| Elgin City |
| Queen's Park |
| 0 |
| 3 |
| (Ferry, Weatherston, Cairney) |
| Queen's enter the final quarter of the season in second place and on flying form in the league. Three goals in the second half broke the resistance of an Elgin team who threatened very little over the course of the game. Queen's didn't make a great deal during the first half but were always on top; Ferry should have scored after being put through, but the didn't really go close again during the first hour. Yet they were patient and controlled, and were rewarded with a break just after the hour mark. Ferry, now eager to shoot at every opportunity, fired the ball at goal, and it took a couple of deflections before bouncing over the line. The long wait for the ball to go in only intensified the celebrations of the delirious visiting support; they'd waited 60 minutes, so another few seconds didn't seem to matter much. Within three minutes we'd scored again, through Weatherston; set up by Trouten who threaded the ball into his path for a simple, rolling finish. Queen's were completely on top now and thoughts of a comeback were the stuff of dreams for Elgin. Increasingly the northerners panicked, with some woeful passing handing Queen's a lot of further attacks. At the other end the defence had dealt with the veteran Johnston all afternoon, and remember that this was our second-choice back pairing. Neither Sinclair nor Reilly was fit, but Dunlop played like a seasoned centre-back while Agostini should have brought his throne out on to the park with him, if only as visual confirmation of his majesty over the Elgin forwards. Towards the end Elgin didn't go close, when Crawford got his body brilliantly in front of a shot at the back post, following a set-piece. In response to this cheek, Queen's moved forward again and scored possibly the best goal of the lot. Cairney sliced through the defence, and with breathtaking coolness side-stepped Renton, before calmly passing the ball home. For so long Queen's have struggled to break teams down, but a sense of patience has appeared in their play in recent weeks. We didn't worry about not beating Elgin, we just made sure we got the result. Similarly in the win at Shire. We didn't play the same flowing football that saw off Dumbarton, but at the moment Weatherston and Ferry are on the form of their lives and always look like scoring goals. Ferry had complete command of the game whenever he had the ball yesterday, but Paul Cairney looked like the complete midfielder throughout. Probing, surging and making things happen, Cairney looks like a natural successor to Paul Harvey in midfield, only more dynamic. Of course what Paul Harvey had might have been developed with age, and Cairney could turn out to be just as good. In fact the only disappointment in the side (ignoring Steven Canning, who doesn't stand out at left-back) was Robert Dunn- again. Persistent in giving the ball away, Dunn was withdrawn shortly before the first goal and it's hard to believe this wouldn't have affected him. He looked lacking enough in confidence anyway, and it's really difficult to see Billy Stark picking him again next week. Frankie Carroll could be an important player in the last 9 games, and will need starts sooner or later. To bring up Paul Harvey again- he was another player who had a poor first season, yet blossomed in his second. However, it took a change of manager for Harvey to achieve this. If Billy Stark, respected and liked by all of the players, can't get the best out of Dunn for Queen's Park, can anybody? Of course it's best not even to think about the prospect of Billy leaving Queen's. He's getting more out his players now than at any other point of his time in charge, and if he keeps doing that then Queen's will come very close to winning an unlikely championship this season. Elgin City: Keiron Renton, Craig Campbell, Adam Moffat, Allan Dempsie, Paul Kaczan, Darren Docherty, Neal Hooks, Adam Nelson, Martin Johnston, Martin Charlesworth (Scott Kellacher 67), Steven Mackay. Substitutes not used: Chris Finiggan, McKenzie, Wilson, Fox. Queen's Park: David Crawford, Paul Paton, Mick Dunlop, Steven Canning, Damiano Agostini, Alan Trouten (Frankie Carroll 77), Stuart Kettlewell, Paul Cairney, Robert Dunn (Paul Ronald 59), David Weatherston (Tony Quinn 83), Mark Ferry. Substitutes not used: Richard Bowers, Mark Cairns. Goals: Ferry 60, Weatherston 63, Cairney 90. Referee: Craig MacKay. Attendance: 473. |