Without wishing to simply regurtitate the story of the play, let's look at the possible problems that converted today's game from a procession into a debacle.
Firstly, complacency. Going two goals in front so early didn't seem to do Queen's any favours, strange as that sounds. They seemed to relax almost immediately, and the result was that Shire very quickly should have pulled a goal back, when Leishman allowed Mitchell to make a block a few yards from goal. In fact, they did soon get back into it, with Kerr firing home in 16 minutes, and a game that should have been a chance for Queen's to show off their skills and score a few goals against a very weak defence turned into a game where they would soon be living on the edge. There can be no doubt though, that Kerr's presence was a crucial factor in this game: without him, Shire would have been most unlikely to win, but it's quite sad to think that Queen's lost to a team inspired by a 36 year old who is best known as a full-back.
Defensive frailties also played their part. The back three was less solid as a unit than usual, although matters were not helped by Steven Moffat's forced withdrawal. However, even Stevie had not been particularly impressive during the first half, giving the ball away a couple of times and not covering all that well. The defence as a whole had a tendency to stand off the Shire forwards and allow them to gather momentum. With the opposition feckless before half-time, this didn't matter too much at first, but when they stepped things up in the second half Queen's were struggling to cope. Steven's injury meant an appearance for Richard Sinclair in the centre of defence in the second half. Steven Fallon was probably the star man for Queen's throughout the whole team again, but Damiano Agostini was less secure. As for Tony Mitchell, this was his worst display yet for the club. He had not showed much promise last week, and his lack of ability to deal with crosses and set-pieces was again brutally exposed, and perhaps long, high efforts could also be added to his weaknesses list. I really don't want to be too harsh, but he was to blame, at least partly, for three of the four goals, and didn't cover himself in glory for East Stirling's second either. Quite possibly, Kenny Brannigan will be considering the possibility of bringing in a new goalkeeper.
Add the above to the age-old factor of failing to perform on home turf, and possible failure to adjust with the new coach ( however much he seemed to lack a hands-on role ), and you see several plausible reasons ( though not valid excuses ) for this huge disappointment. Queen's seem to have real difficulty playing as well at Hampden as they do in away fixtures, and you only have to look at the last three of each for evidence of this. Three disappointing performances at home in losing to Gretna and East Stirling and drawing with Albion Rovers; and away, two fighting shows at Cliftonhill and a brace of 2-0 wins, and a disciplined 1-1 draw at Bayview, where they were a little unfortunate not to triumph. It seems that the vastness, and emptiness, of Hampden's stands simply fails to inspire the players, and what doesn't help is the often funereal atmosphere at home games; only the Brechin and Morton fixtures have witnessed a decent level of noise being generated.
Could the players also have experienced a downturn in morale and confidence after Paul Martin's departure ? Even allowing for apparent negative comments expressed by certain members of the team about the mooted arrival of Kenny Brannigan, this doesn't seem to explain away the complete throwing away of three points in this game. There certainly seemed to be no confidence shortage at the beginning of the game, though undoubtedly most teams would have been capable of scoring against a team who looked so ragged. Those difficulties occurred in the second half, once the second Shire goal went in. The players will surely react positively to Brannigan if he shows himself to be a competent coach, tactically aware, and capable of proper motivation. The supporter will not be readily aware if these traits are in place, except by judging Queen's results on the park. There may be a short period of adjustment in learning the new man's methods, but that really shouldn't take very long. It can't afford to, with a big Scottish Cup tie waiting just one week from now.
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