Nobody should or will take pity on the fans who did go, but at least the "game" managed to fill the frustrating void of postponed football. Neither team looked fully motivated, and, to be honest, how could they have been? A barren stand on one side, and a crazy band of Queen's fans on the other is hardly stuff that dreams are made of. Yea, that wasn't in the job description.
Queen's went in to the match desperate to give a win to mananger Kenny Brannigan, but left with nothing to show. The depressing thing is that Montrose are awful, a very bad team indeed. But if Queen's can't pass the simplest of tests, then all hopes of compiling some sort of last minute rally are dashed.
The Stirling game was off, so the players will have face a mid-week game at Forthbank at the end of March. Today's game should have been off too, though. The conditions were semi-humane, and the pitch was lumpier than old school custard.
Tony Mitchell was out of goal, a cruel relief really, and Mark Cairns came back in. Although he really had nothing to do during the first-half, he let in a daft goal on 34 minutes. McKechnie's shot was desperate, but Cairns couldn't get round the weak shot and ended up fumbling the ball in to his own net. In the second half, Cairns dived around a bit, but was never really tested, another depressing fact for the Spiders to deal with. 6
Captain Danny Ferry returned to form after a period of total alienation at the back. Montrose were playing so deep, Danny had quite a bit of scope to run down the right. When Montrose scored, however, the imagination turned to frustration and the inventive play of before had been partially drained. 6
Steven Canning hasn't returned to form after injury and he seemed behind the pace. However, Steven is an excellent prospect and he could be one of many great youngsters who could project Queen's onto a higher league placing next season. Replaced by Ross Clark( 6 ). 6
Jim White donned the hoops for a rare appearance and was arguably the best player on the field. He fearlessly approached every aerial ball and more often than not beat everyone in the air. He nearly scored in the first-half, but the ball was cleared off the line at the last minute. A superb display. Watch out, Steven Moffat! 8
Damiano Agostini played his usual solid game at the back. 6
Steven Fallon played fairly well, but not to the standard that he has shown that he is capable of. Montrose were, in large, playing very defensively, and, without help from other players, he struggled to get by the Montrose back-line, which turned out to be more effective in quantity rather than quality. 6
David Menelaws had his first start place in football since his leg-break a year-and-half ago and it showed. He started off well, but tired evidently and was replaced by Chris Fisher(6)with 30 minutes to go. When Menelaws returns to full-fitness, here's hoping he can show the type of oppurtunism that brought Queen's a goal at Hamilton. Fisher, despite showing some signs of class, didn't get past an awkward defence on an equally difficult surface. 6
Johnny Whelan played his usual commanding role in midfield for Queen's and tried everything to add another goal to the one he scored on 50 minutes, pouncing on a defensive mix-up following a corner to equalise. Steady. 7
John Gemmell was disappointing even though he did win a lot in the air of Queen's in the first-half. Considering his excellent form as of late, it was frustrating not to see him in any real scoring positions. 6
David McCallum played a good game for Queen's in the middle of the park, showing a good fitness level and lasting the full 90 minutes. 7
James Allan was crowded out by the Montrose defence (see Canning, Fallon ) and didn't show why he is the best winger in the division. 6
Man of the match: Jim White
Match Rating: *