| Peterhead |
| 4 |
| ( Johnston 2 ( 1 pen ), Bavidge, Raeside ) |
| Queen's Park |
| 1 |
| ( Graham ) |
| Queen's were not going to have to search far and wide for problems going into this match. With Fallon, Agostini and Moffat all missing, Kenny Brannigan had to cobble together an untested defence, which in turn was likely to weaken other areas of the team. Ally this to the fact that Balmoor is one of the toughest grounds to visit in the league, and our fate looked sealed. But just to make sure, referee Brian Cassidy gave an inept display, dismissing Derek Scrimgour after 36 minutes for a professional foul - though the challenge seemed nothing more than a tussle for possession. That will be gone into in greater detail, but suffice to say, following the red card and conversion of the spot kick that followed, Queen's had little hope, and stand-in goalie David Crawford conceded 3 further goals to draw a line under what was an all round bad day. Despite losing his three central defenders, Brannigan opted to stick with his trusted formation, fielding Ferry, Whelan and Sinclair across the back, and placing youngsters Conlin and McGinty on the bench as insurance. It was a calculated gamble, as Whelan proves too erratic to be effective as a defender and when fielded there, his battling skills are sorely absent from midfield. Canning and Kettlewell played wide, Harvey and Reilly ( back from suspension ) took the middle berths and there was no change to the three-pronged attack which was widely hailed as the main reason for last week's success - in reality that tactic had minimal effect on the outcome of a one-sided game. But would it pay off today? Neither side started particularly well, not being helped by the customary windy conditions and the cold north-eastern air. Roddie flashed a shot wide after 4 minutes, and McAuley and Kettlewell had seperate attempts to score during goalmouth confusion in the 16th minute. But little entertainment was on offer, with most interest being provided by an admirably vocal visiting support who gave encouragement to their team throughout the entire 90 minutes. Steven Reilly picked up yet another booking with 22 minutes played for a flying tackle in the midfield, though the Peterhead player made a meal of the challenge; the referee allowed advantage before booking Reilly once the ball had left play. Queen's were finding it difficult to conjure up anything, and Peterhead appeared the likelier side; Roddie's header was deflected wide by Canning at the far post in the 33rd minute and from the resultant corner Johnston fired a volley over his head and over the bar. Within three minutes the game had swung decisively in the home team's direction. Jonny Whelan and Derek Scrimgour must certainly be apportioned some of the blame; Whelan's pass back to his goalkeeper was foolish, the ball bouncing when he struck it and making it difficult for Scrimgour to control. Clearly fearful of miskicking the ball, Scrimgour tried to bring it down and sidestep the prowling Johnston but the move backfired, Johnston taking possession and finding himself faced with a near-open goal less than 10 yards out. Scrimgour recovered to challenge the striker, and Johnston could only slide the ball wide of the post. The initial relief of seeing the ball go past turned to bewilderment and helplessness as Mr. Cassidy pointed to the penalty spot, and it was clear that if a foul was being awarded, then Scrimgour had to go as it had to be considered a professional foul. Steven Canning, looking out of his depth in the early stages, was deemed expendable and David Crawford came on for the most unfortunate of introductions to the first team. There may well have been contact but what appeared no more than a 50-50 battle for a loose ball Cassidy had seen as a despairing foul. The penalty still had to be taken, and Johnston scored unconvincingly, sending the ball in at Crawford's left post though the youngster got a hand to it. The contest was effectively ended just a few minutes later. With the defence in disarray, Bavidge collected a long pass down the left flank and, with room to spare, cut inside before driving the ball high over Crawford's arms, a good goal but one which an experienced keeper such as Scrimgour would probably have saved. There seemed virtually no chance of a comeback but the second-half contained more excitement than the first and to their credit Queen's did display some powers of recovery to breathe life back into the game. It could have been 3 four minutes after the break when Johnston cracked a fine shot off the bar from around 22 yards following Smith's tremendous switch of play. Crawford then made his first true stop in a Queen's jersey, turning a fierce shot from Mackay over the bar for a good reaction save. As Peterhead continued to control things, a Sinclair slip nearly let the dangerous Johnston through, but after a beautiful piece of play from the best player on the park Raeside's shot was lacklustre. An injury to McAuley meant that Paddy Gallagher had to be brought on as striker, and within 5 minutes Queen's were back in contention. Frankly, it arrived out of nothing; just a short while before Crawford had made another eye-catching save to deny Bavidge, and Peterhead were easily on top. But when Ally Graham rose at the back post to meet Paul Harvey's right wing cross, Mathers couldn't prevent the ball sneaking over the line at the opposite post. We started to believe again. Sadly, it would prove an isolated moment as Queen's failed to sustain any great attacking momentum against a side who started to show nervy signs after losing the goal. In fact Crawford was again forced into a save just after the goal, knocking Mackay's effort over, and the substitute did enough for us to have few fears about his playing against Stranraer in 2 weeks, as he will now have to. Graham nodded wide, then Kettlewell drilled a low shot wide of target, but the ten-men appeared stretched whenever Peterhead put together an attack and the third goal with ten minutes left was inevitable. A cross from the left was reached by Martin Johnston who crowned his display by sending a header beyond the reach of Crawford and home at the far post. The remaining minutes were academic but sadly flashpoints were not to be avoided. Having taken a lenient stance for several Peterhead fouls during the day, Mr. Cassidy at last brought out his book to caution Tindal for his scything tackle on Reilly, whose pain was enough to see him replaced by Ross Conlin. And there was time for a fourth, sloppy defending at a corner, which Crawford misjudged, allowing Raeside to poke home an easy goal. Mr. Cassidy would have the last word however. With the match in stoppage time, Frankie Carroll ( forced to go to right midfield following Canning's replacement ) lunged in on winger Roddie a few yards inside the Queen's half. Given that he had not committed any previous offence, the showing of a red card was, to say the least, excessive, and needless to say the Queen's players and the more volatile among the support made their feelings plain to the official following the final whistle which went almost immediately. There is no doubt that Peterhead played the more attractive and incisive football and deserved to win the game; not that 4-1 was a true reflection on play. Queen's, for all their valid complaints about the rough justice served up by the referee, are simply not playing football of a standard worthy of the club's traditions, and worse, don't seem to be even making the effort to at times. Whether or not Kenny Brannigan will see the need for a less direct, more expressive style to be introduced remains to be seen but as has already been stated, such a decision could have a bearing on his future, or otherwise, at the club. Peterhead: Paul Mathers, Daryn Smith, Shaun McSkimming, Robbie Raeside, Mark Perry, Iain Good ( Kieran McGuinness 46 ), Kevin Tindal, Stuart Mackay, Martin Johnston, Martin Bavidge ( Iain Stewart 66 ), Andy Roddie. Substitutes not used: Kevin Bain, Robert Duncan, John Farquhar. Booked: Tindal. Goals: Martin Johnston 37 penalty, 80, Martin Bavidge 39, Robbie Raeside 87. Queen's Park: Derek Scrimgour, Danny Ferry, Richard Sinclair, Jonny Whelan, Steven Reilly ( Ross Conlin 86 ), Steven Canning ( David Crawford 37 ), Stuart Kettlewell, Paul Harvey, Ally Graham, Frankie Carroll, Stephen McAuley ( Paddy Gallagher 59 ). Substitutes not used: John Thompson, Andrew McGinty. Booked: Reilly. Sent-off: Derek Scrimgour ( 36 - professional foul ); Frankie Carroll ( 90 - serious foul play ). Goal: Ally Graham 64. Referee: Brian Cassidy. Attendance: 535. |