| ALLEZ LES HOOPS |
| Games against Montrose last season were amongst the poorest of the footballing year, but Tuesday night's match was a watchable game which finished goalless. In the end, a draw was probably the correct result, with both sides having equal amount of opportunities in front of goal. Kenny Brannigan can be happy with the outcome as Montrose, under new manager Henry Hall, have been playing well, whereas we haven't recently. 30 Queen's fans travelled up and were treated to news that the game would be delayed because Queen's only had thirteen players in the squad. Information filtered through that Jonny Whelan, Danny Ferry and Damiano Agostini had been in a car accident. One of Jonny's tyres had burst and we thought our chances had too, but the makeshift line-up coped well until all three players came on in the second half and normal service was somewhat resumed. We competed well for the duration which was the most important thing. We held together and kept our shape and Paul Harvey did well in keeping things simple in the middle of the park. And that's what we need to do. We need to keep things basic in the middle of the park and play short, crisp passes. It's ok to play the odd long ball but as has been said, that's not going to work all the time, so the play needs to be varied more. What's ironic is that before every game, Kenny Brannigan has the players playing passing movements in the warm-up yet we rarely see such ground-play during the match. It was a good team performance on Tuesday, and there were no real standouts because everyone mucked in and gave their all. More of that and we'll see a lot more smiles on the faces of fans who have found it hard recently to motivate themselves to go to long-distance away games. But those who saw us play at Links know that there's the potential in the side. The team could just be lacking a bit of chemistry or direction. A confidence boost was needed and I reckon the team got one. There's still room for improvement, certainly. Defensively we are pretty excellent. Derek Scrimgour, the fans' player of the night, is one of the best goalies in the lower leagues and Agostini, Sinclair, Fallon and Moffat are as good as any stoppers in the league. The midfield, on paper anyway, has potential. Clark and Reilly are the guys who the fans hoped would be the creative sparks this season. Sadly this hasn't happened as much as it probably should have. Reilly has had his discipline problems and Clark, who made such a brilliant start, has looked very unsure in recent times. Stuart Kettlewell, however, has been as consistent a player as any this season, and is at least trying to take some responsibility on the pitch. For such a young man, he is willing to take the reins when we are struggling. He sets a fine example. Width wise we are lacking something. Davie McCallum's injury problems have left us lacking something out left that we had in abundance last year with Jimmy Allan playing. Danny Ferry is always good to have out on the right, where he is more comfortable. Some more stability on the flanks could help us create more chances. Up front, there shouldn't really be a problem, to be honest. Steven McAuley is a terrific youngster who needs a bit more service. There are goals in him - he just needs more service. Same goes for Ally Graham, who is the home fans' central figure for stick. Well, he was good against Montrose and kept their defence occupied. Whatever anyone says, the man does care about Queen's and the fans and even though he's not the most consistent of players, when he's at his best he's a good player to have. He needs a goal in the league, though, and he should have a pop at goal more often because he has a good shot on him. Frankie Carroll was excellent also. Never giving up, Frankie is a great example of a player who just gets on with the game. So there we have it. It's a real shame that the players have yet to gel properly yet and that we haven't put the good, short passing in training into practise. However, Saturday's game against East Stirling is as good a chance as any to get the ball down and pass the ball on our excellent surface. There will rightly be concern if we don't get a result, but after having initial doubts I think we should give everyone at the club a chance and then review the situation at the end of the season. Our season is over and the best we can do now is look at what we have and how we can improve for next term. Player Ratings: Scrimgour 8, Canning 7 (Agostini 7), Sinclair 7, Carroll 7, Thompson 6, Kettlewell 7 (Whelan 7), Fallon 7, Gallagher 7, McAuley 7 (Ferry 6), Harvey 7, Graham 7 Man of the Match: Derek Scrimgour Match Ratings: *** Allez Les Hoops!! |