Having your birthday the same day as QPR are playing can sometimes prove problematic and ruin the day but we headed off to Derby yesterday with my wife Carly celebrating her 29th birthday and hoping that QPR wouldn't ruin it all for us. A few years ago she celebrated her birthday with a trip to Hartlepool as Rangers won 4-1, neither us expected a repeat of that one but we were quietly confident that Rangers could cause an upset at promotion chasing Derby.

After a few beers in the town centre we got a taxi to the ground and it was certainly busier than it has been on my previous two visits to pride Park with the home fans out in force and in confident mood. My confidence on the team getting a result wasn't helped upon seeing the team. No Timoska again was very strange and there were returns to the starting eleven for Royce, Lomas and Nygaard due to Camp and Bolder unable to play due to a clause put in their deals by Derby whilst Blackstock was missing through injury.

The atmosphere in the Rangers end was excellent with 600 or so fans right behind the team from the first minute as Rangers kicked off attacking to the opposite end where to where we were sitting.

Rangers started pretty well as the home side looked as If they thought they only had to turn up to collect the three points. Bizarrely Idiakez was booed by the Derby fans, which I found incredible after the way he played for them over the last few years. It didn't seem to bother him though as he was strong on the ball in midfield and helped us control the game from the start.

The referee booked Moore early on for a foul on Nygaard, sadly it was one of the only decisions he gave us all night.

Ten minutes into the game and all was going well and we created our first chance of the game. It was Cook creating it with a great cross into the box and Nygaard was unmarked in the box but his header was off target and the chance was wasted. Before anyone could moan about the miss we were in front as Rowlands grabbed his eight goal of the season. Furlong did excellently to win the ball and his shot beat the keeper and hit the post as Rowlands ran in and was first to the rebound to head into an empty net to give us a shock lead.

The Derby fans then woke up and urged their team forward but they did very little and looked pretty poor for most of the first half with Royce having very little to do. Rangers had chances to extend the lead and really should have been home and dry by half time. Furlong collected a Cook pass in the box and made space for himself but his shot was a tame one and straight at the keeper.

Rowlands was next to go close taking advantage of the acres of space Derby were giving him and he smashed a shot from distance just wide of the post with the keeper beaten.

Next up was the weekly disgraceful referring decision that would cost us more points. This week's instalment was farcical to say the least. A one two between Furlong and Rowlands saw Nygaard running back and offside but as he was showing no intent to go for the ball he was actually onside. Furlong raced past a defender from an onside position and finished superbly to chip into the top corner but the linesmen had ridiculously flagged him offside. To add insult to injury Furlong was booked for kicking the ball away before he was later told by the referee that the goal should have stood. I can understand referees and linesmen getting tight decisions wrong, they are only human but this was unbelievable and Derby had got away with it. Nygaard was not even involved in the move, it had to be the worst offside decision given that I've seen this season

Ranger's bad luck continued as Rowlands went down under a heavy challenge and had to go off. He limped to the side and looked in pain as he was replaced by Ainsworth whose first contribution was to get booked for a poor challenge on the edge of our own box.

The change knocked the stuffing out of Rangers and Derby began to take control and had chances to draw level as thefans in the away end were hoping the clock would tick a little quicker. Barnes met a corner on the right and his header beat Royce but was headed off the line by Cook of all people. Cook was having an excellent game and working so hard for the team, as usual he was getting kicked all over the place and the referee offered no protection as he failed to book any of the fouls on Cook including one which was two footed and sent Cook flying.

With the half drawing to a close Derby created some chances as the pressure mounted. First Lupoli found some space in the box and shot wide of Royce's goal. A free kick had us panicking for a moment as Jones curled towards the top corner and Royce did well to get a hand to it and knock it over the bar.

It had been a good return for Royce who was playing well but it was evident that he didn't want to come off his line, which was putting unnecessary pressure on us from corners. He is clearly lacking confidence though after being replaced by Camp, which is understandable.

As the half time whistle went the mood was one of confidence in the away end although many expected Derby to improve after the break.

Derby were out early for the second half as Billy Davies was screaming encouragement at his players whilst waiting for QPR to come out which we did a few minutes later. They were certainly up for it in the second half and Howard was booked early on for a foul as Rangers knew they had a game on now but with Lomas working hard in midfield we weathered the early storm and once again looked the more likely to score. Derby's only chance in the opening of the second half came from Damion Stewart who almost put through his own net but Royce did well to keep it out.

Cook was in full flight on the left and made one excellent run but his pass to put Furlong clean through had just too much on it and the keeper came out to collect. Nygaard had a half chance after good work by Idiakez but he took too long to get his shot away and lost the ball. We then came agonisingly close to a second goal after a good passing move saw Ainsworth run down the right and cut it back for Lomas who curled a brilliant shot towards the top corner but Bywater got across and made a great save to deny us.

Derby were being urged on by their fans but in truth were creating nothing as we continued to defend in numbers and close them down. A series of corners and free kicks caused panic among the fans but they were all cleared comfortably and Derby looked like they had run out of ideas.

We were looking dangerous on the counter attack as the gaps began to appear but despite getting into some good positions we just couldn't get the final ball right to kill the game off. With just over fifteen minutes left we got a free kick on the halfway line and the Rangers players looked absolutely exhausted and unable to get forward to mount an attack. It was clear for all to see and we needed to make a change but Gregory continued to wait leaving the fresh legs of Jones on the bench whilst Furlong and Nygaard looked unable to move after giving everything for the team.

We had two good penalty shouts turned down by the referee who had clearly been rattled by the Derby players being in his ear for most of the game. The first one saw Cook hacked down in the box, the only surprise was that Cook wasn't booked for being kicked as he usually is. The second was a cast iron penalty as Moore once again was all over Furlong and as Furlong got past him the Derby defender almost rugby tackled him to the ground but nothing was given.

With seven minutes left the change finally happened as the outstanding Furlong was given a standing ovation from the QPR fans and replaced by Ray Jones whose job was to just chase everything and look to take advantage of any mistakes, which he did pretty well.

Lee Cook then got his seventh booking of the season. Remarkable really that the ref failed to book a single Derby player for kicking Cook then the first time Cook commits a foul he goes in the book.

The pressure was on as every minute seemed to take an eternity and Derby pushed everyone up front. We were camped on the edge of our box before heartbreak and an 87th minute equaliser. It came after Rangers just couldn't clear their lines as an over hit cross found McEvley on the left he cut inside to beat Ainsworth then crossed to the far post for Moore to win the header and find the bottom corner as Royce failed to react.

The home fans went mad as if they had won the league rather than equalise against a side set to drop into the bottom three. From the kick off Rangers showed no intent to win the game with a hoof into the corner to give away possession. The players looked knackered now and it was going to be a long last few minutes and I feared the worst at this stage.

In truth though Derby did very little to trouble us during injury time apart from winning a corner or two which were easily collected by Royce. Jimmy Smith came on for Lomas during injury time and we had a late chance of our own to nick it with a free kick but the ball into the box was missed by everyone and rolled out for a goal kick.

The full time whistle brought a huge roar from the home fans and an even bigger one when they saw Birmingham had got beat. We stood and applauded the team off, Cook looked devastated and his mood won't have been helped by Southend's last minute winner which puts us back in the bottom three.

We were so agonisingly close to three vital points, which would have certainly made it a birthday to remember for Carly. Instead we just met up with another QPR fan in the Walkabout and ended up getting drunk in a 70's nightclub quickly forgetting the agony of dropping two points.

It's hard not too feel down after that but I think most fans would have taken a point beforehand and although the way it happened was soul destroying that could prove to be a important point at the end of the season. Overall I thought we were excellent last night, every player gave everything they had for the club and were so unlucky not to win the game.

In the last 15 minutes the players looked shattered but kept going. it's easy to blame officials all the time but last nights muppet was rubbish. The Derby players got in his ear from the first minute of the second half and he gave us nothing. Cook was kicked all over the place again which no bookings for fouls on him then first mistimed tackle he makes and he went in the book. As for the Furlong goal, that was a bloody awful decision, Nygaard was offside but running back. We also had two very good penalty shouts, one on Furlong and one on Cook but he was never going to give us anything.

We had chances to get a second when the keeper made a great save from Lomas and overall I thought we deserved the win. Can't fault anyone, Lomas and Idiakez were outstanding in midfield, Furlong was excellent and we defended so well as a team with two strong banks of four which Derby had no idea how to break down. The back four were all excellent especially Mancienne who looks a different class at times.

If we continue to play like this for the reaming nine games this season then I am sure we'll stay up but we have to start taking our chances when they come starting at Leicester this Saturday, as we are always prone to conceding at least one goal a game.

Man of the Match: Paul Furlong
Players Ratings: Royce 7, Mancienne 8, Cullip 8, Stewart 8, Bignot 8, Rowlands 8 (Ainsworth 7), Idiakez 8, Lomas 8 (Smith 7), Nygaard 7 Furlong 9 (Jones 7)