Rangers started the New Year with a victory at Loftus Road.

Although the scoreline was the same this was a far better performance than the team had put in against Barnsley in the last home game and produced far more positives for a low New Year's Day crowd to take home with them.

Just as QPR look out of ideas, down on their luck, all out of confidence and all set to hoist a white flag they come back with a performance that makes you think there might be a flicker of light in there after all.

Don't get me wrong Rangers were still relatively poor on Monday. There was a lot of hoisting aimless hooked long balls down the field to nobody, occasionally the defence looked nervous, but not as much as of late, the right side of the team was a bit of a mess for the whole game and a central midfield of Lomas and Gallen isn't going to cause many Championship teams sleepless nights.

However, they scored and could have scored more, they kept a clean sheet and they showed a lot of heart and guts that were sorely lacking at Norwich on Saturday. I'd all but given up hope after the lacklustre surrenders the team had produced at Carrow Road, Selhurst Park and the Britannia Stadium and the poor displays in the last four or five home games but like I say, just as you try and give up they turn in something a bit closer to a decent performance.

Suddenly I find myself clutching tickets to the FA Cup game with Luton Town. Bastards.

Gregory made changes to his line up for this game, hardly a surprise given that it's now nine games since Rangers kept the same starting eleven for two straight games. Martin Rowlands picked up an injury at Norwich, five weeks was the scuttlebutt in the South Africa Road Stand, eight weeks is the worst case scenario I've heard, and was replaced wide on the right by Nick Ward. Lomas and Gallen were the central midfielders again with Cook wide left. Up front Blackstock and Jones were reunited after two games of Paul Furlong starting.

At the back it was all change again with fit again Pat Kanyuka replacing Mauro Milanese, Kanyuka played an unfamiliar right back role although Kevin McLeod's ability in the air probably had something to do with the thinking there. Mancienne and Stewart were impressive together at Carrow Road one glaring error apart and they got a chance to have another go at it in the centre back positions. Mr play-everywhere-and-never-complain Marcus Bignot started at left back this weekend. Royce was of course the goal keeper.

Colchester brought three former Rangers' players back to Loftus Road in their line up. Kevin McLeod is enjoying a new lease of life at Layer Road after difficult times with QPR and Swansea. Jamie Cureton was also hit and miss in W12 but is tearing up trees in this league now and has formed a fantastic partnership up front with Chris Iwelumo. Wayne Brown only played twice for the R's on loan from Ipswich the last time we were relegated but is now making a name for himself in a defence that also included the highly rated right back Greg Halford and goalkeeper Dean Gerken.

Rangers looked a little unsure of themselves in the beginning and seemed to switch off every time the ball went out of play. One such incident occurred in the sixth minute when Nick Ward was left marking two players at a throw in while Kanyuka and Lomas stood idle. This allowed McLeod time to sling a cross over from the left flank which completely fooled Royce and had there been any Colchester player gambling at the back post Rangers probably would have gone behind.

In truth the game struggled to really get going for the first ten or fifteen minutes. Kem Izzett picked up a nasty head wound in the third minute and that took two minutes out of the game while they slapped enough vaseline on his head to keep a homosexual brothel going for a good six months. Dexter Blackstock also picked up an injury which required treatment, and later in the game Ray Jones did as well. Bearing in mind the game didn't actually kick off until five past three those of us with reservations on six o'clock trains were starting to get twitchy.

The next action of any note came in the fifteenth minute and proved to be a real turning point, not for either team but for the referee. Steve Lomas was harshly adjudged to have fouled Izzet challenging for a high ball and a free kick was awarded. That wasn't a major drama, sometimes you get them, sometimes you don't, but Lomas was furious with the decision and foolishly continued to argue with the referee a long time after the decision had been made. The result was a yellow card for dissent and for a senior pro that's unforgivable.

An even bigger consequence of Lomas' action though was the performance of the referee for the remainder of the half. On three occasions Rangers players were blatantly cut down by their opponents but Mr Walton waved play on each time. The worst incident of this nature came when Lomas himself reached a ball first in the midfield and was hacked to the ground by Izzet. A more blatant foul you could not wish to see and yet Walton waved the game on as Lomas lay stricken on the turf.

Now whatever Lomas said to him, clearly he shouldn't have done. But from that point on, whether it be coincidence or a deliberate act from a referee, his performance was unprofessional and at times put the players in danger because he just point blankly refused to give QPR any kind of decision whatever the level of contact. Colchester soon realised that and understandably started to fly into the tackles.

He even penalised Pat Kanyuka for pinching yards a throw in and awarded it straight to Colchester despite never once telling Kanyuka where to take it from, or warning him that he as in the wrong place. For the rest of the match he was insistent that every QPR throw and free kick was taken from the exact blade of grass on which the foul was committed while allowing Colchester to get on with their set pieces as long as they were in the right half of the field as the foul - he even dispensed with that idea in the dying stages of the second half when he penalised Blackstock for a wonderful ball winning tackle in the Colchester half and allowed the free kick to be taken five yards further infield and the other side of the halfway line. That was with Gregory frantically pointing out the mistake that was right in front of him, the fourth official watching on in bemusement and Geraint Williams laughing.

The only thing there to relieve the frustration at Mr Walton's performance was an improved display from Rangers. Lee Cook got the better of Greg Halford soon after the Lomas booking and made his way to the edge of the penalty area before mis-hitting a shot straight at Gerken. There was nothing mishit about his cross from the right side two minutes later though.

After a rare piece of good work down the right from Ward he found Cook in space and the inch perfect in swinging delivery narrowly eluded Blackstock and Jones in the area. There is just no way to defend those crosses from Cook on the right hand side - the most meagre of touches risks sending the ball into the bottom corner.

This little sojourn down the flank seemed to give Ward some much needed confidence and within seconds he was away again, cutting in from his wing after receiving the ball from Gallen and sending a low drive in on goal which Gerken saved well. Sadly that confidence totally evaporated on the next attack when Ward cut inside again but panicked when his full back slipped and showed him a clear passage to goal - a weak cross straight to the keeper had the boo boys in vocal form and the Aussie was clearly distraught at the missed opportunity. He did little else for the rest of the game and was replaced by Shabazz Baidoo with over half an hour left for play.

Colchester's only chance came from a rare slip from the Rangers' defence. Mancienne and Stewart had dealt superbly with Iwelumo and Cureton both in the air and on the ground until the half hour mark when a loose ball on the edge of the area was smashed an inch wide of the post by Richard Garcia. Colchester going in front then after so much hard work at the other end by QPR could have decimated the team's fragile confidence but luckily a goal for the home side was just around the corner.

Kanyuka headed a Cook corner over in the thirty third minute when well placed to do better but when Cook slung another cross over from that side three minutes later there was no way back for Colchester. This time Halford got a nick on the ball as it flew across and that was all the invitation Ray Jones needed to meet the ball at the near post with a magnificent header that cut Gerken out of the equation and dipped into the bottom corner at the far stick.

The goal should have settled Rangers but it seemed to bring on a bout of nerves. Before half time Jamie Cureton saw a beautifully struck, goal-bound, half volley strike Pat Kanyuka in the chest and bounce right out to the halfway line. Had the ball made it past Pat's considerable frame there would have been no chance of Royce saving it. Then right at the end of the half, after a blatant foul on Ward at the School End had again gone unpunished, Colchester broke and a beautiful cross from McLeod made its way all the way through the six yard box past Iwelumo and Cureton and out for a goal kick on the other side.

Incredibly after four lengthy injuries, two of which resulted in water breaks and team talks on the touchline, and a goal Mr Walton saw fit to only add on two minutes at the end of the half. It was just as well for Rangers who really did look uncomfortable being in front and had he added on the correct amount, anything up to and including six minutes would have been hard to argue with, Colchester would have been a sound bet to equalise.

Half time was just what QPR needed. Whatever Gregory said at half time revitalised the team and they came out all guns blazing for the second half. Few Colchester fans could have complained if Rangers had been four nil up by the sixtieth minute as they carved out three glorious chances in the first fifteen minutes of the half and somehow contrived to miss them all.

First, within seconds of the restart, Kevin Gallen collected a loose ball on the edge of the area and stretched to hit a fine half volley which looked destined for the top corner until Gerken produced a magnificent save which tipped the ball onto the underside of the bar and it was cleared from the danger area after one bounce. Moments later a cross from Cook was headed straight up into the air by Brown and as Blackstock challenged Gerken the crowd were left wondering how the ball managed to end up in the Upper Loft for a goal kick.

Undeterred Rangers pressed again and after a mistake by Pat Baldwin Dexter Blackstock found himself running clear towards the Loft End with only the keeper to beat. Situations like this require a cool head but Blackstock seemed a little too cool and he held on too long allowing Gerken to block the ball away. Blackstock played brilliantly for the whole game on Saturday and put in a shift of work in one afternoon that Danny Dichio failed to produce in his entire QPR career. How he deserved a goal, and what a threat he'll be when he finally gets one and his confidence floods back.

Again Rangers didn't panic after missing a chance and simply set about crafting another opening. Just before the hour mark Cook swung over another superb cross which Jones seemed certain to burst the net with. Somehow he, like Blackstock before him, could only find the Upper Loft with Cook visibly upset that his good work had gone to waste. Either side of this effort Jones saw a better header fly straight into the keeper's arms and Gallen totally mis-judged a similar effort to the one he'd hit the bar with, this one bobbled harmlessly wide.

This was a fantastic 15 minutes of football from QPR, the best since the Palace home game, all that was missing was the killer second and inevitably Colchester started to press with renewed hope.

The first shot across the bow came from Halford whose header from Watson's cross dropped fractionally wide of the post with Rangers appealing for offside and a foul in equal measure. With twenty minutes left for play Pat Kanyuka was again in the right place at the right time to block a shot from Cureton. Williams sent on former Spurs midfielder Johnnie Jackson and he went close with a header as well but although the final twenty minutes were played exclusively in the QPR half that time was punctuated with big, brave headers and some fantastic sliding challenges from Bignot, Stewart, Mancienne and Kanyuka. The two centre halves were in particularly dominant form which was a good thing - Rangers only had to think back to September to know what a threat Chris Iwelumo can be this season.

As the game wore on Mr Walton became more and more eccentric. He penalised Dexter Blackstock for the best tackle of the match and allowed Colchester to move the ball forward into the other half of the field for the free kick. He awarded the visitors a corner when the ball quite obviously went out off Jackson - a fact you could hardly miss from our seats over a hundred yards away - and then realising his mistake gave a free kick immediately after the corner had been taken for nothing at all.

As the game wound down to a close he found four minutes of injury time (remember two minutes in the first half for four injuries and a goal) and then proceeded to play more than six which included a farcical little passage of play where he awarded Colchester a free kick, then spent a few moments with his linesmen, then spoke to Kanyuka and Iwelumo in the area, and then played on with no further action taken.

There'll be Colchester fans reading this who think I'm one of those fans that moans about the referee every week - I'm not, look at our referee's section, we have a good number of eight and nine ratings from the past two seasons, I only lace into these people when they deserve it and Mr Walton was quite frankly wretched.

When the whistle mercifully did eventually sound there was palpable relief around Loftus Road as the side recorded back to back home league wins for the first time since August 2005.

Colchester are a very handy side from what I've seen of them this season, especially at home, but they were well below par today. That's in part down to QPR - Colchester's main strengths are their two strikers and a couple of quality defenders but Blackstock and Jones got the better of their battle at one end while Mancienne and Stewart dominated the other and that was the key. Neither side looked to have a particularly good midfield.

There are signs that the Gregory is really starting to make a difference with the defence. Michael Mancienne was outstanding throughout and I'm starting to get more than a little concerned at the lack of news on an extension to his deal and Chelsea's constant shipping of stupid goals and lack of centre halves.

Keeping him at Loftus Road until the end of the season would be a massive boost - he's by far and away the best defender any of the teams down at that end of the table have at their disposal. When you think Leeds have moved heaven and earth this week to sign Robbie Elliott and Matt Heath, it would be a great advantage to us if we can keep Mancienne in the Bush until May because that pair aren't fit to clean Mancienne's training boots and one of the teams below us are pinning their survival hopes on them.

Damion Stewart looks more settled alongside a competent centre half and even managed to go through the entire match today without his obligatory glaring error leading to a goal against. Having Kanyuka fit is a massive boost, although I'm not sure he'll ever make a right back, and of course there's supposed to be at least two new faces arriving to bolster the backline this month.

Now the attack is the problem but for the first time in about six weeks they looked threatening throughout today. Jones scored and should have had another, Blackstock did everything but score, and Cook is always a danger down the left - another assist for him. If Jones can put all this contract nonsense out of his mind, which if his own statement on the official site is anything to go by is almost entirely of his agent's doing, then he'll be an asset. I think Blackstock is one goal, and resulting confidence boost, away from really exploding into form. His work rate is phenomenal and his attitude is fantastic. He just needs that goal to get going again.

In our current situation, sad as it is to say about a famous old competition, next Saturday is almost a weekend off. We've got a metaphorical cup final at Hull next up in the league to consider more than beating Luton - worst case scenario is of course a replay on the site of the planet's last enema. It's a good chance to try any new signings made, maybe give that centre half pairing another run, and try and play ourselves into some form with consecutive wins ahead of some crucial away fixtures.

QPR: Royce 6, Bignot 8, Mancienne 8, Kanyuka 7, Stewart 8, Ward 5 (Baidoo 60, 5), Gallen 6, Lomas 7, Cook 7, Ray Jones 8 (Furlong 75, 7),Blackstock 7.
Subs Not Used: Cole, Rehman, Bailey.
Booked: Lomas (dissent)
Goal:Jones 36

Colchester: Gerken 8, Halford 8, Baldwin 6 (Guy 85, -), Brown 6, Barker 6, Garcia 7, Watson 5, Izzet 5 (Ephraim 73, 6), McLeod 7 (Jackson 63, 6),Cureton 6, Iwelumo 6
Subs Not Used: Davison, Richards

Attendance: 11,319

QPR Star Man - Michael Mancienne 8 - Absolute class at the heart of the defence, both him and Stewart were magnificent. Well done lads, more of the same please.

Referee: P Walton (Northamptonshire) 2 - It's obviously all been said already above, worst of the season so far for me. Completely inept from the 15th minute onwards. Unbelievably bad at times. And he looks like that mouse from Animaniacs.

Photo: Action Images

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