| Arbroath |
| Queen's Park |
| 1 |
| 1 |
| (Raeside) |
| (Weatherston) |
| Another battling midweek performance from Queen's enabled them to keep their four-point lead over Arbroath intact, and that they did was worthy of a sigh of relief and a wide grin. Queen's were very poor during the first half and went in at the break a goal down, yet it would have been worse had David Crawford not saved McCulloch's penalty shortly before half-time. Crawford made at least two marvellous saves during the second half, but Queen's were rejuvenated in the second period, equalised, missed a penalty themselves, and had good spells of pressure. By the end of the game, it was Queen's who were enjoying possession, content to keep the ball but still occasionally threatening a winner. But be under no illusions - this is a very good result for Queen's, our second vital point in the space of four days; and in that time, we have held off our two closest rivals. There were two changes to the team that had secured that breathless draw with Elgin, Quinn and Murray replacing Harvey and Trouten, both of whom appeared to have been dropped. That two of the team's most gifted players were not involved certainly caught the eye, and indeed Queen's did miss Harvey's ability to calm things down during the first half. We started badly with a goal given away in only the 6th minute, and once again it was our inability to defend corners that was at the root of it. Paton was forced to divert the ball behind the goal following an Arbroath break, and when the corner came over, Crawford rose and could only palm the ball as far as Raeside. With the defence stationary, the defender struck his shot at goal, and Queen's could not prevent the ball hitting the back of the net. It took a good while for Queen's to look cohesive and make attacks, although Arbroath were hardly dominant. It was clear however that they were fired up to win, and they did have the better of things early on. In the 16th minute McMullen's drive from the edge of the box flew narrowly over. The first reminder of Willie Hornby's complete incompetence (remember the Mick Dunlop red card?) came in the 36th minute, when the referee booked McMullen for impeding Crawford at a cross when there was very little in the way of a challenge. From then until half-time he would be the game's central figure with a series of disputed decisions. Just a minute after this booking, Weatherston raced into the box for the first time, trying to fend off Raeside, but fell to the ground as his shot trickled past the near post. He certainly seemed to have been held, but Hornby saw nothing. Two minutes later, and perhaps Queen's first well-constructed move climaxed in Weatherston heading the ball dangerously across goal with Clark lurking, but Hornby blew for a foul when nothing seemed amiss. The Queen's support were already blazing with anger then when Hornby awarded Arbroath a spot-kick four minutes from the break. He decided that Reilly's tackle on McCulloch just inside the box was illegal, but the defender had certainly taken the ball in the process. McCulloch himself stepped up, but David Crawford is certainly a better bet at penalties than he is with corners and he dived to his right to push the ball away. A goal there would probably have put the game beyond Queen's, so was it any wonder that Queen's returned from half-time a revitalised side. Still it took a while for them to get fully into stride though, and Arbroath could well have scored in the 48th minute. Quinn missed the ball badly in his box, and from a tight angle Taylor's drive was deflected away by Crawford. Quinn had been very disappointing up until now, but thankfully he would enjoy a better second half as the game went on. Eight minutes into the half Crawford had to be sharp again to parry an Arbroath shot following a corner. By this point Queen's were a good deal livelier in midfield, and they would equalise five minutes later with what was their first proper shot of the game. Weatherston brought the ball down majestically in the Arbroath half from a high ball forward, and laid the ball back to Clark. Ross swung a superb pass over to Davie as he switched to the left, and he gathered to run in on goal, shooting with his left foot from just outside the box, from where the ball squeezed beyond Inglis and in at his right-hand post. The goal sparked Queen's to life and we took a grip on proceedings for the next ten minutes or so. Tommy Murray had struggled to get involved, but his shot in the 66th minute was a rasper, out of nowhere, and Inglis had to tip the ball smartly round the post. Queen's forced another corner following this one, and when Dunlop managed to drive a shot at goal, the ball was clearly stopped on the line by a defender's hand. The referee pointed to the spot, but took no action against the Arbroath defender; indeed there was bemusement as to the exact reason that Hornby had given the penalty. It may have been that Weatherston, who had been hovering, was pulled back, and from the timing of the whistle and the failure to red-card the handball culprit, this seems likely. When the penalty was taken, Reilly could do no better than put it tamely to the right of Inglis, who had little difficulty saving. To see Reilly so nervy when taking a kick was strange, and it caused him to lose his 100% record from the spot for Queen's. He's been a fine penalty scorer and long may he continue to step up and take them for Queen's. The disappointment of that miss to the players was obvious and Queen's soon faded as an attacking threat. In the 76th minute Crawford made a fantastic save to deny McMullen from the edge of the area, when he seemed poised to score. Four minutes later Miller charged through but he lashed his effort easily past the post. Queen's introduced Paul Harvey for Murray in the 78th minute, and he would get to see plenty of the ball in the last few minutes as Queen's took the upper hand. Looking composed and determined, Queen's maintained possession for good spells, and while they couldn't pierce Arbroath, what mattered is that they kept the ball away from them. It was a mature way to play and a very encouraging end to the game. The draw suited Queen's, and with games against East Stirling and Albion Rovers within the next week there is a real chance to extend the lead over Arbroath, whose next few games are tougher, in theory at least. The important thing is that we're grinding out results again. Arbroath: Neil Inglis, Steven Rennie, Marc McCulloch, Robbie Raeside, Iain Dobbins, Kevin McMullen (Chris Jackson 87), Scott Taylor, Greig Miller, Paul Watson, Gavin Swankie (John Voight 60), Roddy Black (Andy Reilly 60). Substitutes not used: Jay Stein, Cargill. Booked: McMullen, Miller. Goal: Raeside 6. Queen's Park: David Crawford, Paul Paton, Mick Dunlop, Steven Reilly, Richard Sinclair, Ross Clark, Stuart Kettlewell, Tony Quinn, David Weatherston (Bryan Felvus 85), Tommy Murray (Paul Harvey 78), Mark Ferry. Substitutes not used: Jonny Whelan, John Weir, Mark Cairns. Booked: Paton. Goal: Weatherston 58. Referee: Willie Hornby. Attendance: 520. |