Rangers are back! After enduring a season packed with so many highs and lows it all came down to 90 minutes at one of English footballs great stages. The boys knew what they had to do and they did it with a style and swagger that sums up everything that Queens Park Rangers Football Club is about.

For the third game on the trot Holloway named an unchanged line up, something of a rarity in the season packed with injuries and personal problems. Camp was in goal behind Edghill, Carlisle, Rose and Padula. The midfield four was Ainsworth, Johnson, Bircham and Rowlands with Gallen and Furlong in attack.

Rangers flew out of the traps and could easily have been three or four goals up within the first ten minutes had they been a bit calmer in front of goal. Bircham, Rowlands and Furlong all saw great chances come and go as Wednesday could not get close to them in a frenetic opening period. The chances kept on coming but still nobody could force Kevin Pressman into action. Rowlands once again tried his luck and Bircham weaved his way into the box only to see his cross hacked away.

The tension was starting to rise in the Leppings Lane end as a fear that so many missed chances could cost us began to sweep over the R's masses. Wednesday were starting to create some chances of their own now and they were buoyed by the news that Bristol City were now winning. The Hillsborough faithful seemed delighted, although I am not sure why they were so bothered about events at the opposite end of the table to them. Carlisle was starting to look shaky and Matthew Rose was doing all he could to cover for his colleague.

At the other end chances were still coming and Gallen twice tried his luck. Firstly he hit a shot from the edge of the area that flew well over the bar and then he registered Rangers' first shot on target with a low effort that the rotund Pressman plunged to save. His next effort though was far more clinical and gave Rangers the lead their pressure had so richly warranted.

Gareth Ainsworth careered down the right and sent in a ball that both Rowlands and Furlong had a go at but couldn't convert. A Wednesday player got half a block on it but could only send the ball into the path of Gallen and he rammed it high into the net to send the travelling army into a frenzy. Kev had been without a goal in his previous eight games and this was a hell of a time to end his scoring drought.

Ainsworth came within a whisker of making it two only minutes later with a trademark volley. He was so wide on the right that nobody could see any danger but such positions hold no fears for Wild Thing. Pressman dived full length across his goal and was grateful to see the ball whistle past the upright rather than inside it. As the half time whistle approached Rangers suffered a blow when Carlisle went over on his dodgy ankle and was forced off the field. Arthur replaced him but had little chance to get into the game before it was time for the tea and oranges.

Rangers made a stunning start to the second half when Furlong doubled the lead after barely three minutes. Bircham picked him out in the box and in one fluid movement he killed the ball on his chest, rolled defender Chris Carr and slammed the ball right footed past the helpless Pressman. The R's fans were in raptures now and with one foot planted firmly in Division 1 they roared the team on.

Suddenly though there was a change in the flow of the game as the Sheffield Wednesday midfield began to overrun the R's quartet and create some chances of their own. Time and again Matthew Rose had to step in to quell an attack before it got into a really dangerous area but such was the pressure it only seemed a matter of time before we leaked a goal. Never ones to make things easy for themselves, they did just that, and it was a belter.

Chris Brunt, an impressive thorn in Rangers' side all afternoon, ran in from the left and managed to evade the attentions of Edghill, Ainsworth and Bircham before feeding Robins on the edge of the box. He in turn picked out Jon Shaw and he drilled a low finish past Lee Camp to jangle the nerves of the R's. It was time for a response now but Wednesday kept coming. Gino managed to block out another effort from Shaw and Rose made a crucial intervention when Robins managed to break clear on the Rangers left.

Just when it looked as though a Wednesday equaliser might be on the cards Rangers luck for the season finally turned. In a year that has seen players having treatment for alcoholism, arrested for alleged sexual assault and pick up more injuries than I can ever remember at a club, luck has been in bloody short supply. The slice of good fortune came courtesy of former Rangers trialist Chris Carr. The lad played in the reserves for us and was, in short, appalling, so his half time introduction lifted my spirits somewhat. When Martin Rowlands accelerated down the left and smashed in a wicked cross nobody could have foreseen what would happen next. Carr stepped forward and took an almighty hack at the ball to send it flying past Pressman and just about seal the deal.

There were now twenty minutes to go although it seemed more like three and a half hours! Rangers kept coming forward though and the introduction of Jamie Cureton with ten minutes to go for the knackered Rowlands put a little fizz into the team. He was bright and energetic and tried to get the ball down and run with it at any opportunity. Reg found his way into the book for time wasting at a throw in as they entered the final straight.

I cant remember what was happening as the whistle blew as it had all become something of a blur by now but at the whistle there were scenes of unbridled jubilation, the likes of whish many R's fans, including me, will never have seen before. Finally Rangers had managed to put years of hurt and torment behind them and achieve what the club has been so desperate for ever since the 21^st April 2001. That day Huddersfield condemned us to second division football and ripped out the hearts of thousands of Rangers fans all over the world. Yesterday was for every man, woman and child that felt that pain, this was for everybody that felt the hurt of Cardiff last year, this was Queens Park Rangers getting its pride back.

Every player did their bit from back to front yesterday. Camp was as assured as ever, Gino and Reg were solid in defence and willing runners in attack. Rose was immense alongside both Clarke and Arthur. Birch and Jonno tackled anything that moved and Ainsworth and Rowlands were a constant menace. Furlong and Gallen were fantastic, as they have been all season and they showed why they will remain Olly's first choice pairing for at least one more season.

So time to dust off the road map and look up such places as Turf Moor, Millmoor, Elland Road, The Stadium of Light and the Walkers Stadium. It will be nice to meet up with old friends at Home Park and Molineux and go to places like Ninian Park and Gresty Road to get a bit of revenge for last season.

And now you're gonna believe us, the R's are going up!

simon@qprnet.com