Ranger's final game of pre season and my first chance to take a look at Jim Magilton's side as Rangers took on Southampton at Loftus Road.

It was a small crowd for the game of just over 3,000 so only the Paddocks and South Africa Road stands were open for QPR fans.

It meant I got a chance to sample what the gold section was like compared to my Silver lower loft seat. It seems for the extra money those in gold get a pillar blocking part of the pitch, no leg room and no bar. I think I'll stay in silver to be honest.

The new ticketing system was in place as you enter the ground, no instead of ripping a ticket out of your book you get a bar code on your ticket or a season ticket card.

I'm still not sure what the point of this was as instead of handing over a ticket and walking in you now hand it over, wait for them to scan it then go in, all seemed a bit pointless to me but perhaps it's some form of progress.

Jim Magilton made a few changes to the side that beat Kettering in the week and this looked pretty much the side that will start the season next week against Blackpool. Akos Buzsaky, Alejandro Faurlin and Mikele Leigterwood all missed out through injury whilst Lee Cook was also missing with a knee problem but the good news for him is that he can now make a full recovery after surgery in the summer and should be back playing by October which is sooner than initially feared. Radek Cerny also missed the game as he is suffering with swine flu.

So the team lined up with trialist Andy Marshall in goal and a back four of Ramage, Borrowdale (he does exist after all), Hall and Gorkss. In midfield Rangers went with Rowlands and Mahon in the middle and out wide was Routledge and Balanta whilst Vine and Agyemang started up front.

Both teams held a minutes silence before the game for the late Sir Bobby Robson who died on Friday. I was up in Newcastle last week and went to his benefit game which raised money for his cancer charity. It was a great night and a very emotional send off for Sir Bobby who has to go down as one of the best ever English club managers and one of the best international ones we had as well.

Rangers kicked off this pre season game and made their intentions clear from the start. The team looked to pass the ball across the pitch with everyone getting an early touch of the ball and the plan to build from the back was obvious with Gorkss and Hall seeing plenty of the ball.

It was a slow start to the game which is normal for these kind of fixtures but Rangers looked good on the ball and Jim Magilton was making himself heard barking out instructions from the bench. Andy Marshall was having a decent performance looking good with the ball at his feet and coming out to confidently claim crosses. He certainly looks worth signing up as back up for Cerny.

Rangers took the lead on nine minutes with a goal that will worry the Southampton fans due to its simplicity. Agyemang won a corner on the left which Routledge ran over to take. He curled in a near post cross and Gorkss was left unmarked just six yards out to plant a header past Davis into the back of the net.

It was a good header but abysmal defending and I really do fear for Southampton if they defend like this in league one against sides far happier to throw balls into the box than QPR.

Rangers continued to look comfortable knocking the ball about well with the midfield and defence looking impressive but up front we didn't show great movement and were finding it hard to get into the game. Agyemang and Vine didn't seem to be on the same wavelength with Vine looking like he was struggling after an early foul against him.

Routledge was also below his best failing to get past his full back but he did create space for Ramage on one occasion who picked out a lovely cross but no Rangers forward was able to get a head on it.

The much talked about Gary Borrowdale was having a decent half looking good on the ball and rarely tested defensively whilst Kaspars Gorkss was excellent in the centre of defence and looked very sharp.

Martin Rowlands was pulling the strings in midfield, it is remarkable to see him back so quickly after his injury and playing so well. He looks like he has never been away as he chased and harried the opposition and was playing some lovely cross field balls to the wide players.

One of these lead to the second goal as he picked out Balanta with a lovely pass. The young Rangers winger/striker played the ball into Vine but he and Agyemang appeared to get in each other's way with neither getting control of the ball but it broke loose to Balanta who had continued his run and he placed the ball past Davis into the bottom corner for his third goal of pre season.

Southampton looked pretty much dead and buried from here on but kept going and had a long range effort fly wide of Marshall's post.

At half time Rangers fully deserved the lead and it had been a pretty decent performance so far. Magilton made just one change at the break with Heider Helguson replacing the ineffective Patrick Agyemang but as with all pre season games the second half was very stop start with both sides making several changes.

Balanta almost made it 3-0 when a high ball to the far post was beautifully controlled on his chest by Balanta but his volley was less successful flying into the lower loft.

The pattern of the game remained the same with Rangers having plenty of the ball and looking to work openings but even with Helguson on we continued to lack penetration in the final third and despite the teams dominance we rarely looked like scoring. I got the feeling thought that Rangers were playing in second gear and could have stepped it up if they had wished.

Rowan Vine had his best moment of the match when he got the ball at his feet and dribbled into the box before his deflected cross just evaded the on rushing Helguson. Vine was then replaced by Adel Taarabt and he played through the middle just behind Helguson.

Damion Stewart and Hogan Ephraim were also brought into the action replacing Hall and Routledge as Rangers continued to dominate. Taarabt and Ephraim linked well straight away with Taarabt firing a shot high over the bar.

Balanta was having an excellent game on the left and seemed to grow in confidence after his goal. He was taking on players on the left and looking a real threat from that position, on this evidence he should have done enough to start the season in that position.

The third goal soon followed and it was a beauty. He got the ball from Balanta near the halfway line and turned past one defender before cutting outside past another and then turned inside past a third before calmly placing the ball past Davis into the bottom right hand corner from just outside the box. It was a lovely goal from Taarabt and shows just what he is capable of.

The Moroccan international then tried it again but this time shot wide from the edge of the box and this was the cue for a number of changes. The biggest cheer of the day came when Ainsworth came on and slotted in at right back. Youngster Lee Brown replaced Borrowdale whilst Alberti and new signing Pellicori also entered the fray.

Rangers saw out the last ten minutes without any problems and could have scored more when Pellicori had a header well saved by Davis. The players were given a rousing ovation at the final whistle for what had been an easy win with plenty of positives and a few things for Magilton to work on.

The positives far outweighed the negatives though. Marshall had a good solid game in goal and looks worth signing whilst the back four defended well and looked very comfortable on the ball which will be key if we are going to try and play out from the back this season.

Lee Brown also looked more than decent at left back when he came on and could be a good prospect for the future.

In midfield Rowlands was excellent as was Mahon but Balanta edged them out for my man of the match award with the youngster a constant threat on the left and took his goal very well.

The front two were disappointing in the first half but both are coming back from long injury layoffs so that can be forgiven. Taarabt looked explosive when he came on and will be a real treat to watch if he can produce this kind of quality every week. Helguson did ok but looks like a player who needs an early goal this season to build his confidence up.

We still look like we could do with a few new faces, especially in attack but Jim Magilton must be pleased with how pre season has gone.
All in all a good day for QPR before the real stuff starts next week.

I doubt Ian Holloway's Blackpool will give us as much room as Southampton did but this performance showed we have the quality to be tough for any Championship to beat us at Loftus Road.

Man of the Match: Angelo Balanta