They say good things come to those who wait. Well it’s been sixty seven days since anyone had seen QPR win at Loftus Road and pre match in the Springbok last night I wasn’t expecting that run to be ending anytime soon. The run has ended though and all in all it turned out to be an enjoyable night at Loftus Road which is not something that has been said too often this season.

Paulo Sousa was without eight first team players through injury as Stewart, Blackstock and Routledge all suffered knocks at Southampton on Saturday to miss out on this one. Fitz Hall, Matteo Alberti and Samuel Di Carmine replaced the injured trio whilst Abel Taarabt made his first start on the left in place of Liam Miller. Sousa opted for the 4-5-1 formation which brought a few groans but was probably the right thing to do against a Swansea side who are excellent in midfield. The big news was on the bench where Rowan Vine was back hoping to end his 11 month wait for first team football after a broken leg and it is great to see him back involved again.

Swansea’s line up was a surprise with the impressive Dyer and Jason Scotland left on the bench which certainly helped our chances. The atmosphere was pretty flat to start with but the game was decent to watch with both sides trying to get the ball down and play and no sign of any long ball which was good to see.

Swansea looked the more threatening early on with Gomez have a shot from distance well saved by Cerny and Gorka Pintado got behind Gorkss before falling over and claiming a foul which proved to be a running theme for him all evening.

The Rangers defence got themselves organised and looked difficult to break down whilst passing and movement of Swansea was being met by some good old Ian Holloway style bad rashing as we closed down the opposition all over the pitch and tried to restrict the space they were getting in the middle. This worked well but did leave us a little open out wide where Ramage and Connolly had a tough job on but both of them did it very well.

Before the game QPR fans were treated to some Irish dancing and we had our own River dance on the left wing in Abel Taarabt whose stopovers looked like a river dance on fast forward but some early bursts down the left didn’t result in chances for Rangers.

Swansea looked slightly the better side but Rangers were always in the game and began to grow in confidence as the half wore on. Alberti was struggling on the right but the rest of the midfield were linking well with Lopez stroking the ball around and Ephraim was pushing forward with the ball to create chances.

Taarabt began to see more of the ball and began to get the better of his full back but had a penalty appeal turned down after a jinking run into the box. He was given a half chance by Di Carmine after a swift counter attack but the final ball to him was not the best, Rangers were playing pretty well but Swansea had more of a goal threat and were willing to shoot from distance which was keeping Cerny busy without really extending him. If we are to challenge next season we really do need to be prepared to have more shots from outside the box.

I was quite enjoying the game but it was far from a thriller with both sides trying to play passing football but were unable to get the final ball right. Then after four games without success Rangers finally managed to score a goal. It came from a free kick which for the only time all night didn’t just hit the wall. Lopez floated it into the box where Leigterwood found space and ran off his marker to plant a header into the top corner of the net. The goal was met with a mixture of relief and shock around Loftus Road with no one knowing quite what to do. As the team came back from celebrating my feeling was we’d take some beating now as despite the poor results recently we still don’t concede many especially at home.

Rangers never looked in any trouble for the rest of the half as we passed the ball around but were a little sloppy in the Swansea half and quickly gave it back to them. The only moments of note came from Pintado who twice threw himself on the floor in screaming agony before being told to get up by the ref and both times he leapt to his feet making a miracle recovery and raced after the QPR player with the ball. Quite how he wasn’t booked for play acting is anyone’s guess but this was no shock from a referee who rarely let the game flow.

At half time it was good to see Rangers on front and we were pretty good value for the lead. The second half was always going to be tougher though and Swansea came out flying and almost equalised straight away. I was trying to navigate past the Irish dancers in the bar at the time but Pintado had a shot which Cerny did very well to save apparently. They really should have a bell or something in the Blue and white bar to tell us the second half is starting.

Rangers were quickly back in control again and the midfield really began to dominate the match snuffing out danger from the creative Welsh side and looking a goal threat when entering the final third. Matteo Alberti began to improve pushing the ball past his man and putting in a dangerous cross which the keeper did well to collect.

Taarabt and Ephraim were combining beautifully with back heels between them and some outrageous skills. Taarabt’s first touch was simply sublime and he linked well with Ephraim to double team the Swansea right back. Ephraim won the ball back and found Leigterwood who in turn slipped a ball into Di Carmine for the striker to finish well but he was flagged offside.

Rangers were playing some really good stuff now and Ephraim was having an excellent game taking players on, using the ball well and looking like he was loving every minute of his central midfield position. He seemed to have a free role and was all over the pitch causing mayhem.

Taarabt was the star of the show though and really looking the take the Mickey with his skills, his one chance to score came after a neat build up but his shot was just wide of the post.

Swansea made a change bringing on Nathan Dyer, who was of course involved with Bradley Wright-Phillips in a nightclub incident last year. The QPR fans were able to continue the should be in jail songs to Dyer which went on for the rest of the game and the stick he was getting almost came back to bite us as a poor Connolly header put Dyer through but he wasted the chance to shove our taunts down our throats.

Sousa then made a change and although it looked like Rowan Vine at first it was Heider Helguson who came on for Di Carmine and he almost scored straight away. Ephraim linked well with Alberti and Ramage to spin past his full back and put in a brilliant low cross right along the six yard box but Helguson couldn’t get on the end of t and was sliced just wide for a corner.

Taarabt then created another great chance for Helguson but the out of form striker lofted his shot high over the bar.

Swansea sent on Jason Scotland as Rangers began to sit a bit deeper but in truth we rarely looked in any trouble and going forward the pace and skill of Ephraim was causing problems every time he got on the ball. Rangers looked more like adding a second than Swansea did equalising but the threat was growing as the minutes ticked down and Cerny was forced to make two decent saves as the nerves began to grow.

Fitz Hall limped off with his latest injury with Delaney replacing him whilst Liam Miller also came on to show what a good game Lopez had by giving away the ball time and time again and putting us under pressure for the final few minutes.

Jason Scotland had a late chance to equalise but his free kick was hit straight at the wall and that was about it as Rangers celebrated a first win in ten attempts.

The players all held a group hug to celebrate and each and every one of them all hugged Sousa as they went off, perhaps showing that rumours of him being less than popular among the players is more made up nonsense by people with an agenda to keep to.

I thought both sides played good football and Rangers were excellent for most of the game. It was a strange side we picked with no Routledge, Stewart and Blackstock but it worked really well. I think we also proved that one up front can work and can be entertaining if we get the midfield right.

Taarabt was so skilful and exciting to watch we’ll have a t shirt out in his honour by Friday. His first touch was brilliant, so much skill and his passing was much improved. He looks like someone who will be brilliant one game and then awful but I really enjoyed his performance last night. It was a bit like Jerome Thomas on his home debut all those years ago.

Hogan was also excellent really linking up well with him and creating plenty of problems, he put in one brilliant cross in the second half after a good run. I think playing in the middle with a free role he is a very good player, far better than as a winger. Di Carmine was also excellent up front, his movement and control was very good all game. We didn’t create a ton of chances but did look a threat going forward. At the back we were solid, Ramage again very good in defence and we really got stuck into Swansea and made a very good side look average. 1-0 was a fair result in the end, Swansea only really looked a threat in the last five minutes and even then didn’t look like scoring.

I thought Alberti was poor first half but was much improved in the second and Lopez again was Ray Wilkins like in controlling the midfield with simple and effective passes, if only he could take a corner.

We really needed that win and hopefully we can have a good finish to the season ready for a real go next year.

Man of the Match: Hogan Ephraim

Players Ratings: Cerny 7, Ramage 8, Connolly 7, Gorkss 8, Hall 7 (Delaney 6), Alberti 6, Lopez 7 (Miller 5), Leigterwood 7, Ephraim 8, Taarabt 8, Di Carmine 7 (Helguson 6)