A near full house was at Loftus Road for a game the visitors really needed to win and one the Rangers players looked like they were never going to give away without a fight.

Before the teams came out there was an announcement made that the QPR under 18's had won the Youth Alliance league for the second year in a row after beating Brentford 3-2.

This is an excellent achievement and could be the last year the kids play in this league with plans afoot to regain academy status for next season which would see Rangers youngsters face up against the best youth teams in the country which can only help their development.

Congratulations to the Under 18's for winning the title and one of the players to help them to the title was in the first team for the game against Charlton.

Angelo Balanta won his first start as a forward for Rangers alongside Blackstock with Agyemang missing out through injury. De Canio made another change to the side bringing in Matthew Connolly for Mancienne.

The biggest cheer when the teams were read out was reserved for Lee Cook who was starting for Charlton. Cook of course was a fantastic player for us and his generosity to give the club back his £250,000 signing on fee last summer is one that hasn't been forgotten by supporters.

Charlton won the toss and opted to swap ends as we attacked the Loft in the first half something that may not matter too much next season if the rumours are true and QPR fans will be in the School end as well as the Loft next season.

The atmosphere was red hot as the QPR fans got right behind the team and the players responded fighting for every ball and putting Charlton under pressure straight away.

Ainsworth set his stall out early on as he knocked the ball past Cook and the full back and stormed into the box but ran into Bougherra in the Charlton defence.

Lee Cook got his first chance to impress on the left wing as he cur inside and put in a lovely cross to the far post but Delaney headed wide for a corner. That would prove to be Cook's only real attacking contribution as he was rarely given the ball in a lacklustre performance from the pre season promotion favourites.

Rangers looked the brighter side going forward and Hogan Ephraim cut inside to power a shot just over the bar. A nice ball to the edge of the box by Rowlands found Balanta and the youngster took an excellent first touch past his man showing a great turn of pace but his shot hit the side netting.

Damion Stewart fired a long ball forward for Blackstock to run onto but Tubes from Soccer AM in the Charlton goal was quick off his line and beat Blackstock to the ball. An identical move soon afterwards opened the scoring for Rangers.

Stewart played a ball forward for Dexter to chase and it appeared to be an easy one for the defender but Blackstock didn't give it up and nicked the ball off the defender before coolly passing the ball into the bottom corner. An excellent finish from Blackstock for his fourth goal in five games and he is certainly finishing a poor season for him on a high note.

Rangers were first to everything and a 50/50 on the hallway line saw Rowlands win the ball and take a fair bit of Cook in the process. Cook was down for a while with what looked like a dead leg and despite trying to stay on he was taken off. All three sides of the stadium with QPR fans in rose as one to give him a standing ovation with many singing Sign Him up and Next Year you'll be in blue and white. It must have been an awkward afternoon for Cook and I expect he just wants this season to end so he can start afresh next season, hopefully at Loftus Road.

The game continued to be played at a fast pace by Rangers and Charlton had no real answer to it. Rowlands and Mahon were running the midfield with Mahon having by far his best game in a QPR shirt bursting forward to create a chance for Balanta.

It was almost 2-0 midway through the half after a ball into Blackstock saw the striker try and turn but instead Charlton's McCartney sliced a clearance inches over his own bar for what was almost own goal of the season.

De Cano was forced into a change when Fitz Hall went down injured and it was clear he couldn't continue. Michael Mancienne came on and a quick change around saw Mancienne go to right back and Connolly into the middle.

Charlton were creating very little and the one chance that came to Leroy Lita saw him unmarked at the edge of the box but he completely missed the ball with his bright red boots much to the laughter of the QPR fans.

Rangers kept working hard and were closing down in packs giving Charlton no time at all on the ball and it was good to see the team working so hard all over the pitch in a game where they could have been forgiven for putting their feet up. These players must know though that they can and will be replaced if they let their performance levels drop and that is really showing at the moment.

Ephraim was lucky to escape a booking after a high kick on Halford which looked more than a little painful.

As the half time whistle went we had a deserved lead and judging by the lack of effort from the away side it was a lead few expected us to lose.
I managed to miss the first five minutes of the second half but am reliably informed by my wife that Rangers forced two early corners one of which saw Balanta go closer to scoring. I also missed Ainsworth going down under a heavy challenge and getting up with his acrobatic back flip which always goes down well.

As I returned to my seat Ainsworth was being taken off having done his bit for the afternoon. Akos Buzsacky came on for his first appearance in a few weeks having been out with an ankle injury.

Buzsacky was quickly in the action winning a free kick on the right which was cleared for a corner. Buzsacky took the corner kick as well and we almost scored a second as Delaney's header went just wide of the post.

There was only one team in it as we poured forward. Delaney was having a very good game and he burst through the middle from left back to try and get on the end of a Rowlands through ball but it was just a little too far ahead of him for Delaney to reach. Charlton looked capitalise on the break but failed to test Camp with a rare attack.

The chances kept coming for Rangers and Blackstock headed wide from another corner before a free kick thirty yards out was smashed just wide by Rowlands with Tubes well beaten in the Charlton goal.

The Charlton fans began to cheer ole as their side put three passes together and they looked well and truly fed up with their under achieving side. Alan Pardew must like at West Ham is making hard work of getting a talented side to gel together and as he threw on two more strikers near the end it might have been an idea for him to get someone on the pitch to create a chance for Lita and co.

They did get one chance when Iwelumo fired high over the bar from eight yards out but that was a rare chance and Rangers continued to look the more likely to grab a second goal. Blackstock was looking high on confidence and test Weaver again with a shot from inside the box which was well saved.

Ephraim also went close heading wide from a Rowlands cross and that proved to be his last involvement as Leigterwood replaced him and Rangers switched to a 4-3-3 which ended up as 4-5-1 and let's hang on for the 1-0.

Whilst we always looked in control when the board went up to signal four minutes injury time the panic set in among the home fans and players. Charlton began to push forward and had their first spell of pressure in the game. This almost resulted in yet another late equaliser. A long throw on the left saw everyone in our box and Camp came out to try and punch the ball ahead of five players, he managed to get a hand on it but the header came back in forcing Camp to tip it over the bar.

The game continued and Rangers should have sealed it with a quick break away and Buzsacky was put clean through in the box but seemed unsure whether to shoot or pass and rather than find the back of the net he found the corner flag instead with a bizarre effort.

Leigterwood also broke through in what seemed like the fifth minute of injury time but his shot hit the side netting. The game seemed to be going on forever and the crowd were in fine voice urging the team on. When the final whistle did come it was greeted with a huge roar and the players looked delighted hugging each other and celebrating a big win.

The three points makes official what we've known for a while that we are safe from relegation this season and results elsewhere ended any very faint hopes of the playoffs. Looking at the league table now if we can finish with two more wins we could even have a top ten finish but that is probably going to be beyond us.

This was an excellent performance though, one of our best at home this season and means we've done the double over Charlton for the first time since 1988.

It was hard to pick a man of the match for this one as it was an excellent team performance with every player doing his bit for the cause. Camp had very little to do but when called upon he had very safe hands.

The back four continue to look an impressive unit. Delaney was the pick of the bench for me with an excellent performance at left back, he was up and down the pitch all afternoon looking solid in defence and a good option in attack. Hall looked good before his injury whilst Stewart had the talented Lita in his pocket all afternoon with a performance that makes you wonder why he can't do that every week. Connolly and Mancienne were both solid whilst in midfield Mahon had his best game since joining in January.

Rowlands was his usual self and must have impressed the watching scouts from the Republic of Ireland camp. On the wings Ainsworth and Ephraim both worked hard but the final ball from both was not the best and Buzsacky looked very rusty when he came on which is to be expected.

It was good to see Balanta get a chance up front and he may well have played himself into De Canio's plans for next season. For an hour he was excellent working hard and looking a real threat with skill on the ball and a good turn of pace. He seemed to drift out of the game late on but can be pleased with his overall performance.

Blackstock just edges my man of the match award with possibly his best performance of the season. It's not been easy for Dexter this year with one his best mates Ray Jones being killed last August and a run of injured has seen him struggle to repeat his goal scoring form of last season but in recent weeks he's been given a run in the side and finally looks back to his best.

Blackstock chased and worked all afternoon and looked a genuine goal threat. He took his goal really well and if we can create a few more chances for him then I think he could be a big player for us next season.

So two games to go now before what promises to be an interesting summer. Norwich away is next up and should be a good day out for the travelling fans and it could be a tense day with Norwich themselves not safe yet from the drop.

Man of the Match: Dexter Blackstock

Players Ratings: Camp 7, Connolly 8, Hall 8 (Mancienne 7), Stewart 8, Delaney 8, Ainsworth 7 (Buzsacky 6), Mahon 8, Rowlands 8, Ephraim 6 (Leigterwood 6), Balanta 8, Blackstock 9