| CLUB NEWS |
| 30 August Harvey to join? It has been reported that Paul Harvey is to complete his move to Queen's Park before Sunday evening. And Kenny Brannigan has been snooping around on the trail of others, missing out on Chris Newall of Wishaw who chose to join Arbroath. Incidentally, former Queen's Park goalkeeper Tony Mitchell yesterday made his debut for the Red Lichties in their draw with Hamilton. 30 August Queen's Park 0 Stirling Albion 2 - capsized For the first time this season, Queen's failed to register a goal, but, far worse, came not even remotely near to getting one. Last week's performance against Albion Rovers was bad but if anything Queen's surpassed themselves this afternoon. With no defeats in their previous eight games against Queen's, Allan Moore's team seem able to read Queen's like a book though, if being honest, this was a Queen's team of the Famous Five as opposed to War and Peace variety. Youngsters John Thompson and Derek Carcary made their first starts and tried manfully but the blame for the poor showing rests with older heads such as Ferry and Moffat whose contributions were minimal. On the other hand, for an amateur team to lose six players to injury and suspension who would otherwise have been playing creates a large obstacle to be overcome and this cannot be ignored. Not that this justifies the errors that allowed Stirling to settle the match with two goals. 28 August Queen's Park vs. Stirling Albion Without a win in eight games against the Albion, Queen's may take the field on Saturday without a similar number of players. Ally Graham and Steven Reilly are both suspended after their red-cards against Albion Rovers, Agostini is injured, McCallum may well still be injured, Carroll is not fully ready it seems, Stuart Kettlewell has injured ( broken? ) his wrist and... well there might be a couple of others, I don't know. Ross Clark missed last week with that most serious injury of them all - work commitments - but could be back in the team to face Stirling. It is no exaggeration to say that his absence, along with that of Agostini, was the difference between a clear defeat and a far closer game at Cliftonhill. Currently Stirling lead Queen's by three points, having won their last two games, at Stranraer and at home to East Stirling. A 5-1 win over the Shire is routine nowadays but their win at Stair Park is unarguably the more significant of the two, and suggests that the combination Allan Moore has put together this season has greater mettle than last year's mid-table outfit. One thing they always seemed capable of last season was beating Queen's Park, and had it not been for John Gemmell's glorious last-gasp header at Hampden in April it would have been a complete whitewash for Stirling. The other 3 meetings all ended 1-0, though inevitably Queen's could actually have won at least 2 of those games had they been more convincing in front of goal. Saturday's game is one Queen's need to gain a result from to prevent a dismaying slide down the table, but personnel is certainly stretched. Kenny Brannigan could decide to move for new signings ahead of the transfer deadline at midnight on Monday, but there have been no indications so far. Paul Harvey has been around the club for several weeks now, being substituted against Gretna and seen in the stand at Hampden for the Elgin game and at Cliftonhill as well. His capture would add another much-needed experienced player but a lack of fitness has been the main barrier to his signing. Defensively Queen's will probably be unchanged, Paddy Gallagher or Steven Canning ( the latter having looked sharp against Rovers ) will come into midfield, but up-front could witness a complete rethink. Graham is out, and he was largely invisible last week, but there was no hiding place for David Menelaws whose performance was frankly desperate. All things being equal he would be dropped, but given the lack of fit, available options Brannigan has he could well play. Young Derek Carcary seems a bit of a player and further appearances for him over the coming weeks will be valuable learning for a player who looks to have enough ability, if not stature, to begin games now. 24 August Albion Rovers 3 Queen's Park 1 After a relatively promising start, Saturday's match in Coatbridge ended in disarray for Queen's Park with two-men sent-off and Rovers given free rein to attack Queen's with the high ball. Without the commanding Agostini to contend with, Mark Yardley was able to punish a nervy Queen's Park defence, exposing Steven Moffat's aerial weakness and Derek Scrimgour's poor positioning and lack of confidence when dealing with crosses. He netted the opener; an astounding Farrell free-kick made it two, and Smith's volley sealed the points, with substitute Canning's goal barely enough to raise a cheer amongst the large support through from Glasgow. Queen's now lie fourth in the table. 21 August Cliftonhill match could be key to season It may be dismissed as mere hyperbole, but Saturday's match against Albion Rovers at Cliftonhill could well have a big bearing on the season. Should any sort of challenge from Queen's Park be in the offing, an early run of victories would go a long way. Our recent record at Rovers's ground is a cause for hope, with two wins there last season, both by 2-0. Even better would be a return for David McCallum, sidelined for the last two games with a hamstring injury, and for Frankie Carroll, who knows a thing or two about crucial goals. Queen's shade it slightly in the head-to-head record of the two teams in league games: 48 wins to 44, with 49 matches having been drawn. One of our most important ever wins at Cliftonhill happened on 7 January 1956, in the midst of a B Division championship-winning season. Queen's demolished the home side 6-0, with C. Church scoring four of the goals. The title eventually came to Hampden by a three-point margin, Queen's seeing off the challenges of Ayr United and St. Johnstone. Albion Rovers would finish third-bottom of the 19-club league. 16 August Queen's Park 5 Elgin City 2 - questions answered This was a thoroughly emphatic win for Queen's Park, a pleasing performance from a confident team in the Hampden heat. Referee Iain Fyfe awarded Queen's three penalties during the match, all correct decisions, and Steven Reilly took and scored all three, the first Queen's player to do so since Gerry Colgan in a match at Hampden on 18 September 1976, against Brechin. Any lingering questions about the quality within the Queen's team have been answered, most clinically by the ten-pass move which resulted in Johnny Whelan slamming the ball past Pirie for the fifth goal. Sure, Elgin were already beaten at this point, and the defence could have been tighter at times in the game, but provided Queen's convert chances as they did today, a win at Cliftonhill next week could be on the cards, with our hopes for the season increasing even more if that happens. |