| CLUB NEWS |
| June 2007 14th: Fixtures published Once again Queen's Park will be at home on the opening day of the league season. Brechin City will be the visitors for our first Second Division match in 6 years on 4th August. The first away game is at Somerset Park, for our first league match against Ayr United since a 1-1 draw on the 20th of February 1988. And we'll be at Cowdenbeath again on the last day of the campaign. The full fixture list is here. Only David Crawford has not signed up for next season's squad (along with Frankie Carroll and David Weatherston, of course). Stuart Kettlewell and Paul Paton were the last to agree, following some interest from other clubs in the Second Division. There have been reports of further interest in Kettlewell, but it's clear now that only a very good offer from an SPL or upper-First Division club could see him leave. May 2007 David Weatherston has completed a move to St. Johnstone- who, according to boss Owen Coyle, have been tracking him all season. There was interest in David from at least 3 SPL clubs, including Dundee United, and a firm offer was tabled by one of those. However David clearly felt St. Johnstone were the club for him, and given Owen Coyle's comments, that isn't surprising. The Saints manager sounded very enthusiastic about Weatherston's signing, yet was remaining sensible in not promoting him too much. Indeed, Coyle's whole approach to the transfer seems to have been very professional indeed. Queen's will obviously miss Weatherston yet no-one will have any grudges against him for leaving. Indeed he will be remembered as a hero, the utterly deserving player of the year and (though everyone played a mighty part) the main author of the 5th promotion triumph in the club's history. He dazzled fans and opponents alike last season, scoring 18 goals. In short, he was a star, and I have every confidence that he will prove a star in the First Division as well. With Frankie Carroll also departing, Queen's will need to make moves to strengthen in attack. However, the word is that the vast majority of the squad will be staying, and I believe that certain players have already had their place in the squad for 2007/08 confirmed. April 2007 27th: Play-off first leg will be at Hampden on Tuesday The Scottish Football League have agreed to Queen's Park request that the first, home leg of our play-off semi-final tie be brought forward from Wednesday to Tuesday evening. This will allow the game to take place at Hampden; Wednesday was ruled out for the use of Hampden since UEFA will commandeer the stadium for two weeks from that date, prior to the final of the UEFA Cup. Queen's will play either Arbroath or Stranraer in the semi-final, if we finish third of fourth respectively. As could have been predicted from a man who has personally refused access to QPTV cameras at Gayfield this season, John McGlashan declared himself 'hacked off' at the change of date, complaining that it has thrown Arbroath's preparations into chaos. To my mind, Queen's Park were well within their rights to seek a change of date, given that we would personally have been put at a disadvantage if we were unable to play at our home ground (effectively handing us two away legs, which we will still have to face in the final should we get there). However, the episode illustrates the difficulties a club faces when it has next to no say in the running of its own ground and the scheduling of events there. That the change has come late is undeniable and McGlashan has a case; especially given that he still does not know if his side will be playing on Tuesday or on Wednesday (they will play East Fife on Wednesday should East Fife win and we lose tomorrow). Obviously, Arbroath's players are part-time and having already arranged to have Wednesday off, will now potentially have to ask their employers for Tuesday instead. However, the same applied to the Queen's Park players who did not know until yesterday whether they would be playing on Tuesday or Wednesday. Some will have time off, but others, as was no doubt the case for the home midweek game against Shire a few weeks ago, will not. The SFL have made the right and fair decision; but ideally it is one that would, and should, have been taken weeks ago. 22nd: Weatherston deprived of Player of the Year award Sadly the weekend didn't finish on the highest possible note for Queen's. The Third Division player of the year was announced as being Scott Chaplain of Albion Rovers, the midfielder who has scored 20 goals this season, and so David Weatherston missed out. Chaplain has had a fine season, but in terms of sheer star quality, Weatherston would have been a worthier winner. There isn't a more exciting player in the country and Queen's will surely lose him in the summer. However, he did win the one that mattered; QPSA Player of the Year at last night's packed ceremony in the Social Club. David also picked up the Young Spiders award, while Kettlewell and Agostini took the club and travel club awards respectively. There was also a special award to mark David Crawford's recent achievement of seven successive clean sheets: a club record. Stuart Kettlewell and Paul Paton also joined David Weatherston in the SPFA Third Division team of the year, giving Queen's more players in the XI than any other club managed. Not a bad weekend then, given that Queen's finally secured their play-off place yesterday with a commanding 3-0 win over Elgin at Hampden. The second goal, by David Weatherston but created by Carroll and Ferry, would have been a goal of the season contender had it been scored a few weeks ago. However, the eventual winner (polled from only 32 votes in total) was Paul Paton's solo strike versus East Stirling in the Challenge Cup back in August. February 2007 3rd: Hampden XI finish for another season While their big brothers were struggling to a draw with second-placed East Fife, the Hampden XI exited the Amateur Cup with a disappointing 2-0 defeat at Lesser Hampden to Inverclyde Amateurs. Lesser has recently been refurbished, with the dressing rooms luxuriously fitted out and bedecked in Queen's colours, but that obviously inspired the visitors who opened the scoring inside half a minute. January 2007 25th: Transfer window departures Tommy Murray and Michael Keenan have both left the club, and seem set for a return to the amateur league ranks. Murray had recently stepped back into the side but, although he remained a trier and tackled everything in sight, he made far too many basic mistakes, and it may be that the failure of his re-introduction convinced both manager and player that it was time to part company. Murray made 9 starts and 12 substitute appearances, beginning with the October 2005 win over Elgin and scoring his only goal in the East Fife success 2 weeks later. He is now likely to return to Drumchapel Amateurs. Keenan saw even less first-team action, but he did play a part in the League Cup triumph over Hamilton Accies, if only for the last 2 minutes of extra-time. In fact he only played one other minute for the first XI, against Dumbarton in the 1-0 Hampden win, and so actually finished with a 100% win rate. 6th: Scottish Amateur Cup: Queen's Park 1 Kilsyth 0 Due to the Scottish Cup third round, the first team had no match yesterday, but Queen's did have a fourth round tie in the Scottish Amateur Cup to play. Billy Stark had clearly requested that Paul Paton and Alan Trouten, back from suspension, get some match practise, so Paton was slotted into the centre of defence by under-19s coach Robert Kelly, while Trouten played in midfield alongside Paul Cairney. Barring goalkeeper Zander Cowie, the rest of the team was made up of under-19s, and one of them, young Smith, scored the only goal early in the match. Queen's should have added more but were hampered by the absence of any linesmen; time and time again our quick, impulsive front-men sped away from ageing defenders only for the referee to signal for offside. Queen's were not as impressive as in the earlier game I'd seen in the tournament, a 4-0 second round win at Corkerhill, but still went through fairly comfortably. Crazy as it might sound, you'll be able to see the full match on QPTV from later in the week, with commentary provided by Martin Kelly and diehard supporter Michael Cameron. He was one of only six Queen's fans at the Corkerhill tie. October 2006 19th: Back to Brechin in the Scottish Cup Queen's have been handed a tough trip to Brechin City in the first round of this season's Scottish Cup. However, having already eliminated Hamilton and Aberdeen from cup tournaments this season, Queen's should have little really to fear from the Second Division side. Last time we faced Brechin was in the unforgettable Challenge Cup semi-final of 2002. We haven't visited Glebe Park since a 5-0 thumping there the previous season, and haven't faced them in the Scottish Cup for nearly 50 years. In fact we've barely won there at all in 25 years. But we're better against better opponents- and Brechin are hardly that superior that they could better us in terms of sheer quality. If we do get past them (and the tie is due for 18 November), we'll be at home in the Second Round to either Preston Athletic or Stenhousemuir. A story appeared in today's Daily Express suggesting that Peter Grant was keen on appointing Billy Stark as his assistant manager after taking over at Norwich City. However, at his press conference this morning, Grant explicitly stated that he would be keeping the existing backroom staff on, and that "everyone here will be given a chance." So at worst it seems Billy would be in Grant's thoughts for the future- but he could surely do better than assistant manager at a struggling club in any case. He's doing better than that right now in fact. September 2006 17th: McGinty gone Defender Andy McGinty has signed for junior outfit Cumbernauld United. The big man never held down a first-team place for too long at Hampden and had not played at all this season. He might not have been composed enough to make it for Queen's but he should certainly be a decent junior player. An interview with Billy Stark appeared in today's Sunday Herald, where Billy talks of the impact the Aberdeen triumph has had on the club, and tells an amusing story of the South American international who slipped from our grasp. Remember that the League Cup showdown with Motherwell will be played on Wednesday, with kick-off at 7.45- at Hampden, not Firhill. For the first time the QPTV cameras will be present along with full commentary of the game. This won't be available to view until QPTV is up and running on the internet, but that won't be too long now. Check the official site for updates. August 2006: 17th: Maryhill vibe for QP and Aberdeen; St. Johnstone in the Challenge Cup Our League Cup second round tie against Aberdeen will go ahead at Firhill, Partick Thistle's ground, next Tuesday evening at 7.30. It would seem that epic preparations taking upwards of 3 days are required for the Rolling Stones "performance" at Hampden the following Friday, forcing us to be ejected from our own home. It's a sad but also inevitable state of affairs, given the compromising position Queen's were put in by the Hampden funding debacle 6 years ago. We are now lodgers in our own house, but far too in thrall to history and tradition (as well as the fact that it's a bloody good ground) to think of moving elsewhere. It's unlikely that as many Queen's fans will attend at Firhill as would have gone to Hampden but, with the support treating it as an away game, a more boisterous atmosphere is likely. Meanwhile, over in the Challenge Cup, Queen's have been drawn to face St. Johnstone at McDiarmid Park in the Second Round. The Hoops have not played the Perth club since a league victory at Hampden in 1988, and have never played at their McDiarmid Park ground (which opened a year later). The game also provides Billy Stark with the chance to embarass his former employers; Billy was sacked by St. Johnstone towards the end of the 2003/04 season after just over 3 years in charge. 10th: Queen's to tackle Aberdeen, but where? Queen's Park's reward for Tuesday's fantastic extra-time win over Hamilton is a home second round tie against SPL side Aberdeen. However, it is as yet uncertain that the game can be played at Hampden, as preparations will need to be made for the Rolling Stones gig at the ground on Friday 25th August - while the League Cup game must take place on either the 22nd or 23rd. Already, the Robbie Willams concerts at the beginning of September have forced both the switching of Scotland's first European Championship qualifier to Celtic Park and the reversal of our home game with Berwick the day after. Queen's last met Aberdeen in the tournament in 1996/97, when goals from Glass and Windass in either half gave the Dons a 2-0 win at Hampden. Before that, we ran them very close in 1990, also at Hampden, when a Mick Hendry goal had Queen's level at the break. Aberdeen eventually won 2-1, but it was an impressive result considering Aberdeen were the tournament holders at the time. 4th: Trio Sign Queens have secured the signings of three players just in time for tomorrow's opening day fixture against Arbroath. Ex- Stirling Albion and Partick Thistle forward Robert Dunn, 27, joins Paul Ronald from Dumbarton, and youngster Michael Keenan from Busby amateurs. Dunn, who bagged 8 goals for Stirling last season, and Ronald will provide experience in attack, and Keenan has been marked down by Stark as one for the future. Both Ronald and Keenan had featured in pre season matches as trialists. Out of the new arrivals, Paul Ronald is the most likely to start, but Queens will have to do without the services of Paul Paton and Steven Reilly, who are both serving suspensions picked up on the last day of last season against Berwick, 2nd: Queen's Park XI 0 Queen of the South 4 A Strollers side crashed to defeat at the hands of First Division Queen of the South on Tuesday night. At a rain-soaked Lesser Hampden, former Spider John O'Neill gave the visitors the lead, and things only deteriorated after that for Queen's. Mark Cairns was an onlooker as Andy Thomson (twice) and Michael Mullen scored further goals in the second half. Still, the result is hardly to be taken too seriously as just a few of the Queen's team are likely to line up against Arbroath on Saturday. Team: Cairns, Paton, Molloy, Reilly, Daly, Keenan, Cairney, Whelan, Carroll, Ronald, McClory. July 2006: 31st: Goodbye to the Doctor Kevin Proctor has left Queen's Park with less than a week left until the start of the new season. The striker was signed in October last year and quickly became very popular with a small section of the QP support. Yet he never fully established himself in the team, despite his qualities and our goalscoring problems. In total he scored 2 goals from 6 starts and 4 sub appearances last season, and played only in the Eppendorf game during the trip to Germany. All at the Queen's Park Fansite wish Kevin all the best in the years ahead. 25th: Wattenscheid: 'best week ever' Queen's fans and players returned from Germany on Sunday night; the former completely whacked out and with no idea how they'll be ready for the start of the season, and the latter the complete opposite (though after last Saturday night...) The week was a near-total success, with the only slight blip being a defeat to our hosts on Saturday by 3-1, but the never-ending party that took place afterwards back in the town more than made up for that. Many thanks go to the supporters of SG Wattenscheid 09, whose unwavering support, kindness and assistance throughout the week went above and beyond the normal call of duty. We couldn't have done it without you. lads. No really, we couldn't; most of us would be still be staggering around somewhere in Bochum if it wasn't for you, always assuming we'd have been able to get there in the first place. As for the games,I can only apologise for the lack of fuller match details, but I may be able to dribble out a bit more of them in the next few days. Briefly; Queen's had an easy win over Eppendorf on the Monday evening in a match played on the home team's artificial pitch. The final score was 4-1, and an under-strength Queen's team had little trouble even if the home team scored the best goal of the game. Gunnigfeld on the Wednesday were harder to break down, but two cool finishes from David Weatherston early in the second half stunned them, and Richard Bowers headed in a third. That made for decent preparation for the showdown with Wattenscheid, but in the searing heat, which had slowed everybody else down all week, the players too succumbed and went down 3-1 to two late goals. Mick Dunlop had levelled for us with a header around the half-hour mark. In the meantime, the draws for the opening rounds of the League and Challenge Cups have been made, and highly predictable they were too. Queen's have been drawn against the same opposition, at the same places, as last season, though the tournaments have been reversed. So it's Hamilton at home in the League Cup, and East Stirling away in the Challenge version. 9th: Queen's Park 1 Motherwell 3 Queen's kicked off their pre-season itinerary yesterday with a closed-door defeat at the hands of Motherwell. Frankie Carroll was back in a strong starting XI, which read as follows: Crawford, Paton, Dunlop, Agostini (McGinty), Sinclair, Canning (Weatherston), Kettlewell (Trialist), Quinn (Whelan), Carroll (Trialist), Trouten (Bowers), Ferry. Motherwell were two goals to the good after 35 minutes, Richie Foran and Scott McDonald scoring just as they did in last season's game between the teams. Steven Canning pulled one back a few minutes before the break, but Clarkson secured the win for Well with a goal 20 minutes from time. Thanks to qpfc.com for the match details. Our next first team game will come in Germany against Gunnigfeld a week tomorrow, but for those of you who are interested, our under-19s will be in action away at Threave Rovers next Saturday, with the game kicking off at 2pm. June 2006 28th: Supporters' AGM The AGM of the Supporters' Association took place tonight in the Social Club, and saw Fraser Gibson join the committee as Events man, with the Communications post now being held jointly by Alex Leggate and Joe Mullaney. Except for the Young Spiders posts, all other positions stayed the same. More interestingly, President Garry Templeman was available to answer questions after the meeting and shed interesting light on a number of topics, including the squad for the new season, the future of Lesser Hampden and Queen's Park's views on the proposed re-structuring of the Scottish League. Here's what he had to say: Bryan Felvus has left the club, seemingly disillusioned with his chances of a place in the starting XI. John Weir has yet to re-sign, but has been working hard over the close season to regain full fitness after a frustrating season, and should be confirmed as a Queen's player soon. Brian McLaughlin is on the verge of joining Stenhousemuir, who were alerted to his availability by press reports of Queen's Park's interest in him. This is the kind of problem Billy Stark simply has to grin and bear; last season, he tried to minimise public knowledge of Queen's Park's interest in players by only playing closed-door friendlies. According to Garry, Billy made 23 attempts to bring players on loan to Queen's last term and was foiled each time. A specific instance was the failure to bring Dene Shields of Gretna (and formerly of Cowdenbeath) to Hampden, although both Rowan Alexander and Brooks Mileson were prepared to let him go. This summer, the club will be trying to secure Kjartan Henry Finnbogason on a second loan contract after his first was rendered worthless because of injury. Signing another frontman is in any case a priority for Billy, along with the capture of another right-sided player. The President spoke of his meeting with one of the leading lights of Glasgow's bid to host the Commonwealth Games in 2014. Queen's concern with this is how funding could be found for Lesser Hampden, in order to lay an artificial surface on the old ground. If this was to happen, all of the club's training could then be done there, with the possibility of further amenities being laid on. Certainly, this is something the club has been proposing for some time now, but a lack of hard cash and planning drawbacks have made for little progress. In time, if the project was to be given the go-ahead, it would have massive repercussions for Queen's Park -most important of all, we might even get a new Social Club out of it! Garry was asked if the pitch would be relaid after the forthcoming gigs at Hampden involving the Rolling Stones and Robbie Williams, and stated that this would indeed happen. Supposedly, the new surface should be ready within days, but may mean that Queen's would have to decamp elsewhere should they be drawn at home in one of the cups. However, we would have had to get beyond the first couple of rounds of either in order for this to become an issue. Already, the Berwick game, scheduled, ludicrously, for Hampden on Sunday 3rd September, has been swapped with the away trip on 28th October in order to accomodate Williams. When it came to the First Division clubs and their desperate attempts to escape the League, Templeman was contemptuous, dismissing the document detailing their plans as childish and impractical. Each First Division team, with the notable exception of Gretna, has put their name to this document as they make plain their desire to scrap for that little bit more of the SPL leftovers. 22nd: Queen's kick-off with Arbroath The league season begins on Saturday 5th August and Queen's will face Arbroath at Hampden on that day - a side that we failed to beat last term and who eventually beat us to a play-off place. Retribution will thus be sought, straight from the first kick. The full fixture list is available here. Our next matches will take place in Germany as the club embark on a pre-season tour, with the trip culminating in a game against our new second team, SG Wattenscheid 09, on Saturday 22nd July. A number of supporters will be making the journey for sporting and cultural purposes and a full diary of their activities will be posted as soon as the plane lands at Prestwick on our return. Bribes will be welcomed. 7th: Billy Stark after ex-Celtic player? According to one of today's tabloids, Billy Stark is interested in bringing the former Celtic winger Brian McLaughlin to Hampden. The 32 year-old played for Queen of the South during the last 2 seasons, making 38 starts in that time and scoring 4 goals, and his signing would add much experience to a pretty young Queen's team. Of course, Billy previously worked with McLaughlin when he was manager of St. Johnstone, and played a part in his time at Celtic when he was assistant to Tommy Burns at Parkhead. May 2006: 17th: Ross Clark leaves Ross Clark has agreed a 2-year contract with Alloa Athletic days after that club secured Second Division status for next season. Ross began last season for Queen's in the right-back area and put in some sterling performances, but the emergence of Paul Paton saw his place in the team become less certain. For most of the second half of the season Ross played in midfield or even occasionally in attack, where he wasn't really suited - yet having said that, he scored the winner at, of all places, Berwick after coming off the bench to go up front. Clark was well-known for his wholehearted style and scored some superb goals for Queen's, especially his strikes against Stirling Albion and East Fife in 2004. In total he scored 12 for the club in 140 appearances, including those as a substitute. With his loss, and Harvey's imminent retiral, it looks likely that Billy Stark will seek to strengthen the midfield area of the team for next season. 12th: Third time lucky for Frankie Frankie Carroll has signed for Queen's Park for the third time and becomes Billy Stark's first signing for next season. Frankie had left Queen's to join Stenhousemuir last summer following his most prolific ever season, having scored 16 goals as Queen's finished fourth in the league. It's fair to say that Queen's sorely missed that kind of goal supply last season, and Frankie's return is most welcome; a whole-hearted player who is far more of a penalty box striker than anyone we had over the course of the last season. As far as I'm aware, he also becomes the first player to join Queen's Park on 3 separate occasions. With the notable exception of Paul Harvey, most members of the squad have agreed to stay on for next season, and it does look increasingly likely that Paul will choose to retire. He gave us many great moments, and was a blatant cut above anyone else at this level when on form. Probably his finest hour came when he netted an astonishing goal against Albion Rovers at Cliftonhill last year, before famously turning round and displaying four fingers to the delirious away support. He was voted Player of the Year by the supporters last season and was undoubtedly the key player in the team. Had he not been lacking in full fitness for much of this season, Queen's might just have made the play-offs, striker or no striker. Particularly pleasing is that Steven Reilly has decided his future lies at Hampden. The tough defender has just enjoyed a fine season and was reportedly a target for Airdrie, Kenny Brannigan and all. It's testament to the spirit and hunger of the players to succeed with Queen's Park that he, and so many others, want to keep playing their football here despite the attentions of pro clubs. March 2006: 11th: Queen's Park 3 Elgin City 3 A see-saw match at Hampden yesterday found Queen's somehow escaping with a draw, just when the match looked to have been thrown away. Queen's took the lead early on, and though Elgin equalised, restored their lead early in the second half. However, Elgin were clearly the better of the teams after the break, and swiftly broke into the lead. It took a highly doubtful decision by inept referee John McKendrick to grant Queen's a point; he adjudged Richard Sinclair last minute shot to have been over the line before being headed back out by Nelson. Few agreed, yet Queen's did merit something from an exciting game. Combined with Arbroath's draw at Stenhousemuir, this result maintains the status quo in the fight for the final play-off place. 8th: Berwick Rangers 1 Queen's Park 2 - Queen's come crashing back A thoroughly good performance from Queen's brought about a win at Shielfield last night and restored the belief that Queen's will indeed secure a top four finish. Boosted by the return of our entire established defence, Queen's looked a lot more secure in that area, and while it took a while for any goal threat to materialise, eventually we ended our drought in the second half. David Weatherston was instrumental in both goals, firing home the first just after the break then squaring for sub Ross Clark to blast the winner in seven minutes from time. Queen's now have a six-point lead over Elgin, and keep their four-point advantage over Arbroath. Plus we have revenge over Berwick, which feels as important as anything else. 7th: Berwick tonight Tonight's game at Shielfield looks likely to go ahead, with the pitch having been looked at yesterday. It's a very big game for Queen's, who won on their last visit to Berwick three and a half years ago in the Challenge Cup. Kick-off is at 7.45 pm. Meanwhile, Saturday's postponed Albion Rovers match will now take place on Tuesday 21st March. 3rd: Yet another game off: Cliftonhill will have to wait Tomorrow's match against Albion Rovers has been postponed more than 24 hours before kick-off, apparently due to snow in the Coatbridge area. The weather in Glasgow was relatively mild on Friday, but it seems that the appalling Coatbridge surface is incapable of staging a game when the weather is even slightly inclement. This leaves something of a pile-up of games over the next few midweeks, with Berwick first up this Tuesday, then the re-arranged Arbroath visit, now due for 14th March. The Rovers game will probably be played the week following that but no date has been set yet. What a season it's been; this time we knew the game was off before we'd even got the bus home on Friday, let alone the supporters' bus to the game. February 2006: 26th: Queen's Park 0 Berwick Rangers 1 - another poor show Queen's appear on the verge of blowing their play-off hopes completely after another inept attacking performance. Berwick capitalised on the raggedness of Queen's's makeshift defence to open the scoring in the seventh minute. Both sides missed sitters during the second half but Queen's bluntness in attack was glaring for all to see and is something that must be remedied quickly if we wish to retain our grip on the play-off race. Queen's travel to Arbroath this Tuesday and could be only one point ahead of the home side if they manage to beat us. 20th: Cowdenbeath 6 Queen's Park 0 - Queen's crumble A hammering at Cowdenbeath leaves Queen's just 3 points ahead of Elgin City with two thirds of the season gone. For the third successive game, we failed to score, and in fact doubled our tally of away goals lost this season over the course of just 90 minutes. It would appear that Kjartan Henry Finnbogason will be remaining at Queen's until his loan period ends. The player may be able to make a comeback before the end of the season, and take part in the play-offs should Queen's reach them. 12th: Montrose 0 Queen's Park 0 - two points chucked to the winds Somehow a dominant Queen's side were unable to overcome Montrose at Links Park yesterday, ending the day without a goal despite a stream of chances that flowed for the entire game. Ferry missed 4 good opportunities, Proctor at least 2, and there were other culprits on a highly frustrating day. Queen's Park's main rivals for a play-off spot are now, rather improbably, Elgin City, who defeated Arbroath yesterday to move within 6 points of us (we have played one game less). To compound the anxiety, it looks likely that loan signing Kjartan Henry Finnbogason will be forced to return to Celtic after breaking his foot during training. The player has had consistent problems this term and this would appear to be the final straw in terms of him playing any football this season. It's a big blow for the team, who are crying out for a refreshing change in attack, and a shame for Billy Stark who seemed to have pulled off a real coup in signing the Icelander. 10th: Dunlop banned for 3 games; Billy Stark is Manager of the Month for January In typically brusque and obstructive fashion, the SFA refused to rescind the red card Mick Dunlop was shown against Arbroath despite the glaring video evidence supporting his claim. The SFA's pigheadedness and refusal to see reason will now cost Queen's the services of one of their best players for the next 3 games, beginning with tomorrow's game at Montrose. Steven Reilly will indeed play tomorrow, but will miss the Berwick game on the 25th February as well as next week's match at Cowdenbeath. It is a severe blow for Queen''s to be missing two of our regular defenders and best players for two such huge games, breaking up a defence which has been very tight in recent weeks. Billy Stark has been given the Third Division Manager of the Month award for January, rewarding Queen's fine league form over the last seven games: five wins and two draws. Billy has lifted Queen's into a very strong league position and thoroughly deserves this recognition. 9th: Queen's appeal Dunlop's dismissal Contrary to what I had suggested in my match report, the club have chosen to appeal the red-card shown to Mick Dunlop last Saturday, on the grounds of wrongful dismissal. Presumably, the club's own footage of the match will be used by the SFA to determine their opinion on referee Willie Hornby's decision. Certainly, it appeared to everyone that the referee was incorrect and harsh to send Mick off. Mick will now be available until the appeal is heard, and so will take the field against Montrose on Saturday. Steven Reilly's run of yellow cards has taken him over the points barrier and he will serve a one-match suspension against Cowdenbeath on 18th February. The dates for the re-arranged games at Arbroath and Berwick have now been formally confirmed. Queen's will face Arbroath at Gayfield on 28th February,at 7.45 pm with the trip to Berwick coming a week later (7th March). No kick-off time has been decided as yet for the Berwick game. 5th: Queen's Park 0 Arbroath 0 - good point Queen's extended their unbeaten league run to seven matches and two months with a goalless draw against chief play-off rivals Arbroath, keeping their nine-point lead over the Angus side intact. Queen's performance was very much in the vein of recent weeks, with much commitment but little skill, but this time the number of chances made was sparse. Arbroath were no less determined, knowing a win was a must for them, but they never looked like getting it. Even after the dismissal of Mick Dunlop late on, in a terrible decision by the referee, Arbroath couldn't gain the upper hand. Queen's will be satisfied with the draw and are still very well-placed in the league. |