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Away games are a day out and we made the most of this one with a lunch stop in a village close to Banbury and having arrived at Loftus Road some five hours before kick off it gave us the chance to go and take a look at the new Wembley. I remembered the 1962 Cup Final as I walked up Olympic Way but I could still picture the goals from David Eyres and Gary Parkinson fourteen years ago.
Back at Loftus Road in good time for the game I was, perhaps surprisingly, quite confident. Yes, they've spent money as if it was going out of fashion, whilst we'd added to our squad with loans. I'd taken a look at their signings, most of whom were chosen by the chairman Paladini, and frankly I wasn't sure what the fuss was about.
We were to get two games in one, their game and then ours, and in the end it was one of those memorable nights of being a Burnley supporter, none of whom in that away end will forget in a long time.
David Unsworth's illness kept him out but otherwise it was an unchanged side named by Owen Coyle. Again I thought Ade Akinbiyi in particular was unfortunate not to start, but he was to become a star of this particular show.
I thought it all started quite brightly for us and in the opening minutes most of the play was down the far end and towards Lee Camp's goal. It was only broken by a QPR free kick, harshly awarded by referee Kevin Friend, that flew wide of goal after deflecting off Kyle Lafferty in almost a replica of Colchester's goal last Saturday.
Our early flurry didn't last unfortunately and they started to come into the game and just before the quarter of an hour we were awfully exposed defensively as the home side took the lead. One back heel on the right wing took out two Burnley defenders and when the cross came in from Akos Buzsaky there was little, if any, obstacle put in Gavin Mahon's way as he headed home.
If there was to be a way back into this game for us then there was no evidence of it as QPR, winners of each of their last four home games, took total charge. How good were they? I'm not so sure, but we were awful and the big surprise was that it took another quarter of an hour before they got another.
We gave the ball away cheaply, and that had been a feature of our play, allowing QPR to break. We looked to play Patrick Agyemang offside, but we got it wrong and he took it round Brian Jensen to score with ease.
It almost got worse as Jensen almost gifted them a third and you wondered just how many we might lose this by. I didn't think we could play much worse than we'd done at this ground a year ago but it was certainly heading that way.
Sometimes one incident can change a game, but I wasn't thinking about that and was more intent on us getting to half time without conceding another goal. Then we won a free kick although none of us could quite work out why we'd got it. It certainly looked very generous.
It was at least 35 yards from goal but it was taking up a bit of time. Joey Gudjonsson, the one shining light for me so far, decided to have a crack at goal but it deflected off Andrew Cole and flew into the net.
I say deflected, that's how it looked from the other end but it really was no deflection. Cole was on the move into position before Joey struck it and was there to turn it in. Deflection? No. This was a quality finish.
Half time duly came and we were 2-1 down. You don't celebrate being behind but it was very much a relief to go in with that scoreline. We joked that it might just bring us back into the game, I even laughingly suggested that we'd go on to win it 5-2. There was no real conviction though.
When the teams came out for the second half we'd made one change. Ade was on for the disappointing Robbie Blake, although it is fair to say he wasn't the only player to have disappointed and there had been worse players on the pitch.
If QPR had given us a torrid time in the first half, then we were soon to find out that it was nothing compared to the forty-five minutes we were set to give them in the second half. We went at them from the off and it was plain to see that Ade's role was to run them and pull their defenders away from where they should be. And it worked.
The equaliser probably came from our best move of the game. We passed the ball around brilliantly and eventually got it forward to Cole who in turn played the ball out to Ade on the right hand side. He crossed and there was Cole to volley it home.
I was asked before the game if I'd take a point and I said yes. I was asked again at 2-2 and I said yes again. Five minutes later my mind had been changed simply because I could only see one winner now and it certainly wasn't QPR.
They had their moments, but hardly threatened Jensen's goal and incredibly we almost turned that two goal deficit into a lead when Kyle Lafferty played the ball to Wade Elliott. He turned inside his man and with the Stadium of Light in everyone's memory he unleashed a shot that cannoned off the post. Some of our players looked for a corner, but did Camp get to it? I'm not so sure.
QPR did enjoy a short passage of play up the other end and this only allowed the most amazing of pitch demonstrations to take place. Some people literally strolled onto the pitch and unveiled a banner which claimed 'Campbell caused leukaemia'. They carefully, and slowly, turned it to display it to all four sides on two occasions each with no suggestion of them being removed. Eventually they were encouraged to leave the playing surface whilst a Mr. Campbell sat directly behind me looked to have enjoyed the whole spectacle.
It didn't distract from our performance and you just sensed there might be a third Burnley goal, and I don't think anyone in that away end could have begrudged the scorer when it came. Ade won us a corner as he again harassed their defenders. Over it came and when it was headed back into the middle by Caldwell there he was to head home from close range to fire us in front.
A quick look at the watch, there was still a while to go but I felt confident we could hold onto this lead. They were by now a poor second in this game and I don't think we were going to let them back in. We didn't and even added a fourth. Graham Alexander played the ball in and Cole got on the end of it to turn the ball home. It was another quality finish from him.
I know he prefers Andrew, but I hope he'll forgive us for the use of Andy. It just fits better into the song. He didn't seem to mind and when Owen Coyle decided to bring him off towards the end the away end rose as one to him. Not only the away end, but all around the ground people were standing to applaud this top striker.
There weren't that many QPR fans there to be truthful, they'd exited as quick as anything I've seen at Ewood over the years, but those who did remain had appreciated his centre forward play.
Added time brought nothing more and there were more joyous scenes in that cramped upper tier at the end as the players came over. Cole was quickly back on the pitch to get his match ball from the referee. He'd put his arm round Kevin Friend and asked for it as it nestled into the net for his third and the referee didn't let him down.
He was the man of the match, of course he was. How can you not be when you've got a hat trick in a 4-2 away win. Incredibly it was his first hat trick since September 2000 when he got three for Manchester United in a Champions League game against Anderlecht.
But whilst lauding the performance of Cole I just cannot dismiss the claims of Ade. He was the catalyst for all of this, he was the player who turned this game on its head. He was at his belligerent best and pulled QPR players all over West London.
We'd made Damion Stewart look a decent centre half for a game and a half this season. In the second half in this game Ade led him, and his team mates, a right merry dance. Gaps were left in the middle and I think by the time it had finished they were well and truly battered.
A brilliant night, it really was one of those nights you will remember for a long, long time, and has Ade had such an effect on a game since he got his own hat trick at Luton?
Brilliant come back Burnley, absolutely brilliant, but the players will already know that's what we thought as they saw that celebrating away end at the final whistle.
As a footnote, and thanks to Chris Boden at the Burnley Express for this. It is the first time we've come from two behind to win a game away from home since Wayne Biggins, Neil Grewcock and Kevin Hird turned round a 2-0 deficit at Cambridge in November 1984.
The teams at QPR were;
QPR: Lee Camp, Matthew Connolly (Michael Mancienne 90), Damion Stewart, Zesh Rehman, Damien Delaney, Akos Buzsaky, Gavin Mahon, Martin Rowlands (Mikele Leigertwood 39), Hogan Ephraim (Dexter Blackstock 68), Patrick Agyemang, Rowan Vine. Subs not used: Matt Pickens, Kieran Lee.
Burnley: Brian Jensen, Graham Alexander, Stanislav Varga, Steven Caldwell, Jon Harley, Wade Elliott, Joey Gudjonsson, James O'Connor (John Spicer 90), Kyle Lafferty, Robbie Blake (Ade Akinbiyi 45), Andrew Cole (Mark Randall 89). Subs not used: Gabor Kiraly, Stephen Jordan.
Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire).
Attendance: 13,410.