It was twenty five years to the day on Saturday that former QPR full back Dave Clement sadly died and in a twist of fate the anniversary was marked with his son lining up against QPR for West Brom at Loftus Road which must have been incredibly difficult for the West Brom defender. All the emotion surrounding the anniversary was put to one side though during the game which was a must win game for both sides.

Rangers were unchanged as Martin Rowlands failed to recover in time from a hamstring injury whilst new signing Rohan Ricketts joined fit again Dexter Blackstock among the substitutes.

The game started with Rangers attacking the packed School End with the Rangers fans in good voice right behind them and helped by one bloke in the Q Block with a drum.

Rangers started the game well attacking with real purpose down both wings. Lee Cook did well early on cutting inside to beat him man and play a low cross along the six yard box but Nygaard couldn't get a foot on the end of it to turn it home.

West Brom had a few long range efforts through Greening and Kamara but didn't really test Lee Camp in the early stages although at times their passing and movement was a class above us which was to be expected considering how much their team cost.

Rangers received an early blow when Idiakez limped off. Steve Lomas was the man to replace him in what I thought was a bit too defensive approach from Gregory but to his credit it worked as Rangers had the better of the rest of the half. We had Ainsworth to thank for this as he absolutely tore apart his full back. One storming run down the right saw him power past three players and find Furlong who flicked his shot wide of the post.

Ainsworth was having his best game of the season by a mile as he continued to tear apart Robinson leaving the full back on his arse as he crossed to Furlong but the veteran striker headed over the bar from close range under pressure from Sonko.

West Brom had gone from looking a slick passing side to a long ball one after we got stuck into them and that certainly wasn't getting the best out of Koumas, Kamara and Phillips who were virtual passengers in the first half.

A bit of handbags among fans in the Q block seemed to be more interesting than the closing stages of the half which Rangers ended on top when Bolder hit a weak shot straight at the keeper. AT half time though I think many fans would have been happy, we were playing very well against a top side who are likely to be a Premiership side next season.

When you play against these kind of sides though they always have a bit of quality that can win a game in seconds and that's what proved to be the difference in the second half. With Tony Mowbray able to call upon a £3million striker in Nathan Ellington for the second half things were not going to be easy for us but we started well again and almost grabbed the lead.

Ainsworth again was the creator crossing for Furlong but his effort was a weak one. Within 10 seconds we were a goal down as that quality shone through. A quick throw to Koumas saw the defence open like the red sea as he threaded a nice ball in behind for Phillips and he made no mistake cutting inside then placing his shot into the top corner giving Camp no chance. A real quality goal and a hammer blow to Rangers.

It looked like being the first of many as Rangers looked shaky for several minutes as the visitors poured forward and went close to a second when Phillips curled a shot towards goal but Camp got down well to save it. Camp was again called into action to push away a long range Ellington shot but after that it was all Rangers as we searched for a point.

Mancienne whipped a nice ball in from the right for Nygaard to knock back and Lomas fired in an excellent shot, which the keeper did very well to palm away for a corner.

Gregory made his second change taking off Nygaard and bringing on Blackstock and Rangers top scorer made an immediate impact scoring with his first touch.

Once again it was Ainsworth who was at the heart of the goal. Good work by Damion Stewart found Ainsworth and he charged past his man to the touchline and lofted a cross to the far post where Blackstock rose and headed past Kiely into the bottom corner. Blackstock ran to the corner flag and celebrated with his team mates only to see himself booked. I know you can get booked for taking your shirt off now or going into the crowd but this was ridiculous as his celebration was mild to say the least.

Anyway Rangers were now well on top and a Cook free kick almost provided another goal as Stewart headed down for Furlong and as he was wrestled to the ground for a penalty the ref decided to ignore it and give a goal kick.

We soon got a penalty though after more good work by Ainsworth, who was taking on the Lee Cook one-man team role this week. His pass put Furlong clear and as he went round the keeper he was brought down by Clement for a penalty. Huge roars from the crowd and chants for a red card followed but the ref failed to book Clement and just waved away the protests of the visitors.

Furlong grabbed the ball and as I looked around I couldn't think of anyone else who could take it. Memories of 2002 Vauxhall Motors came back as well as him scoring two penalties against us for Birmingham. Surely this had to be it and as he strolled up to the ball the fans screamed, "There's only one Furlong". The shot was on target but weak and Kiely guessed correctly and made a good save to turn it round. The fans reacted well by singing Furlongs name again. It's easy to be critical of Furlong, some say he should have hit it with more power but if the keeper guesses wrong it would have bee the perfect penalty. In all honestly he never looked confident and that proved to be the turning point.

We were still on top but some of the belief appeared to go from the players and apart from a Lomas effort we offered little in the way of clear-cut chances. Mind you West Brom were looking pretty hopeless and despite their high league position they struggled to put more than two passes together at times.

Tony Mowbray was able to bring on Zoltan Gera for the last fifteen minutes and when you have a player like that in reserve your going to win more than you lose. And so it proved as a long hoof up field from Kiely deceived Mancienne and the youngsters first mistake of the game saw him all Ellington to get away from him and cross to the far post where Gera was waiting and smashed in a brilliant volley past Camp. The Rangers keeper really should have done better with the initial cross and the marking on Gera was hopeless but you can't fault the quality of the finish.

That goal knocked the stuffing out of us and although we huffed and puffed for the last few minutes we couldn't find a way through and a late injury scare for Cook brought more misery for Rangers.

To lose the game like this was very cruel and heartbreaking. I don't think I was alone in feeling as flat as pre op Posh Spice but there are plenty of positives to take from the game. Once again every player gave it their all and you couldn't really fault anyone. Stewart and Cullip were excellent again against one of the best strike forces outside the Premiership. Lomas and Bolder did ok in the middle whilst Cook had a quiet game but still produced a few moments of quality which show why he won't be playing in this division next season. Gareth Ainsworth was the star man, he played out of his skin and gave them a torrid time all afternoon. Was amazed when he was taken off and it was no surprise that West Brom scored within a minute of Ainsworth going off.

Up front the experienced Nygaard and Furlong worked their socks off but lacked a finishing touch. Furlong will get some stick for his penalty miss but his all round game was again excellent and I'd keep him in the side for Tuesday alongside super sub Blackstock who looked impressive when he came on.

Tuesday night is now a massive game for Rangers when Preston come to town. A win and we move four points clear of the bottom three with just six games to play, another home defeat doesn't bear thinking about at this stage. I think twelve more points will keep us up so the next three games will be crucial for us and if we continue to play with the same spirit and desire we have shown in recent weeks then I believe we'll do enough to stay up.

Man of the Match: Gareth Ainsworth
Players Ratings: Camp 7, Mancienne 8, Cullip 8, Stewart 7, Ainsworth 9 (Ricketts 6), Bolder 6, Idiakez 6 (Lomas 6), Cook 6, Furlong 7, Nygaard 7 (Blackstock 7