Personnel wise, Brannigan decided to keep the same team that beat Albion Rovers in mid-week. It is hard to think that the same eleven managed to muster any kind of result, let alone a brilliant 2-0 win. Paul Martin's mysterious disappearance may have caused the dramatic slump, but the fantastic start to the match wouldn't indicate that fact.
Four minutes into the match and Queen's were in front. Gordon Lappin flighted a superb free-kick into the box and John Gemmell was on the receiving end with a header that soared into the top right corner of Shire keeper Todd's net. A minute later and Gemmell scored again. Steven Moffat's long punt through the middle was knocked on by Johnny Whelan and the youngster ran through and flicked the ball past the goalkeeper for number two.
Queen's appeared to have the game well in control, but slackness at the back resulted in Shire's trialist running though on goal with only Mitchell to best. The un-named striker dithered in the box and a weak effort was blocked by the Queen's keeper. The follow up shot by McLaren was also dealt with well by Mitchell.
Queen's were denied a penalty when Gemmell was climbed upon in the penalty box. Referee Calum Murray maybe took some pity on Shire and didn't award the spot kick. Amazingly, all of this took place in the opening 10 minutes and the Falkirk men looked very nervous. The ball boys were kept busy with some very poor passing and clearing from Shire.
James Allan had a chance to score following a Johnny Whelan throw-in, but the winger couldn't connect properly and the ball was easily collected by Todd.
The Spiders' defence looked very nervy at times and Shire duly capitalised. A freak curling drive from Dylan Kerr, playing as a trialist, caught Mitchell off-guard and Shire got a goal back. But this was merely taken as an early consolation and Queen's looked complacent in every department.
Gordon Lappin found himself in space on the right hand side after another defensive slip by East Stirling. His shot was fired straight at Todd who palmed the ball out for a corner. East Stirling, to their credit, battled away with the talent that they did have and they did force a few corners in the opening 45. Tony Mitchell was once again lost in the penalty area and it was up to the likes of Steven Moffat to clear up the mess. The nerves were settled when James Allan scored the third, however. The ex-East Fife man dispossessed McAuley and easily slotted the ball past Todd. Game over? Wrong.
East Stirling showed some nice touches in the opening half, but the confident Queen's fans wouldn't want to be accused of patronising behaviour by saying so. MacKay reminded Tony Mitchell that Shire could still have a go and a well struck free-kick was well saved.
Gordon Lappin, having a field day on the right, looped another great cross into the back post for an obliging head. Willie Martin darted from no-where to connect, but his header could only find the top of the net.
Half-time then and Queen's looked like a team that could score a few more to add to their tally...how we were proved so wrong.
The team in the second half was practically the same in name, but incredibly different in performance. MacKay got East Stirling off to a great start with a long range drive that had Tony Mitchell needing two bites to gather.
Ross Clark was scarcely involved in the match, but a neat through ball was collected by Willie Martin who could only hit agonisingly wide. Despite some complacency, it didn't appear obvious that Queen's would crumble in the final half-hour. Ross Clark, obviously on some sort of high, had a good drive sail wide. Shire made a substitution and a crucial one at that. The ineffective Lukowiecki was replaced by Boyle and he was involved in many Shire attacks in the final 30 minutes.
Counter attacks were the name of the game when Shire were last at Hampden and just after a Gemmell header was headed directly at Todd, they broke up the park to reduce the deficit to one. Richard Sinclair, on for Steven Moffat at half-time, was invisible as Boyle crossed the ball in for Leishman who dived to head an important second. Tony Mitchell was once again lost in the box, and the substitute showed bravery in getting ahead of the Queen's goalkeeper. This gave Shire the boost that they needed and a wonderful turn and shot by Leishman was well saved by Mitchell. The same man narrowly headed wide minutes later and cracks were starting to appear in the QP defence. Cracks turned to complete destruction, however, and a brilliant McAuley effort was converted for the equaliser. What was not so brilliant, though, was the way Queen's defended. The corner that produced the third was totally mid-judged by Mitchell and his faltering defence and the ball broke to the willing McAuley who drove a cracker in. 3-3 and the scoreboard was looked at in disbelief.
What followed was confusing to say the least. Lappin and Martin, two of Queen's best players on the day, were replaced by the inexperienced Kettlewell and ex-Shire striker Menelaws. No offence meant to Kettlewell, but now wasn't the time for giving youngsters a run on the park. Brannigan, dressed in a suit, presumably to look good on his first day, ventured down to the foot of the stand to discuss tactics before retiring back to his seat in the shelter from the rain, but more on him later.
Boyle was allowed ample space in the Queen's half as some serious re-assembling was needed in the QP defence. The customary late Hampden surge, that Spiders fans are all too used to, reared its ugly head as the players tried to salvage some pride in what was going to be an embarrassing draw. David Menelaws, playing against his old club, nearly scored with 10 minutes to go, but his effort was blocked easily by Todd.
120 seconds later, Queen's should have re-gained the lead. An almighty scramble in the box, a feature synonymous with the Third Division, was caused by Johnny Whelan's low effort that bounced off the post. After much heeing and hawing, the ball broke to Ross Clark, 8 yards out, who smashed the ball, somehow, against the top of the bar.
The fans weren't cursing their luck, or the opposition, or their fans for that matter, but their own team who were playing abysmally. But at least a point would be gained? Wrong again.
Click for the conclusion of this report.