| Typical. You go a whole month without a break and then you get them all at once. Yesterday's win at Montrose saw Queen's convert the early chances that they had missed in the baron month of October, notably at Cowdenbeath, to win their first game at Link's Park since the 15th of April 2000 during the Championship season. Although no silverware will be brought back to Hampden this season, the Queen's fans have plenty reasons to be cheerful as we have proven already that we are the best-of-the-rest and now it's a matter of showing everyone else that, by breaking away and making the 3rd spot our own, a position we currently share with Cowdenbeath and Saturday's opponents, Montrose. Billy Stark made one change to the team which defeated Stenhousemuir last week, replacing Gavin Rushford with captain Steve Reilly. The usual chilly conditions at Link's Park didn't seem to affect the visitors as Queen's went ahead in under 30 seconds, surely one of the quickest goals of the day. Stuart Kettlewell played the ball out to Mark Ferry on the left-wing who got to bye-line and crossed in for Frankie Carroll who in turn directed a diving header past Butter. Montrose hit back a minute later when Martin Wood forced a save from the legs of David Crawford. But it was Queen's doing most of the running in the early stages, showing their footballing supremacy in midfield by playing exciting one-touch football. After 8 minutes it looked as though Queen's had gone a sensational two goals up. A Kettlewell cross fell to Carroll, the goalscorer had his shot brilliantly saved by Butter and Ross Clark thumped in the rebound. The linesman had other ideas however, adjudging Ross to have been offside when he struck the ball into the net. It was a close call but Queen's only had to wait another 5 minutes for their second. Queen's used the same formula of having Kettlewell burst down the right and his cross evaded Butter, landing to Mark Ferry at the back-post, and he coolly hit the ball home from a few yards out. Montrose were trying to forge a few attacks but they weren't testing Crawford seriously at this stage. On 23 minutes it was all but over as Queen's went three goals up. Graham was felled at the edge of the box and Paul Harvey opted to take the free-kick 20 yards out. The midfielder then netted his first goal of the season, lofting the ball over the wall and into Butter's top right-hand corner. A touch of class from the veteran. It wasn't total dominance from Queen's, however, and David Crawford made a couple of solid stops to keep the gap at three before half-time. Graeme Sharp forced two good saves from the youngster on the 28th and 30th minute. He then had to stop a straight-forward free-kick from Kevin Webster on 37 minutes. Montrose must have felt slightly disappointed not to have scored before half-time as they were good going forward but totally inept at the back. Montrose were once again carrying on their trend of being good in attack but being bad in defence and also in midfield in the second half. If being honest, Montrose could have scored a lot sooner than they did if it wasn't for their poor finishing. Queen's, however, had a chance to make it four on 50 minutes when Ally Graham played in Frankie Carroll, but he tripped before he had the chance to shoot. Referee Alan Freeland produced the first card of the day on 53 minutes, booking Graeme Sharp for a late tackle on Trouten. He then did the same to QP's Mark Ferry for a blatant show of dissent after the midfielder claimed he was fouled in the penalty box. Montrose were clearly getting flustered having not scored so far and Barry Donachie found himself booked after a late tackle on Frankie Carroll, which hardly endeared him to the nearby Queen's support. Montrose had veteran goalkeeper Butter to thank for keeping them in the game when he superbly parried away a Frankie Carroll volley, after the forward did excellently to swivel and shoot. Montrose did get their goal, however, on 64 minutes. Graeme Sharp squared the ball to Kevin Webster and he tapped the ball in from a few yards out. Celebrating as though he had won a medal for bravery in Iraq, Donachie then gestured to the Queen's support as he returned back to his position. To his credit, Freeland spotted this and booked the clown. With under 20 minutes to go, Queen's were getting a little slack at the back and David Crawford had to come to the edge of the box to deny Matt Slater, who bottled the challenge as the goalie rushed out. Montrose would have regrets a minute later and Queen's made it 4-1 and put the game out of reach for the home side. A weak shot from Alan Trouten was fumbled by Butter and although Ally Graham couldn't convert from a few yards, Mark Ferry did, slamming the ball in, scoring his second goal of the day. With five minutes remaining Billy Stark took off Ally Graham (another great performance from the big man, by the way) and Brian Felvus came on, instantly causing havoc for the Montrose defence but ultimately failing to beat Butter. With a minute to go, Montrose made it 4-2 as Kevin Webster went on a superb run, tearing through the Queen's midfield before striking a deflected shot past Crawford 10 yards out. Whether the goalie would have stopped it or not was unimportant as the game was over shortly after and Queen's picked up their second win in succession. There can be no doubt that Montrose are a much improved side and it was important that Queen's scored as early as they did or they might have been forced into a harder game. As it happened, the home side proved to be a very fit side in attack. Shame about the defence... We didn't get any luck last month but we've gotten some deserved breaks in the last two games and we've now scored 8 over the past two weeks. Nevermind that we've also conceded five (!!). As long as we keep scoring more than the opposition, you'll have no complaints from the Queen's support. Almost every game this season has been an exciting one and there has always been positives to take, and it's a shame that so few are showing up at home to watch what is the most thrilling football at Hampden in years. In 3rd place, we have ultimately hit our peak for this season and all Billy Stark can do is build for next season whilst maintaining our good position. Hopefully we won't lose too many players over the summer as we have developed a great spine in this team and it would be a tragedy to see it dismantled. It's a great shame that Gretna and Peterhead are two of the best teams in the lower leagues, nevermind the Third Division, because Queen's would surely be up there on this form if it wasn't for those two teams winning nearly every week. All we can say just now is well done to the Queen's players and coaching staff for producing some fine games this season. Long may it continue. Allez Les Hoops. Man Of The Match: Mark Ferry Montrose: Jim Butter, Barry Donachie ( Kerr Dodds 66 ), Stuart Ferguson, Paul Doyle, Neil Stephen, Steve Kerrigan (Calum Watson 66 ), Kevin Webster, Craig Smart, Martin Wood, Euan Hall, Graeme Sharp ( Matt Slater 75). Substitutes Not Used: Darren Spink, Michael Hankinson (GK). Booked: Donachie; Sharp. Goals: Webster 65, 89. Queen's Park: David Crawford, Alan Trouten, Shaun Molloy, Steve Reilly, Richard Sinclair, Paul Harvey, Stuart Kettlewell, Ross Clark ( Brian Blair 89 ), Ally Graham ( Bryan Felvus 85 ), Frankie Carroll, Mark Ferry. Substitutes Not Used: Gavin Rushford, Martin Bonnar, Steven McGovern (GK). Booked: Mark Ferry. Goals: Carroll 1; Ferry 14, 73; Harvey 23. Referee: Alan Freeland Attendance: 410 |
| Montrose 2 Queen's Park 4 |
| Webster (2) Carroll, Ferry (2), Harvey |