| CLUB NEWS |
| 15 August Queen's Park vs. Elgin City - a win could be a launchpad Without a home win since 21 December, a 3-2 win over tomorrow's opponents, Queen's should be in no doubts about the importance of this match. The team has performed well in losing narrowly to St. Mirren and securing a draw at Gretna, but a win is now required if we are to have any realistic hope of a challenge this season. In the last two seasons, Queen's have left it too late to gain momentum and have been forced to salvage pride from underachievement. Now is time for some of the doubts to be dispelled and a winning display to be served up. Elgin are beatable opponents; the eight previous matches in the league between the teams have yielded three Queen's wins, three draws and two wins for the northerners. Now managed by David Robertson, Elgin have brought Willie Martin and Jamie White on board, as well as Alex Bone and John Allison, amongst others. Martin and White are likely to start against their old club. A win over East Stirling on the opening day put them top, but it should only be temporary. A lot more work will be required before Elgin can seriously contemplate promotion, and for Queen's this is an ideal first home fixture. As fitness goes, Queen's still have problems. David McCallum will sit it out again with his hamstring injury, and in addition to Steven Fallon, Richard Sinclair is now doubtful. On the bench should be 22 year-old goalkeeper Brian McCue, signed from Dunfermline. 11 August League Cup draw Inverness Caledonian Thistle will be Queen's Park's opponents in the first round of the tournament, on a date yet to be decided. The official website has said that it is likely to be Tuesday 2 September, so it probably won't be switched to the free Saturday on 6 September; Scotland play the Faroe Islands at Hampden that day, but the SFL will probably want all First Round ties completed by the other scheduled date of 3 September so a shifting of the game is unlikely. 9 August Millionaires stumble In a tight match at Raydale Park, Queen's gained a well deserved point thanks to Frankie Carroll's injury time equaliser. In beautiful footballing conditions, the game was fought with all the eagerness of opening day spirit and a draw was probably the correct result. It was an encouraging display from Brannigan's men and the team can now look forward with confidence to next week's home encounter with Elgin. 8 August Gretna vs. Queen's Park - intriguing game to start with Last week's narrow defeat against St. Mirren certainly whetted the appetite for the league season ahead. If that game was anything to go by, Queen's seem to have rid themselves of the 'poor start to the season' syndrome but this can only be proved by playing well in tomorrow's game. Gretna have received nearly as much publicity this close-season as they did last year and while not all of it has reflected well on the club, it will surely have increased the awareness of the local community and a relatively large crowd should turn out tomorrow. They won't have been helped on any score however by their crushing defeat against Inverness last Saturday. The Queen's squad suffered two injuries last week: David McCallum pulled his hamstring and Stevie Fallon hurt his thigh. Both will be missing at Raydale Park. However, Johnny Whelan and Frankie Carroll are back, and apparently there will be a trialist in the 16. This may be a goalkeeper, as only Scrimgour is registered just now and there was no keeper on the bench at Love Street. Queen's enjoyed a good record against Gretna last season, winning three of the five matches and being unlucky not to get more from the other two. The last meeting of the teams at Raydale Park was on 15 March, when a David McCallum drive in stoppage time sealed a 1-0 win for Queen's. The crowd that day was 320, but this should be increased by a hundred or two tomorrow. 2 August St. Mirren 3 Queen's Park 2 - 28 years, then this If this match is to provide something of a leitmotif for the rest of Queen's Park's season, then let's hope that only the first 89 minutes are taken into consideration. With their tails clearly raised from the start, Queen's hassled St. Mirren, tearing at them indeed, in the opening 20 minutes and scored twice. Somewhere along the line though, either through accident or misguided design, the defence, and midfield, sat deep in their own half, sacrificing the majority of the possession to an increasingly desperate St. Mirren team. We were blessed with an inspirational defence, of which Damiano Agostini was the outstanding exponent, nullifying St. Mirren's raids, albeit often by the skin of their teeth. An almighty victory looked really possible, but no-one could have been seriously surprised when Richard Sinclair, the weak-link of the defence, brought down McGinty, and a penalty was awarded, then converted, with just one minute left. In all fairness to Sinclair it was hardly a stick-on award, but the result was no longer in real doubt. St. Mirren triumphed in extra-time, leaving Queen's to nurse their shattered bodies and minds after a huge cup-tie effort that so nearly brought unexpected rewards. 1 August St. Mirren vs. Queen's Park - Bell's Cup, First Round Firstly, clarification of the player issues that had still to be resolved before the season started. Steven Canning has, as hoped, agreed to stay with the club, and is likely to be in the squad for tomorrow's match at Paisley. There has been no communication on Chris Fisher, but as we suggested some time ago on the site, Craig Taggart has left. The midfielder's total number of appearances was limited to six starts and five from the bench, failing to make the sort of impact his previous record suggested he was capable of. Frankly few will cry over his departure. And to round off, Scott Murdoch has indeed been signed, but solely as a coach. St. Mirren have not played Queen's Park for a remarkably long time - since 1975 - and it was Queen's who won that time, 3-0 away on New Year's Day 1975. The last cup-tie between the sides happened on 26 October 1946, in the final League Cup sectional match for the teams. St. Mirren won 2-0 at Love Street. Queen's do tend to be a better team in away matches than those at Hampden, especially in cup-matches. St. Mirren have flung together a whole new set of players and some stalwarts of the last hideous season, and finding an immediate blend will be difficult. Also their entire focus is unlikely to be on a game in the most minor of the four tournaments, against a supposedly poor team from the Third Division. These factors give Queen's a definite chance, and a walkover for the Buddies is definitely not to be expected. Even so, Queen's still shouldn't win this match - St. Mirren have undoubtedly a superior class of player, while Queen's always struggle to score and questions remain about the watertightness of the defence. Derek Scrimgour is due to make his debut against his old team, as at present he is the only signed keeper on the books. You would have imagined that Kenny Brannigan would have been a tad swifter in securing back-up this week, but that hasn't happened and so either a trialist or under-18 goalkeeper will be on the bench. In other areas the team is at reasonable strength, with a depth of midfielders offsetting the absences of Quinn and Whelan ( who will be working ). Frankie Carroll, having not played against such a standard for years, is not likely to be fit enough to start, so Ally Graham and David Menelaws will probably play up front. The defence picks itself, the midfield is open to guesswork, depending on who ( or whether ) Brannigan decides to play as wingers. Canning is possible on the left, with either Dunning or Ferry on the right, allowing Kettlewell, Clark and Steven Reilly to occupy midfield. Always assuming that the coach sticks with a 3-5-2 / 3-4-3 system. |
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