| Elgin City |
| Queen's Park |
| 2 |
| 2 |
| ( Martin, White ) |
| ( Gallagher, McAuley ) |
| Don't be fooled by the scoreline; this wasn't a good game. In fact for eight-ninths of it, the sole entertainment was provided by Andy Goram's laughable attempts at catching crosses. And for the majority of that time, Queen's trailed to an Elgin side to whom it was scarcely believable we could lose no matter how badly we played. Well we didn't lose; but in the end it was our failure to win that caused uproar. Thankfully there were none of the much-feared vehicular mishaps on the long promised road to Elgin, and so 30-odd battle-hardened supporters disgorged from the bus to join those others that had journeyed of their own accord. A number of familiar faces were absent from the terraces though, and it was a similar story on the pitch for Queen's; McCallum, Harvey, Canning and Moffat victims of the increasing competition for places now that Brannigan has something nearing a full house to choose from, and Kettlewell suspended. Whelan, Clark and Reilly composed of what seemed our strongest midfield, and Carroll partnered Graham in attack. Having missed last week's game at Stranraer thanks to one of my much-too-frequent illnesses, I can't make any comparison between today and last week, save to say this; if we were worse at Stair Park, then Stranraer must be awful. Queen's were totally lacking in guile, even thought of any sort during an atrocious first half which East Stirling would have been proud of. Elgin fared little better, but in Willie Martin they at least possessed someone willing to play football and obviously motivated by 'welcoming' his former team-mates to his new home. Martin looked lively from the off and turned a shot wide after a couple of minutes, but was let down in his efforts by a plodding Elgin midfield which failed to service him properly. The home team could have taken the lead in the 14th minute when Bone latched onto a loose ball occasioned by Sinclair's mistiming of a high ball, but Scrimgour was equal to the task of palming the firmly-struck shot away. But it was an ominous sign, and further defensive confusion allowed Elgin to score within a minute. Bone found himself in plenty of space in the middle of the area, and managed to tap it to his right for the onrushing Willie Martin to lash the ball home at the far corner. Asking for a quick response from Queen's seemed like too much and indeed it was. We could barely muster a whimper in response and the rest of the half was worrying viewing for those who had travelled. Tactically and cohesively, there was obviously something wrong; Ally Graham is unfairly criticised at the best of times but there can be little doubt that the perennial tactic of lumping the ball up to him in the hope of a knock-down is wearing a little thin. The midfield was struggling badly to keep possession, Ross Clark was invisible, and generally there was a lack of link-up play between back and front. Steven Reilly entered Mike Ritchie's book in the 36th minute, yet again for persistent fouling; minutes before he had sent McLean crashing on the left flank, and another late challenge proved one too many. Like Stuart Kettlewell, in fact more so, Reilly has to curb his angry streak. As for the football played? Dross. Conditions were awkward, with rain in the air and a soggy surface, but these are flimsy excuses. Only one passing move of any description was forthcoming from Queen's before the break, and even it was laboured; Clark scuffed the ball wide to round things off. Sandwiching this were bookings for Willie Martin and Jim White, the latter showing off his composure in possession when, despite seemingly having the ball under control, he lunged in on Frankie Carroll in a manner befitting of Davie Robertson at his peak. For all their glaring inadequacies then, a complete turnaround from Queen's didn't seem out of the question given how poor Elgin had looked. At the very least, a goal was needed; to play against Andy Goram and not find the net would be an embarassment, and not primarily because of Elgin's otherwise dreadful defensive record this season. But things didn't improve in the second half at all. Granted, Queen's pressed forward more and even found the penalty area a couple of times, but the total absence of any shots at Goram's goal until late on is indictment enough. Of course it was now time for the referee to make his mark, and he didn't disappoint. 14 minutes into the second half, and following Whelan's deflected header over the top, a hand was raised in the area as the corner came across. Presumably, Ritchie felt that the contact was accidental, but it's a dubious case as hands should surely be kept down when a cross is sent over. More yellow cards were added to the tally, and the game drifted on with neither side seeming likely to score. But Elgin almost clinched the points with 12 minutes left when Allison's shot thudded high off the post following a cutback. By this time Kenny Brannigan had already made changes, introducing Gallagher to add more bite and throwing on Stephen McAuley for Carroll. Galvanised by the near-miss from Allison, Queen's loomed out of nowhere and surged into the last 10 minutes. With 8 minutes to play we managed to equalise. McAuley showed tremendous resolve to fight his way down the left, just managed to send over a cross before the ball sneaked over the goalline, and Paddy Gallagher slithered in at the back post to poke the ball past Goram. Suddenly we believed again - the game was there to be won. And in a moment laced with tension, it seemed as if we'd done just that. 87 minutes had been played when a miscued clearing header from McMillan fell at the feet of McAuley, who reacted quickly to charge through on goal, and unfazed by the prospect of facing Andy Goram one-on-one, slipped the ball coolly beyond him to complete the comeback. Sadly the closing minutes would highlight the inexperience within the team. Queen's should have been capable of shutting out an Elgin side demoralised by what appeared to be a game thrown away, and while it would have been a win we didn't deserve, we should have protected it now. But Elgin forced a last stand two minutes into stoppage time when a high, dipping lob was only narrowly averted wide by Scrimgour. A corner kick, and while Martin's delivery was excellent, Jim White would never have scored had he not impeded Scrimgour before doing so. Most Queen's players raced towards the referee in disbelief, but the official clearly couldn't be bothered chalking off the goal and thought it better to let Elgin off with it. Once more, a draw felt like a defeat. Queen's next two games are both at home, against Gretna and Cowdenbeath, before the ludicrously-scheduled midday clash at Forthbank on 15 November. There's little doubt that changes will have to be made; the midfield of Clark, Reilly and Whelan doesn't function as it should and is top-heavy on graft; John Thompson is a hard-working young player but is no wing-back; he is a left-back and looked as if he thought that was his position today; and more penetration is needed from the wide areas: surely Allan Dunning can't be so far from favour that he won't be considered? A more settled line-up is a must but appears near-impossible to find. So, with the Rugby World Cup in full swing, a team that at times seemed better suited to the oval-ball code stopped the founders of football picking up an ill-earned win. Times like these make you wish it was the 1870s again. Queen's fans and players celebrate the equaliser ( credit: Alan Rhodes ) Elgin City: Andy Goram, Hugh Dickson, Craig Campbell, James White, Allister McMillan, John Allison, Willie Martin, David Hind, Alex Bone ( Chris Ogboke 69 ), Neil McLean, Ryan McMullan. Substitutes not used: John Gallagher, Kevin Steele, Scott Murphy, Peter Hamilton. Booked: Martin, McMullan, White. Goals: Willie Martin 15, James White 90. Queen's Park: Derek Scrimgour, Danny Ferry, John Thompson, Richard Sinclair, Damiano Agostini, Steven Fallon, Steven Reilly, Ross Clark, Johnny Whelan ( Paddy Gallagher 73 ), Ally Graham, Frankie Carroll ( Stephen McAuley 57 ). Substitutes not used: Steven Canning, Derek Carcary, David Crawford. Booked: Reilly, Thompson, Clark, Agostini, Sinclair, Ferry. Goals: Paddy Gallagher 82, Stephen McAuley 87. Referee: M. Ritchie. Attendance: 548. |