It had been an eventful week at Hampden with Iain Munro seemingly taking the job and then knocking it back. It wouldn' t have mattered much in the short-term because Paul Martin was going to be in charge for one more game to let Munro get a feel of the place and get to know the players well. The turn-down of the offer greatly disappointed the fans and the players also, and the result at Cappielow appeared to be a fore-gone conclusion.
Last week's team was mix and match stuff. Danny Ferry was ill so he was replaced by Ross Clark, who had scored the previous week against Peterhead. Clark was completely incongrous in the right-midfield position and didn't feature at all. Johnny Whelan came off at half-time and the remainder of the match had to be played with virtually no midfield. This wasn't helped by Allan Dunning's lack of fitness and he was replaced by the King of all Triers, Willie Martin. To make matters worse, Tony Quinn was brought off and Paddy Gallagher thrown on. As you can guess from this summary, it wasn't a pretty sight.
Sadly, Danny Ferry was in hospital with a blood-clot during the week and so Richard Sinclair started for the Hoops. Johnny Whelan was thankfully back, but Allan Dunning started on the bench.
As it turned out, it wasn't to be the tearful reunion for McCormack as some may have expected. Now for the ratings....
Colin Stewart: Big Colin had very little to do in the first-half and it was the same for the second. The ball was powered underneath him for the goal, but Alex Williams is such a classy and prolific striker, it would have taken the best to stop it. Did was asked of him.
Richard Sinclair: As mentioned, in for the injured Danny Ferry. Showcased the suberb fitness of the team by running from whistle to whistle. Faster than Ferry, but not as influential, but still had a fine game and I wouldn't be upset if I saw him again in the same position should Ferry be injured.
Steven Canning: Once again, Steven ran for the full 90 and covered every blade of grass on the left-hand side of the field. He was unlucky not to score in the second half with a brilliant drive from 18 yards which struck the bar with the keeper helpless.
Steven Moffat: Moffat was again his usual calm self and showed great drive towards the end of the match. Caught out for the goal on the counter-attack, but coolly slotted away the penalty in unbelievably intense conditions. Indispensible.
Damiano Agostini: Another humourless display from Big "D". The fact that I have nothing more to say about him is testament to the way he played. Solid.
Steven Fallon: A brilliant defensive player and, at times, attacking one. Cuts out balls and calmly passes them onto the midfield. Was involved in a few incidents near the end, but couldn't be blamed throughout. Steady.
Willie Martin: Willie Martin found himself at home in the hectic pace of the match. Despite not scoring, and he probably should have at the start, Willie played brilliantly and his non-stop tracking back, fitness, and growing awareness helped Queen's greatly. One of Queen's best loved players.
Johnny Whelan: Controlled the match. Simple as that. I hope that Johnny is getting back to his old consistent self, and yesterday's display showed that he can be a brilliant midfield player if he wants to be. Fantastic.
John Gemmell: John looked out of sorts again and didn't play well. Didn't really adapt well to the pace of the game at all. Replaced by the half-fit Allan Dunning, who was lucky not to be seriously injured after a ludicrous challenge from McGregor.
Tony Quinn: Yet to regain the form that made him one of last season's best players. Battled hard, but outshone by the fantastic Whelan.
James Allan: The best winger in the division by a long way and recieved praise from Morton fans after the match too. Sucked in defenders and jinked his way into the penalty area with ease at times. Unlucky not to score, but his skills were crucially required.
Match Rating: ****1/2 Better than any Old-Firm game!
Star Spider: Johnny Whelan
Team: Stewart 7, Sinclair 7, Canning 7, Moffat 8, Agostini 8, Fallon 7, Martin 8, Whelan 9, Gemmell 5 (Dunning 6), Quinn 7, Allan 8.