| East Fife |
| 0 |
| Queen's Park |
| 1 |
| ( Reilly pen ) |
| Queen's Park's stubbornly determined run continued at Methil, where after another hard scrap the three points were eventually prised from East Fife. Having now won three games in a row, the Spartans debacle is fast becoming little more than a memory for Queen's and the resolve the players have shown to recuperate from that loss is obvious. There's not been much good football on show during the last few weeks, but having bemoaned Queen's's lack of grit in past matches, it would be petty and pedantic to wail now that we have shown some. Like at Elgin, Queen's kept competing right until the end, and although the penalty award for the goal was fortunate, Queen's had looked the more threatening side during the second half and appeared to want the win more. The game began at a furious pace, with no shortage of tackles and combativeness, but creativity and goal attempts were lacking. Billy Stark had brought back Richard Sinclair after injury and had converted the team to a 3-5-2 formation, leaving out Ross Clark again and fielding Shaun Molloy and Alan Trouten as wing-backs. Thus Paul Paton was switched to the midfield to play alongside Kettlewell and Ferry, Tony Quinn, the hero of Elgin, remaining absent. It took until the 22nd minute for a shot to arrive, but it very nearly resulted in the opening goal for Queen's. Felvus turned neatly in the area on a loose ball, and his stinging shot came off of Dodds's body before bouncing off the underside of the crossbar. Though devoid of chances, this wasn't a grim affair; the importance of the game provoking plenty of muscle from both sets of players. However, Steven Reilly's lunge on Savage close to the Queen's fans in his own half crossed the line and he thoroughly deserved his booking; a shame since Reilly gave a fantastic performance at the back and would go on to score the winner. A minute later Weatherston broke free through the middle but with his first touch hammered the ball off his right foot, giving himself far too much work to do to get near the goal. The game was then quiet until just before half-time, when Savage headed Hampshire's free-kick comfortably past (East Fife's first effort at goal). Savage was subsequently booked for his protests after a free-kick decision had wrongly gone against him, Paul Paton having looked the guiltier party in a midfield tussle. The second half would not see the game open up, and it continued as a tight, tough encounter. The introduction of Kevin Proctor for Bryan Felvus after an hour didn't bring any immediate results, and at one stage it seemed as though Queen's were happy to retreat into defence and settle for the draw that would, after all, have suited them. However, Queen's's greater sense of purpose in the later stages eventually yielded a reward. Mark Ferry should have scored in the 70th minute, after being fed by a Weatherston cut-back. Trouten had found Weatherston breaking into the box on the right, and the striker turned exquisitely before laying off Ferry, but his shot from 15 yards was weak and straight at Dodds. In an attempt to improve the passing (some of which had been awful) and composure in the Queen's team, Billy Stark introduced Paul Harvey for Shaun Molloy in the 73rd minute, and completed his substitutions when Ross Clark came on for Weatherston eight minutes later. Harvey almost created the winner with 7 minutes to go, when his superb reverse pass put Proctor clean through on Dodds, but the Doctor's shot came back off Dodds in what was a fine save. Clark's contribution would prove the more vital to the outcome, as with less than 2 minutes left he surged into the box, beating a couple of players before going to ground under a challenge. He had been losing control of the ball, and in truth it looked a dive. Yet Colin Hardie didn't think so, and to the surprise and delight of the supporters pointed to the spot. Steven Reilly stepped up knowing a goal would almost certainly win the match and see Queen's make a giant stride towards the play-offs. A pressurised situation, but Reilly relishes those, and confidently tucked the ball away to scenes of jubilation. Having been the victims of two poor penalty decisions at Bayview back in September, Queen's had enjoyed the benefit of one this time. And lo, if it wasn't our favourite referee Colin Hardie that we had to thank for it. This win was of crucial importance to Queen's Park's play-off chances and it does now look unlikely that we won't be in the top four come the beginning of May. The only credible challengers, with East Fife surely eliminated by yesterday's result, are Arbroath. We've still to play them 3 times, including two visits to Gayfield, where we haven't won in over a decade and where they have enjoyed several excellent wins this season. (For example, they beat Cowdenbeath 4-1 there yesterday). A win, perhaps even a draw, next Saturday, and the target would be more to catch the three teams ahead of us instead of worrying about those currently in our wake. East Fife: John Dodds, Smith, Marco Pelosi, Craig Lumsden, Kevin Bain, Craig Smart, Kevin Gordon, Stephen Fortune, John Bradford, Joe Savage (Sean Paliczka 69), Paul Hampshire (Gavin Beith 85). Substitutes not used: Condie, Graham Port, Scott Morrison. Booked: Bradford, Pelosi, Savage. Queen's Park: David Crawford, Alan Trouten, Mick Dunlop, Steven Reilly, Richard Sinclair, Shaun Molloy (Paul Harvey 73), Stuart Kettlewell, Paul Paton, David Weatherston (Ross Clark 81), Bryan Felvus (Kevin Proctor 60), Mark Ferry. Substitutes not used: Andy McGinty, Mark Cairns. Booked: Reilly. Goal: Reilly penalty 89. Referee: Colin Hardie. Attendance: 466. |