| ALLEZ LES HOOPS |
| What a difference a week makes! Just when things were starting to look really bad for Queen's following that humiliating 4-0 defeat by Stranraer, we were able to pull a strong performance out of the bag against Gretna to take all three points. Following the abysmal defensive display against Neil Watt's men, we knew we would have to sharpen for the trip down south to play the third-placed side on Saturday, and luckily for us, we did. The defence has been our obvious weak point in the past few games, with silly goals being conceded, and few of the players seeming really aware of the positions they were supposed to be playing in. Brannigan seemed to have realised this, starting three at the back with Fallon and Clark as wing-backs, and Stewart, Agostini and Ferry across the back. Playing Fallon in this left wing-back role may have been a tactical ploy on the part of the manager, with the obvious threat of Ryan Baldacchino. The former Carlisle winger did look dangerous, and promised to threaten, but wasn't really given any time on the ball, and when he was, he was well closed down. The back three were given some problems by the strength of Ian Stevens and Gary Cohen ( and latterly Martin Cameron ) but Agostini and Stewart were able to cope with the physical side of things and when the ball came loose, Danny Ferry was able to sweep up the danger. Despite our recent poor run of form, the captain has been playing well, and he was on top form once again on Saturday. Ross Clark was played on the opposite side from Fallon, at right wing-back and had a quiet game, not doing much in the way of going forward, but not really being troubled by Gavin Skelton down the Gretna left-hand side. His obvious position is in the centre of midfield, where he can fly in with the challenges and start attacks, but he hasn't been able to re-create the type of form he showed in the St. Mirren, Inverness and Livingston games. In the centre of midfield, Kenny started with Reilly and Whelan, and Harvey playing just off the front two. Whelan had a strong game, tackling hard in the midfield and getting up to support the attack regularly. Reilly had a similar game, playing slightly further forward, and was able to attack as well, getting the crucial headed goal from a corner. Reilly's form had dipped of late, with his tackling mistimed and on occasion fairly reckless, and the need for improvement was shown by his display on Saturday, both on the park, and in his display of delight at the final whistle. The fact that Paul Harvey was playing in front of the midfield but behind the strikers gave him a lot of room and time on the ball, making up for his lack of pace. However, he failed to cause any real danger; his passing failed to penetrate often, and was misplaced too many times. He hasn't been a fantastic player since joining, but has been a useful addition to the squad, while he can be tricky for opposing midfields to close down. Up front was the real area of surprise in terms of selection, and I'm sure I wasn't the only one who was surprised when the names of Carroll and Carcary were read out before the game. It turned out to be a more than pleasant surprise though, with both strikers playing exceptionally well. Carcary was a constant thorn in the side of Gretna's player of the month David Holdsworth, and Carroll worked tirelessly for the ninety minutes, holding the ball up, running with it, and just generally having a great game. But back to the star of the show, Derek Carcary. Right from kick-off the youngster looked quick and dangerous, and was holding his own against the strength of Prokas and Holdsworth. He had a few good chances, and was the unanimous Player of the Day on the supporters' bus back home. Definitely one for future greatness. So all in all, a great day out for the Spiders. But we shouldn't dismiss the problems that seemed definite just seven days ago. The coach seems to have settled the organisation on the park, but players like Richard Sinclair are too good to be left out completely, and unless Brannigan can get it sorted, he will have to leave. But for now, we can, just for a while, forget everything else, and cast our minds back to that Kettlewell corner and relive the glory. Ah yes... Gretna 0 Queen's Park 1 ( Reilly ) Queen's Park: Scrimgour 7, Ferry 8, Stewart 7, Clark 6, Agostini 7, Fallon 7, Carcary 9, Reilly 7, Carroll 9, Whelan 8 ( Kettlewell 7 ), Harvey 6. The Queen's Park Fansite's Man of the Match: Derek Carcary Written by Paul Mullaney |