| Albion Rovers 3 Queen's Park 1 ( Yardley, Farrell, Smith ) ( Canning ) |
| OK, it's a defeat, it's a bitter one to take, but this result does not represent Armageddon, nor was Queen's Park's performance one of the worst of recent times. For any team, losing your best two players so far for a match away at one of the division's best clubs would make it difficult indeed to avoid losing. The absences of Ross Clark and Damiano Agostini were felt painfully as Queen's struggled without Clark's thrusting play from the middle of the park and Agostini's battling, dominating work in defence. Defensively and offensively, Queen's offered scant resistance after Rovers opened the scoring and with two men sent-off and thus suspended, further headaches lie ahead for the coach. Yet he may feel some surgery is required anyway to stiffen, and quicken, up the leaden-footed team which was beaten by Rovers. On another day the re-entry into the side of Steven Moffat and Stuart Kettlewell would have been most welcome, but given that they were only acting as stand-ins, frankly we would have preferred to be without them on this occasion. These were the only new faces from the team that so convincingly saw off Elgin last Saturday. With memories of that win fresh, a good number of Queen's fans contributed to the large crowd present at Cliftonhill - perhaps a third of it supporting the visitors. With the Cliftonhill stand in comparable darkness with the pitch in front, Queen's typically made most of the early running, Kettlewell smashing a shot wide from the edge of the area after 6 minutes. Rovers replied with a Mercer header that Scrimgour grasped down low, before Steven Reilly collected a booking after complaining about a late challenge that sent him flying in midfield ( though he clearly used a little self-propulsion to flesh things out ). Queen's caused consternation in the home penalty area in the thirteenth minute; Whelan's lob into the box was disputed by Graham and a defender, with the big Queen's striker taking a push in the face from his challenger. Play continued, Menelaws tried to force a shot in, and the ball was cleared out for Reilly to curl it powerfully wide of target. However, the lack of a leader at the back - either among the back three or in the form of the goalkeeper - soon manifested itself. Scrimgour looked decidedly unsettled in dealing with a left-wing cross after 17 minutes, being caught out at his near post before Sinclair nodded away any danger. The signs were there though, and Rovers would soon make Queen's pay. 24 minutes were on the clock when McAllister wriggled to the goalline prior to sending over his cross. Scrimgour was caught in no-man's land, and Yardley rose above the defence to power the ball into the unguarded net. Harsh to say that Agostini would not have allowed that goal to be scored, but going by the big man's form up until this game, probably true. Ally Graham's free kicks are fast becoming notorious and he came so close to levelling matters only a few minutes after the opening goal. Whelan had been stopped abruptly 30 yards from goal, and Graham's bender seemed destined for the top corner of the net. However, Fahey parried the ball up into the air, then tipped over with his second touch of the ball. The resultant corner was headed over by Whelan himself who was unable to get over the ball. In truth though Queen's looked uninspired, and the knowledge that a second would be enough to kill us off on this performance induced anxiety among the support. McManus was allowed too much space in which to turn and blast wide from a tight angle, his pace always problematic. Queen's were considerably less so and weak efforts from Graham and Menelaws failed to trouble Fahey. On the latter occasion the Queen's forward would have been better advised to find a team-mate instead of trying his luck from a tight angle but this lack of imagination and confidence would characterise Menelaws's afternoon. Eight minutes from half-time and Rovers moved further ahead. This time there was really no license to be made for what was a fabulous goal. Their recent midfield capture, David Farrell, lashed home a rising free-kick from 35 yards which found the postage stamp corner perfectly. Immediately before the restart Kenny Brannigan decided that the limping Kettlewell had to be replaced and Steven Canning came on. It would appear that Stuart has actually collected a wrist injury, which is another cruel blow for a player whose career at Queen's has stuttered because of injuries. It was difficult to see how Queen's could now rise to the task of salvaging the match. Menelaws certainly wasn't up to it, producing a replica of his earlier effort towards the near post from Graham's flick. In fact McManus could have rendered the second-half irrelevant in stoppage time, but Scrimgour dashed to the edge of the box to just about clear. There was little from Queen's to suggest a possible comeback in the second-half, as Rovers looked comfortable for the first ten minutes or so. But in 57 minutes, Queen's were handed a possible lifeline with the dismissal of Jim Mercer, booked earlier for his foul on Reilly. His trailing leg caught Dunning as the Queen's winger motored down the right, and Tumilty made the correct decision. Sadly, this incident was to have little influence such were Queen's deficiencies. David Menelaws should have put Queen's back into the game after 62 minutes, wasting a chance found after he had cut in freely from the left, only to poke the ball weakly at the oncoming Fahey instead of squaring to Whelan. It was only a matter of time before his replacement; indeed it's a wonder Brannigan didn't bring him off sooner. Queen's were fully exposed in the 69th minute as Albion Rovers made the game completely safe. Yardley again emerged winner in an aerial struggle with Moffat, finding the advancing substitute Smith whose momentum carried him towards the goal, and he volleyed powerfully past a helpless Derek Scrimgour. What little remained of Queen's's pride ebbed away following a dismal miss by Menelaws shortly after Yardley's header nearly made it four; Menelaws was instantly substituted, along with Allan Dunning, and young forwards McAuley and Carcary were given run-outs. A neat Johnny Whelan header then almost reduced the deficit but it fell narrowly wide. It was perhaps inevitable that the referee would seek to even up the numbers, even with the game over as a contest, and Steven Reilly was the recipient of a red-card which increased the misery for Queen's Park. His second yellow at least was deserved, for a despairing hauling down of Stirling. Smith's twists and turns inside the Queen's area could have resulted in another goal, but Johnny Whelan was determined - one of the few to look it - that Queen's would put a better shine on the day, dipping a volley narrowly over the bar. The fast McManus then had a couple of efforts which Scrimgour foiled close to goal. Things took another turn for the worse. Ally Graham became the second Spider sent to the dressing-rooms, in his case for an elbow used on a Rovers player. I didn't catch what happened, and so can't comment on the veracity of the decision. Suffice to say that if Graham was guilty, then he was very foolish. A far better performance is needed from the veteran when and if he again plays. We were now waiting for the whistle to end what had been a horrible game for Queen's but at least a goal was pulled back before time up. Steven Canning shot for goal after it broke back to him 18 yards out, and it rose high into the net for a fine strike. Nice to see, but in the greater scheme of things wholly irrelevant. It's especially unpleasant to lose to a team that have become, rightly or wrongly, Queen's foremost rivals, but this result will serve to curb any overly-excitable hopes for the season ahead. What it can't afford to do is make the team lose their way altogether, but there are problems that need to be solved if that is not to happen. Albion Rovers: Fahey, Paterson, Stirling ( McBride ), Farrell, McCaig, Cormack, McAllister ( Smith ), McCaul, Yardley, McManus ( Diack ), Mercer. Substitutes not used: Selkirk, Swain. Booked: Mercer. Sent-off: Mercer. Goals: Yardley 24, Farrell 37, Smith 69. Queen's Park: Scrimgour, Dunning ( Carcary ), Ferry, Sinclair, Moffat, Fallon, Kettlewell ( Canning ), Reilly, Graham, Whelan, Menelaws ( McAuley ). Substitutes not used: Gallagher, McCue. Booked: Reilly. Sent-off: Reilly, Graham. Goal: Canning 88. Attendance: 627. |