| Elgin City |
| Queen's Park |
| 1 |
| 3 |
| ( Bremner ) |
| ( Whelan 2, Canning ) |
| This result could yet be in the nature of a last hurrah for certain players, but in the meantime it just feels like one of the best performances in what has been a disappointing season. Queen's recovered flawlessly from the loss of an early goal, playing crisp passing football, flowing with belief, and scoring two goals that qualify as nothing less than superb - with Canning's strike arguably the best of the season and proof of his special talents as a sweet hitter of a football. Even Paul Harvey played well, and the introduction of Alan Trouten in the second half showed that the production line of young talent does not begin and end with Derek Carcary. Not long after taking the field, Trouten embarked on a breathtaking run, crashing his shot off the crossbar, and straight after was denied a stonewall penalty after another run was halted. Elgin are not a good team, but we've put them away 3 out of 4 times this term and proven ourselves comfortably a better team than they are. And while the season feels like a letdown, we will finish with several more points than in either of the last 2 seasons. It's been weird, basically. Missing several players, Kenny Brannigan resisted the temptation to play Jonny Whelan at the back again and instead opted for a back four, with Stewart and Agostini his central defensive pairing. Derek Carcary, fresh from international duty, returned to the fold, displacing Steven Canning to his more natural position of attacking midfielder. Around 50 fans had made the journey, and the atmosphere amongst them was raucous as quite a few were determined to enjoy themselves no matter the score. Thankfully the team wouldn't let them down. Alex Bone, Elgin's top scorer, and their main threat in the absence of Willie Martin, was the first to have a crack at goal with his shot on the turn trundling beyond the post. In the eleventh minute Queen's first real attempt came when a rejuvenated Paul Harvey curled in a dangerous cross from the right which Carcary swung himself at to hook the ball across the face of goal. Queen's had started well enough but fell behind in the 16th minute. The lack of pace in the centre of the defence was exposed when Bremner burst through the middle, and with no-one prepared to make a decisive tackle, his rising shot from 10 yards flew beyond Scrimgour. A fine finish, but a preventable goal, and a hint that the back 4 idea might not be such a good one. Queen's reacted quickly, and Harvey was again the provider for Carcary with a first-time chip which found the youngster running through, but he dragged his shot towards the keeper. Three minutes later though, Queen's were level. Of all people, it was Davie Stewart whose accurate cross from the right wing was met by Jonny Whelan, and the header bulleted into the net via the crossbar, the sheer pace on the ball being too much for Pirie. Queen's were clearly in the ascendancy, and Carcary once more found himself in space, being prevented from getting a shot in by Pirie's legs. 10 minutes on, and we gained the lead. Paul Harvey was instrumental in the goal, skipping past a defender on the left to receive Canning's pass, just about keeping the ball in play. His cutback was met by Whelan, whose shot was cleared away from the goal having possibly already crossed the line ( it was impossible to tell exactly what happened from my position ), but with the Elgin defence statuesque Whelan prodded home the rebound with ease. While not as prolific a scorer as he should be, Whelan's dynamism in midfield and all-round personality would be sorely missed if he does indeed leave the club and serious questions must be asked if a player like this does leave for no good reason. Elgin had imploded, and Queen's more or less secured the points on the stroke of half-time with a stunning goal. Steven Canning brought down Kettlewell's crossfield pass around 20 yards out, and turned towards goal before unleashing swerving volley that seared past a static Pirie. It won't win Graeme Shields's goal of the season award, but only because it came too late. Having been muted for the first two goals, the visiting support erupted for this one. It was turning into an excellent day. The second-half would prove a stroll in the park, with the most notable incidents coming courtesy of some incredible incompetence by the officials. A minute after the restart, Bremner flashed a well-struck drive just wide of Scrimgour's right hand post, before McKenzie's brilliant bending shot was tipped wide by the goalkeeper. Queen's confidence was demonstrated by a flowing breakaway move in the 55th minute. Carroll started it, coming away on the right and finding Canning with perceptive infield pass. A lovely lob back to Carroll allowed Frankie to deliver a cross into the box, and while Carcary won his tussle with a defender to win possession he was too near the keeper to get a shot in. Queen's were playing the sort of football we always knew they had in them but which they tend to keep bottled up inside most weeks. Harvey's floated pass found a now-rampant Canning charging through the centre, and though his first touch was impeccable, Dickson made a fine sliding challenge to prevent the shot. Then Carcary set up Whelan with a neat back-flick, and Jonny's drive from a tight angle was powerful but posed Pirie no real problems. The first of several penalty claims was rejected in the 66th minute after Carcary was sent sprawling from behind as he raced into the area. Mr. Mitchell preferred to believe the player had dived but took no action against that. The failure to award a spot-kick could have been significant had Bone's shot three minutes later not squeezed narrowly past the post. The visiting support were up in arms again in the 71st minute at the referee's decision only to book McMillan for chopping down Carcary. Derek did not appear badly hurt but Kenny Brannigan wisely took no chances and brought on Weatherston, with Quinn for Whelan being the other half of a double switch. Little happened for the next 10 minutes until the arrival of Alan Trouten onto the scene. Scrimgour parried Bone's shot in the 84th minute, and Weatherston set up Quinn for a stabbed effort that Pirie gathered easily. Then Trouten made his mark. Skipping past a tackle on his way forward, Trouten's speed was obvious, and he smacked a magnificent drive off the crossbar. Then, on receiving a throw in from the right, he entered the penalty area before being blatantly bodychecked close to the goalline. The travelling fans waited for Mitchell to point to the spot, then exploded in anger as the official chose instead to censure young Trouten for what he saw as a dive. The nearside linesman, under scrutiny already for a number of bizarre offside decisions, also took pelters for his refusal to see a certain foul despite being well placed to do so. It would hardly have been a Queen's game without a bit of fury at bad refereeing, but few of our games involve us winning as handsomely as this. Also, to end the season unbeaten in the final four away games is pretty good. A decent performance against Gretna next week would bring the season to an honourable end, though the sad truth is, no matter what happens then, opinion is unlikely to swing dramatically in Kenny Brannigan's favour and the minds of some of the players are unlikely to be changed either. All eyes will turn to the transfer news following next Saturday. Elgin City: Martin Pirie, Marc Dickson, Allan Dempsie, Craig Tully ( Martin Charlesworth 43 ), Hugh Dickson, Jamie McKenzie, Fraser Bremner ( Ross Anderson 88 ), Allister McMillan, Alex Bone, Neil McLean, Steve McCormick ( Philip Read 70 ). Substitutes not used: Ryan Mair, Stuart Knight. Booked: McMillan. Goal: Fraser Bremner 16. Queen's Park: Derek Scrimgour, Stuart Kettlewell, David McCallum, David Stewart, Damiano Agostini, Martin Bonnar, Paul Harvey ( Alan Trouten 83 ), Steven Canning, Frankie Carroll, Jonny Whelan ( Tony Quinn 73 ), Derek Carcary ( David Weatherston 73 ). Substitutes not used: Bryan Felvus, Brian McCue. Goals: Jonny Whelan 23, 36, Steven Canning 45. Referee: G. Mitchell. Attendance: 421. |