| Montrose |
| 0 |
| Queen's Park |
| 0 |
| It didn't look promising: Links Park on a cold December ( December? ) evening, a visiting support of about 30 souls and three players caught up in a motoring mishap on the way to the game, delaying it by 15 minutes. But in fact this wasn't bad at all. Queen's gave an encouraging showing, with a greater desire clearly evident from the players, especially in the second half, than has been the case in recent fixtures. Even when Sinclair was sent-off, Queen's didn't lose their shape, and finished the match relatively strongly. The goalscoring difficulties are still glaringly obvious but with a home match against East Stirlingshire coming up there is an ideal chance to notch a couple and look to end the year on a modestly high note. No sooner had we arrived in the ground than it was discovered kick-off was being delayed, presumably as the players' coach had not yet arrived or had only just done so. As it transpired, it was not the whole team but three of them, Whelan, Ferry and Agostini, who, travelling together, had been involved in an accident and only arrived after the start. Having named his team then, Kenny Brannigan was forced to replace the aforementioned three, fielding Canning in central defence, Carroll in a withdrawn midfield role and Gallagher on the right. And as if we needed any more problems. The opening minutes were quiet, with Montrose looking the more confident, as befitted their recent, decent run. The first serious effort however arrived from the left boot of John Thompson but the young full-back's free kick was comfortably held by Butter. Shortly after Graham delivered a flick-on from Harvey's hanging cross which McAuley failed to reach. Most of the Montrose danger in this game would come from the dribbling skills of several of their players, and the Queen's defence did exhibit a certain reluctance to challenge when being run at. Donachie's shot was held by Scrimgour after he advanced from the right-hand side, and Wood's effort just before was even poorer, trundling beyond the left-hand post. Queen's best attempt of the first half came in the 20th minute. The simple, direct football that Kenny Brannigan has so much faith in almost paid dividends when Carroll collected a half-clearance from Scrimgour's lengthy kick, pushed forward and dipped a powerful drive only a short distance over the top. Queen's certainly forced themselves more into the contest as the half progressed, with the players clearly coming to grips with the makeshift nature of their formation. McAuley and Graham were linking up more smoothly, and a typical piece of McAuley persistence in the 32nd minute almost carved out a chance when he harried a defender before taking possession on the edge of the area, but Montrose recovered to deal with the threat. Five minutes later Graham headed awkwardly past from Harvey's corner kick, and Fallon was booked before the break, his late challenge on Sharp being penalised. By this stage it was known that the missing trio had all arrived and it was little surprise when Whelan and Agostini were thrown on 7 minutes after the restart, Canning and Kettlewell being brought off. And to follow on from a booking for Sinclair, Damiano also picked up a yellow card, his coming after only 3 minutes on the park for a tackle from the back in the midfield. That he took the ball first didn't concern the referee - and it wasn't his last poor decision. Ally Graham was putting in a much better shift and could have scored in the 55th minute, his header lacking any pace after another long punt downfield from Scrimgour. Kerrigan then set up an opportunity for Smart who chipped over, but Queen's came very close to going in front after 63 minutes. Harvey's right-sided corner was met strongly by Graham; his header was on target, but Whelan intercepted to nod the ball over the top from close range. Graham's effort would almost certainly have been cleared off the line, but there's no doubt Whelan will have been annoyed not to score especially given his heading ability. Queen's seemed to be creeping closer to a goal, but their hopes took a dent with 21 minutes left when Richard Sinclair became the fourth Queen's player ordered off this season. Few of our red cards this year have been warranted, and this one was unfortunate. A foul on Smart, probably, but could the referee not have used his discretion and done his best to keep all 22 players on the pitch? There are few referees who have this sort of radical thinking however, and S. MacDonald is not one of them. Queen's would now be forced to reshuffle the pack again. To the credit of the team, little changed in the pattern of play, although there were signs of Queen's being pushed onto the backfoot before a second red-card evened up the numbers. Scrimgour made a superb save to deny Smith after the the midfielder broke free on the left of the box in 76 minutes, and within 3 minutes Gibson of Montrose had been sent from the field for striking Carroll after losing possession to the Queen's player. It was sheer madness, and Queen's could be relieved that the final ten minutes would not have them playing at a disadvantage. Danny Ferry replaced McAuley, who had enjoyed another lively game, with ten minutes remaining, and again Whelan could have won the match for Queen's in the 86th minute. His cracker of a shot from 30 yards struck the roof of the net just as we were dreaming of a repeat of his famous Elgin winner 18 months ago. Queen's were still searching for a winner as the game came to a close, but never appeared likely to get one, and it was Montrose who had the best late chance, Smith eventually being halted after another fine run had mesmerised the away defence. Certainly one of the better matches we have played against Montrose in recent times, despite the absence of goals, and surely better times aren't too far away. Just a thought: the excellent Montrose match programme contains a Montrose fan's doings with the team on the football sim Championship Manager, and reminded me of my own successes on the game: taking Queen's to the SPL, qualifying for the UEFA Cup, winning at Celtic Park and Ibrox... but just to console this current Queen's team, even I never managed a win at Links Park. And who said computer games were unrealistic? Montrose: Jim Butter, Barry Donachie, Stuart Ferguson, Elliot Smith, John McQuillan, Steven Kerrigan, Craig Smart ( Craig Farnan 81 ), Keith Gibson, Scott Michie ( Kevin Webster 58 ), Martin Wood, Graeme Sharp ( Roddy Black 78 ). Substitutes not used: Mark Simpson, Michael Hankinson. Sent-off: Keith Gibson ( 79 - violent conduct ). Queen's Park: Derek Scrimgour, Steven Canning ( Damiano Agostini 52 ), John Thompson, Richard Sinclair, Frankie Carroll, Steven Fallon, Stuart Kettlewell ( Jonny Whelan 52 ), Paul Harvey, Ally Graham, Paddy Gallagher, Stephen McAuley ( Danny Ferry 80 ). Substitutes not used: Derek Carcary, David Crawford. Booked: Fallon, Sinclair, Agostini. Sent-off: Richard Sinclair ( 69 - second bookable offence - two fouls ). Referee: Scott MacDonald. Attendance: 300. . |