QPR games against Cardiff have had a little extra spice to them in recent years since our defeat in the playoff final. As ever crowd trouble seems to follow the welsh side wherever they come although it was the rather over the top policing that caused trouble before the game. With fans blocked from getting onto Bloemfontein Road by the police and one poor fan was attacked by a police horse for trying to walk along the road. It was all well over the top and when we finally got to South Africa Road after having to walk the long way around we saw on Cardiff fan being arrested by about 25 policemen who appeared to be expecting a riot.

Back to the football and on the way to the game I read in the newspaper that five of the last six games between the two sides has ended 1-0 with the other game being a 0-0 draw. I was very tempted to back another 1-0 to Rangers before the game but instead went with a first goalscorer bet with Rowlands and Kanyuka the two poor sods with the mockers on them this week.

The atmosphere was excellent inside the stadium and there was a big roar when the teams were read out as lee Cook was back after sitting out the last three games through injury. Pat Kanyuka was also back replacing the injured Cullip whilst Marc Nygaard came in for Stefan Moore as Gregory again opted for experience alongside Blackstock.

Cardiff began the game attacking towards the loft and were almost ahead inside 90 seconds. Bolder wasted no time in hacking down Chopra outside the box and the free kick was in a dangerous position. Chopra lined it up and curled it over the wall with Camp beaten but the ball was inches wide of the post with the away fans celebrating and then looking rather silly.

This seemed to wake Rangers up and we dominated the next twenty minutes with it all being played in the oppositions half. We should have taken the lead within five minutes when Lomas and Nygaard managed to miss a sitter between them. A ball into the box caused panic and Lomas appeared to scramble the ball in but it was cleared off the line, Nygaard failed to react and it was cleared for a corner and almost an own goal.

Rangers were going very direct with long kicks from Camp and long throws from Lomas causing a few nervous moments for Cardiff and Bolder had a good penalty shout turned down when he was hauled down by Mcphail but the referee wasn't interested.

Lee Cook wasn't getting much joy on the left but he still has it in him to produce a moment or two of magic and on twenty-three minutes it was his inch perfect cross on the right, which created the only goal of the game. It came from a corner and Cook took the short option with Lomas and before you could say Short corners never work Cook whipped a cross in for the unmarked Blackstock to head past the keeper for his fourteenth goal of the season.

The goal seemed to settle everyone down but rather than look to kill the game off Rangers seemed content to defend the lead. Cardiff offered very little going forward for the rest of the half and Rangers were fighting for everything with Bolder earning applause for two fantastic sliding tackles on the halfway line, which summed up his battling skills.

At half time it all looked good for Rangers with Cardiff looking like a team who have given up on this season and we looked quite capable of getting a second goal. Results were also going our way with Barnsley the only side below us winning at half time.

The second half proved to be a different game though as Rangers rarely threatened and allowed the visitors back into the game who had finally woken up but we defended well with Kanyuka outstanding alongside the equally impressive Stewart. It's hard to believe this is the same defender who had looked comically woeful alongside Zesh Rehmann earlier in the season.

Michael Chopra had a chance to level the scores but Camp was equal to it. Chopra had been in a right old battle with Kanyuka with the young defender winding him up from the first minute and Chopra was more interested in moaning at the ref and falling over rather than looking for an equaliser.

The visitors had plenty of possession but were struggling to break us down with Camp having hands like magnets claiming every corner and free kick with ease. The only time he was troubled at a corner was when Blackstock ran into his own keeper and sent Camp flying but we managed to clear the danger.

Rangers were struggling to much of the ball and needed Furlong on to hold the ball up and relieve the pressure on the defence but he stayed on the bench whilst Nygaard was left with to work hard up front but wasn't really able to keep the ball.

Kerrea Gilbert was lucky to stay on the pitch after two dreadful tackles within 90 seconds. He was booked for a late lunge on Cook and then somehow escaped a booking for an equally poor tackle on Bolder. Dave Jones quickly took the youngster off before he was sent off much to the annoyance of the home fans.

The support now was superb as the fans urged the team on to a big win which would see us safe for another season. Lee Cook was starting to get more into the game and he went on a great run holding off several challenges to put Blackstock in but his ball across the face of goal was cleared.

Gregory made a change bringing on Jimmy Smith for the disappointing Rowlands who had looked very rusty and as we went into the last ten minutes Blackstock was given a standing ovation as he made way for Furlong.

Furlong won a free kick for Rangers as we looked to keep the ball and finish the game off but Bignot's quickly taken free kick saw him booked for taking it early. Smith and Cook then combined on the right with Cook beating his man and finding Nygaard who was caught with a nasty tackle from behind which saw the Cardiff players for some reason lose it with the linesmen and ref and they were lucky not to get more than one yellow card.

Rangers wasted the free kick and were defending for their lives now as Kanyuka and Stewart again stood firm. The QPR fans were screaming for the final whistle and when it came the celebrations were great. Lee Camp celebrated in front of the Cardiff fans, which upset their players, and Chopra completely over reacted and appeared to head butt Camp. Chopra was sent off and Camp booked after a handbags at dawn brawl between the players.

We didn't care though as the news came through that late goals for Plymouth and Southampton meant we will be playing Championship football next season.

The players were ecstatic and joined in with the We are the Rangers boys chant on a lap of honour, which saw Marcus Bignot even get on the microphone and lead the singing. Gareth Ainsworth hobbled onto the pitch and waved his crutches at us in celebration, these were fantastic scenes and an excellent achievement to stay up.

At the start of the season things looked bleak with a split squad with virtually no team spirit saw Waddock pushed out the door and full credit has to go to John Gregory for turning it around and not only keeping us up but we look like ending the season with a far stronger team than we started it with hopes high for a better season next time around.

This wasn't the best performance of the season by a long way but we deserved the three points. I thought we sat back far too deep in the second half and should have gone for the second goal but it worked in the end and I'm not going to complain about a side who have done brilliantly in recent weeks.

To be safe with 2 games still to play is a fantastic achievement especially when you consider how dire it all looked after we lost to Barnsley and even when we failed to beat Sheffield Wednesday last month. No reason why we can't go and get some more points in the last two games now that the pressure is off and finish closer to mid table than many expected us to.

Man of the Match: Pat Kanyuka

Players Ratings: Camp 8, Timoksa 7, Bignot 7, Kanyuka 9, Stewart 8, Rowlands 6 (Smith 6), Bolder 7, Lomas 7, Cook 7, Blackstock 7 (Furlong 7) Nygaard 7