw his effort saved.

Cardiff had another penalty appeal turned down when Purse got his legs tangled with Rehmann and it would have been incredibly harsh if the penalty had been given.

With around twenty minutes left John Gregory made a change to try and win the game. Dexter Blackstock was replaced by Ray Jones who was making his first appearance since the game away at Sheffield Wednesday. Jones slotted in well alongside Nygaard but as the game wore on it really did look like it had 0-0 written all over it.

Cardiff had run out of ideas towards the end and in truth had been reduced to long range efforts all night. They did have a goal disallowed but Thompson was several yards offside when he scored.

You can never write this QPR side off though and we continued our run of scoring in every game this season with just two minutes to go. Marc Nygaard slipped on the ball and it rolled to Nick Ward who exploded into action.

He ran at the Cardiff defence, cut inside and delivered a perfect low cross for Ray Jones to tap in at the far post for his third goal of the season which was the cue for QPR fans all over the world to jump up and down and celebrate in front of the television.

The goal was perfectly timed and Cardiff only really had enough time for one last free kick which saw Rangers employ the old Terry Venables offside tactic to perfection with every player running out on cue and playing five players offside whilst John Gregory say laughing in the dugout.

The full time whistle meant Cardiff had lost for the first time at home all season and Rangers were now just two points off the playoffs (well until Saturdays games finished) and more importantly now eight points clear of the bottom three.

This was a massive win for Rangers and one to give belief to the side that they are far better than the results have shown this season.

Defensively we were very solid and credit to Bailey for really giving his back four protection. Smith and Ward also got through so much work for the team. Stewart had another good game, as did Bignot. It was also Rehmann's best game for quite a while. The longer it went on the more I fancied us to win, I couldn't see us not scoring to be honest and Cardiff looked very ordinary. Great to see Ray Jones get a goal, I really hope he signs that contract, as he is a very exciting player.

Credit must go to John Gregory. In just ten games he's taken a complete shambles of a team at the bottom of the table to one comfortably sitting in mid table, scoring goals, entertaining the fans and showing fantastic character to beat the league leaders.

The January transfer window will be interesting now. Do we sell Cook and settle with staying up or keep him, extend Smiths loan sign a defender and have a crack at the playoffs. With £50million up for grabs for promotion now it might be worth the gamble. It's an amazing turnaround. 10 games ago I couldn't see anything other than relegation for us, now we look like a side who can beat anyone and looking at the sides above us I'm not really scared of any of them.

I'd still take a mid table finish if it was offered now but we are improving with every game and still have a lot of the season left to put a run together. The playoffs don't look that crazy an idea anymore.

Two home games next for Rangers and a good chance to pick up some more points to move us further away from the bottom three and whisper it quietly a little closer to that top six.

Man of the Match: Stefan Bailey

Players Ratings: Royce 7, Mancienne 7, Bignot 8, Stewart 7, Rehmann 7, Ainsworth 6 (Ward 7), Smith 7, Bailey 8, Nygaard 6, Blackstock 7 (Jones 7)