Queen's will face Albion Rovers at Hampden in the Second Round of the Scottish Cup on Saturday 4th January. Both clubs have met many times on league business in recent seasons, but you have to go back to, coincidentally enough, 4th January 1986 for the two teams' last Scottish Cup meeting. In another Second Round tie, Queen's won 2-1 at Hampden with G. C. Crooks and Kenny Brannigan scoring. 808 fans watched the game. A full preview of this season's tie will be available on the site's new Scottish Cup page nearer the 4th of January.
26 Oct Elgin City 2 Queen's Park 2- at last, goals!
A draw may not have been sufficient reward for a performance that saw Queen's on top for most of this match, but it will undoubtedly have come as a great relief to players, staff and fans that Queen's took anything at all. Just to score would have been an improvement on the previous 4 away league games, which had produced no goals from the Spiders. And when Chris Love and Craig Tully put Elgin 2-0 in front after just 25 minutes today at Borough Briggs ( with their only notable efforts- shades of the opening day ), another loss seemed certain. Thankfully, Stevie Moffat put Queen's back in it within 3 minutes with a controlled drive, and despite Clark and Whelan missing unluckily during the second half, it was Johnny who repeated his feat of Queen's last visit to Morayshire, by grabbing a key late goal. His powerful header from a corner secured a draw for the visitors, and it's a result that gives us a base to work from. At the very least, we're finding the net again, and the spirit shown in recovering from the two goal deficit was admirable. The strikers are still not giving us goals however, with Canning not really an ideal man to play up front, and Willie Martin, despite his infectious enthusiasm, not appearing the answer. However, we have Gemmell and Menelaws to return from injury, and when they are available, things may improve. At the very least, Menelaws' appearance in a Queen's jersey will end the impatient waiting of supporters to see him in action, if not our wait for a prolific scorer. But now I'm just being negative...
Elgin City v. Queen's Park: match information
25 Oct Elgin City v. Queen's Park
Given Queen's miserable start to the season, Elgin justifiably begin tomorrow's game as favourites. Their own form over the last few weeks has been unremarkable ( a win, a draw and a defeat in their last 3 games ), with their total points tally standing at 13. Therefore, they are the sort of team that Queen's should be capable of beating, even away from home. However, Queen's record this season is deporable, with only 4 points and 4 goals gathered from 10 league matches. A win tomorrow would give everybody associated with the club a tremendous lift.
Sinclair and Taggart are still missing through injury, as well as Fisher ( who now has a hamstring problem ). David Menelaws is still out, although he is returning to full fitness. It will be interesting to see if Darren Magee is able to make a first competitive appearance, if McCormack so wishes of course. With John Gemmell still absent after picking up an injury in the warm-up prior to last week's game against Montrose, Willie Martin will probably be the preferred choice up front, alongside Steven Canning. But maybe the manager will overhaul the team somewhat, not that he's exactly spoilt for choice. I would guess that the starting XI will be much the same as that of last week, but a much improved display is a necessity.
The first ever meeting of Elgin City and Queen's Park occurred on 17 January 1931 at Hampden, in a Scottish Cup first round tie. Queen's won emphatically, 5-0. McLelland grabbed three, while the legendary J. B. McAlpine was also on target. A large crowd ( albeit not by the standards of the day ) of 8,675 was present on the famous slopes. Queen's were eliminated by Morton at home in the next round by a solitary goal.
As Elgin did not enter the SFL until 2000, the sides' first league encounter was some 70 years after that cup-tie. Elgin enjoyed a 2-0 win at Borough Briggs on 20 October last year, with 581 watching the match. Queen's would finallly secure their first win of the season 2 weeks later.
19 Oct Queen's Park 0 Montrose 1
For the 6th time in 10 league matches this season, Queen's Park failed to score as Montrose beat the Spiders 1-0: the third time in succession that this fixture has resulted in that scoreline. It was a depressing performance from Queen's, who lacked any goal threat whatsoever, and statuesque defending at a corner kick allowed Montrose to take three points from a match that they scarcely deserved to win. This performance was reminiscent of so many from last season, and it seems that the players' confidence could have suffered serious damage with the recent dismal form. Only the sheer crapness of East Stirling is keeping Queen's from being totally adrift at the Third Division's foot. Match report: Queen's Park v. Montrose
18 Oct Queen's Park v. Montrose
Neither team has been enjoying good form recently. Montrose have endured heavy recent home defeats by Morton and Peterhead, undermining their hopes of challenging for promotion. Currently, they have 8 points and lie in 8th place- 4 points clear of Queen's Park. In the last meeting of the clubs, on 10 August at Links Park, a Kevin Webster header secured a 1-0 win for the home side. As far as Queen's are concerned, they must begin to translate good build-up play into goals. One man who could help in that mission is John Gemmell. The 18 year-old has been scoring for the Strollers and Under-18s in recent weeks, and could be set for a recall to the first team starting XI. Steven Canning and Brendan Crozier return from injury, with Canning a definite possibility to start. However, Menelaws and Fisher will be out for several weeks yet. Craig Taggart and Richard Sinclair have also picked up knocks.
Queen's Park's last victory over the Gable Endies was a 2-0 win over Montrose in the Challenge Cup in August 2000, at Hampden. Last league success arrived 24 months ago, again by 2-0, but at Links Park. Stalwarts Ross Caven and Kevin Finlayson were the scorers.
The first ever league match between Queen's Park and Montrose was a B Division fixture on the 21 September 1955 at Links Park. Queen's won 2-1, with Niall Hopper and Robb the scorers. The return at Hampden ended up a resounding win for the home side, by seven goals to one. J. Devine notched a brace, as did William Omand. This was Montrose's first season in the second-top division since 1938-39; they had played in C Division since the end of the war, before league reconstruction in 1955. For their part, Queen's finished the season as Champions, securing a return to the top flight after an 8 year absence. To end on a sombre note, the following two seasons would be our last ever in the top division.
16 Oct Fine win for Strollers
The Strollers recorded their first win of the season against St. Mirren at Lesser Hampden on Tuesday evening. Three goals in quick succession at the start of the second half secured the points and a 3-0 victory; John Gemmell netted twice before Karl Lejman ended the contest with a long range shot. Most encouraging was Gemmell's return to form after a disappointing spell, and a first team start against Montrose on Saturday would seem a not unlikely prospect. One trialist was fielded, as goalkeeper, and a clean sheet for him ( whoever he is ) against a First Division team's reserves may have impressed McCormack and Martin.