QP lost to last season's Third Division champions in the Bell's Cup semi-final last night. A Queen's win would have made them the first Third Division team to reach the final of this cup, but it didn't happen. John McCormack commendably spoke his mind after the game, saying he was sick at not making the final and that he wasn't sure if some of the players realised just what a chance the club had. This might sound like Cowboy being hyper-critical, but it's refreshing to hear a manager say such a thing; most would come out with the usual lines like ' we did great to come this far; the players gave it 100%' etc. He was certainly right to say his players had to concentrate more when not in possession of the ball. While McCormack seems to regret the disadvantages he has compared with other managers at this level, his comments, after not just last night's game but many others, suggest he sets high standards for his players. Gretna are the next opponents for Queen's, at Hampden on Saturday. Read the report of the Brechin game here.
Meanwhile, the date for the League Cup tie with East Stirlingshire at Hampden has been changed to Saturday 7 September. Kick-off is at 1pm.
26 Aug Queen's Park v. Brechin City- Bell's Cup Semi-Final
Kick off is at 7.30 pm. There is a suggestion that Brechin are bringing down 6 supporters' buses, which would suggest a travelling support of 250 minimum. This makes it imperative that the home fans get right behind the Spiders. The support at Cappielow on Saturday was great. It goes without saying that the club's first national cup semi-final for 74 years is a huge match, and that is the great thing about this competition- it allows smaller clubs like ourselves the chance of reaching a final, or at the very least gives us something to dream about.
There are no fresh injury worries, it would appear. J. Gemmell and J. Gallagher will be available again, having sat out the win over Berwick. McCormack could make changes after the loss at Cappielow; personally I would give Willie Martin a start, and play Steven Canning in a withdrawn role, possibly even in midfield.
Off now to try and get some sleep, but that might take a while.
24 Aug Oh no, we did it again- at Cappielow this time
Another extremely disappointing away result for Queen's Park in the league- a 3-0 loss against Morton. Despite having the better of the early exchanges and looking more than a match for the home side, Queen's contrived to lose an early goal. Two further strikes by Alex Williams, massively assisted by errors and poor defending, sealed the points for the Greenock club. Read a full match report. The result leaves Queen's still joint bottom, with just a single point.
For more August 2002 news click here