( McCallum )
The coach made a change to the formation of the team for this game, switching to a 4-3-3 system. The main reason was presumably the absence of Jamie White, as well as a possible dissatisfaction with Danny Ferry's performances on the left wing. He moved to the right, with Fallon fielded at left-back, and Agostini brought back to partner Sinclair in the middle. Willie Martin returned to the team to play up front, and Cairns regained the goalie gloves.
This would prove to be a game of very few shots at goal, so some of those that will be mentioned in the following paragraphs would never get a sniff of entry into other reports, but everything is relative. Willie Martin was expected to inject a bit more hunger into the team, and he was heavily involved in the early stages, winning a corner in the opening minute after a run then finding Gemmell for a shot which fell weakly wide. In the eighth minute Danny Ferry slung over a cross which Gemmell headed directly at Mathieson.
Much of the first half would drift by in stultifyingly idle fashion. Steven Fallon was booked after 17 minutes for hauling back Henney by his shirt, and Kettlewell fired wide of goal after cutting inside. It took until the 26th minute mark for Gretna to rouse Cairns from slumber, Hore's shot posing only a perfunctory threat.
Queen's did cause some panic in the Gretna defence close to the half-hour, but Gemmell was blocked before he could get a shot in after Allan's corner was uncertainly dealt with. The resulting corner from David McCallum was tipped over his crossbar from Mathieson, and Queen's continued to do all of the attacking - even if they appeared a bit lacklustre. A trademark mazy run from Allan ended in the little winger chipping just wide of goal after almost losing control of the ball - it would have been a truly memorable goal if the ball had just gone a few inches to the right. Sadly most of the rest of James's day would be characterised by poor delivery from the wide areas.
He did however have a fine chance to put Queen's in front five minutes later, as a slack back-header to his goalkeeper from Irons allowed him to steal in. Unfortunately Allan snatched at the chance and the ball went comfortably wide when more composure could have seen Queen's go into the lead. Littte more was created by Queen's until half-time, save for a header from Sinclair which went straight into Mathieson's arms.
Queen's had certainly been in control of most of the game in a territorial sense and it seems that Gretna have a serious problem gaining a foothold in home matches, having appeared more confident on their earlier visits to Hampden this season. But the prospect of a goal in the second half still seemed remote.
The second half was largely excruciating to watch as both sides struggled on an admittedly uneven surface. Queen's did however continue to look the keener side to open the scoring - and they weren't even firing on half of their cylinders. It was very much a battle of two directionless mid-table teams.
Gretna's best effort of the game until this point came in 51 minutes when Dobie's looping header hit the top of the net from Galloway's cross. The veteran striker had been subdued so far by the impressive Damiano Agostini at the heart of Queen's's defence, and had not contributed to anything like the extent he managed in the last meeting of the clubs.
David McCallum was one of the few players on either side who seemed able to shake himself out of the game's rut and a break through the middle from him saw his shot deflected, then parried round the post by the goalkeeper. Gemmell jumped well to meet the corner but failed to angle the ball away from the goalkeeper.
With certain players, notably Willie Martin, appearing to tire it was surprising that Kenny Brannigan chose not to bring on any substitutes, and still both teams lacked inspiration. Martin was able to muster a shot with nine minutes left but it was a poor one, again straight at Mathieson, after the ball had broken kindly for him off a defender. The final ten minutes saw little further action, with both teams seemingly content to hold on for a draw, and indeed the tempo of the game began to slow even by the standards of a hardly fast paced contest.
And then came the bolt from the blue. Two minutes into stoppage time, and Kenny Brannigan's first win was secured courtesy of another sweet strike from David McCallum. The midfielder was fed on the edge of the box and with his right foot crashed a well-struck low volley into the bottom right-hand corner of the net, well away from the goalkeeper, and the players celebrated with all the elation that such a dramatic moment induces. Joy too for the faithful who could now anticipate a long journey home that they could actually savour, with the memory of that goal fresh in their minds. One of the best moments of the season, without a doubt.
A vital win this was, and one that could well save Queen's season from slipping into a mucky mire. Kenny Brannigan will be mightily relieved to have got his first victory, and his own self-confidence will have increased as well as that of the players. An improvement in performance is still to be desired, but we can look back on our first season of competition with Gretna and say that we won three and drew one of the five games - and for Queen's that's a record to savour against any team.
Gretna: Mathieson, Henney ( Fairbairn ), Skelton, Bell, McQuilter, Irons, Cumersky, Galloway, Dobie, Hore, McGuffie. Substitutes not used: May, Ormiston, Knox, Summersgill.
Queen's Park: Cairns, Ferry, McCallum, Sinclair, Agostini, Fallon, Kettlewell, Whelan, Gemmell, Martin, Allan. Substitutes not used: Menelaws, Canning, Gallagher, Clark, Mitchell.
Booked: Fallon, Gemmell.
Goal: McCallum 90.
Attendance: 320.