Tennents' Scottish Cup Third Round: Sat 25 January, 3 p.m.
How nice it would be if Queen's could conjure up an 1800's style Scottish Cup result and performance in Saturday's tie. The club's Scottish Cup record in the distant past is well known about, but in more recent times any success has been hard to come by. The last time Queen's reached the fourth round was in 1986, when Jimmy Boyle opened the scoring with a penalty at Celtic Park before Celtic eventually scraped through by two goals to one. New coach Kenny Brannigan was in fact playing in that game, in his final season at Hampden before transferring to Sheffield Wednesday. Now he has the opportunity, in what you could call his first game in sole, no-excuses charge of the team, to be involved at that stage of the competition again. Such a result would certainly involve a reversal in fortunes from our recent Hampden form, which is patchy to say the least. The last two home games, against Gretna and East Stirling, have both been lost in a most disappointing manner. In the first match of the second round tie against Albion Rovers, we hardly covered ourselves in glory either. However, Johnny Whelan's goal was enough to earn a replay, and I for one would be satisfied with that outcome come 5 pm on Saturday - provided of course we haven't again lost an easy lead, or outplayed Hamilton etc. Given that the level of commitment and fighting spirit has seemed to be higher in away matches in the last few months than those at home, Queen's would have to be reasonably confident about winning a replay - even on the home turf of a Second Division club.
Obviously though the players will be keen to settle things at the first attempt. In truth though, the team don't enter this match in the greatest of shapes. Even neglecting last week's second half collapse, the losses of Willie Martin and Steven Moffat are real kicks in the teeth. Moffat has been possibly our player of the year so far, with his usually superb distribution, gracefulness and overall solidity in defence. Willie also has been a real threat in recent weeks, and his determination and commitment to the cause are an example to his team-mates, and at times just have to be seen to be believed. But both will be missing for some weeks: Martin has had to be operated on for appendicitis, while Moffat broke his ankle during the first half of last Saturday's game. He was missed badly in the second half, but the team will simply have to regroup. Richard Sinclair seems the obvious choice to fill the gap, having come on last week, and with Jim White out, John Gallagher away and possible makeshift defender Quinn out for a good while yet, there is really nobody else. Kenny Brannigan may have played in a midweek bounce match against Partick Thistle but has no intention of playing for the first team and in any case, is ineligible for this tie. As for Willie Martin's place, the likelihood is that it will go to David Menelaws, and if it does then it will constitute Menelaws first start. There are not likely to be any other changes, assuming that there are no late call-offs.
Opponents Accies have endured a tough season, and they will be hoping that Saturday's provides a little relief for them. On the other hand, it could plunge them into yet further depths of despair. On the park, things have not been going well. The team's hopes of promotion appeared to have been rendered stillborn, despite a decent start to the campaign, as form has fallen away over the last few months. Off the park, the situation is grave. Fans contempt of owner Jim Watson can't really get much deeper than it already is, as they blame him for selling their club down the river. What they do want is for him to hand power over to someone else: but Watson seems reluctant to do this. It has been well documented that payment of players' wages has been erratic to say the least, and several players, including key forward Brian McPhee, have requested transfers. The club's financial position is obviously far from healthy, with stories of irregularities at board level and debts that have proved a serious burden. A win is this tie could provide much-needed cash if they draw one of the bigger Glasgow clubs, or even any SPL team, but it is unlikely to appease fans who feel that a more capable and honest man at the helm is a necessity. Against this backdrop manager Chris Hillcoat has done a commendable job in his first season in the manager's chair. Rays of light could be provided by 16 year-old Darren Gribben, who scored a superb goal on his debut against Stenhousemuir, netted in the shootout win over East Fife on Monday, and is likely to play at some stage on Saturday. Hamilton's path to this game started with a tight win over Preston Athletic in the Lothians before that replay success against East Fife.
Queen's Park - Hamilton Academical matches in the Scottish Cup are a rarity, with the last meeting being on 24th January 1920 in a first round tie at Hampden. Queen's won 2-0, with goals from Alan Morton and brother Robert. The only previous meeting had been in 1909, with Queen's also coming out winners, albeit needing a replay to do so. Again, this was in the first round.
23/01/1909 Hamilton Academical (a) 0-0 14,000
30/01/1909 Hamilton Academical (h) 2-0 J. McLean (2) 20,000
24/01/1920 Hamilton Academical (h) 2-0 R. Morton, A. Morton 13,000
Queen's have played Hamilton more recently though: only last season, they knocked us out of the League Cup, 1-0 at Hampden.
My prediction for Saturday: Queen's will do enough to draw 1-1, and get the chance to go to Hamilton's new ground for the first time in what could be a tremendous replay.