| Queen's Park |
| East Fife |
| 2 |
| 0 |
| ( Murray, Dodds og ) |
| There are certain teams Queen's Park enjoying beating more than most, and East Fife are one of them. This game was of particular importance with respect to the league table; the Methil side led by 2 points beforehand, though Queen's had played a game less. Back in September a frail display had allowed East Fife to squeeze a victory, but on an occasionally surreal afternoon at the National Stadium it was Queen's who triumphed and allowed us the pleasure of a place in the top 4 of the league. The absence of any game for the last 3 weeks didn't mean that Billy Stark was free of injury problems. Steven Reilly passed a fitness test prior to the game and so made it, but Richard Sinclair had already been ruled out. Taking his place was Damiano Agostini for his first start of the season, and against his old club. Billy saw no reason to change things up front, so Tommy Murray kept his place alongside Weatherston; he had clearly looked a forward against Albion Rovers and would have an impressive afternoon in the advanced role. Kevin Proctor had been overlooked once more, but there was a place on the bench this time for the former Pollok player. Paul Harvey is still injured with a knee problem, and Tony Quinn was also unavailable, allowing Paul Paton a start in central midfield. On a dreich day the wet had obviously sent quite a few potential spectators scurrying back indoors, and the crowd was 399 - pitiful given the importance of the fixture. The number of fans travelling from Fife was particularly laughable - no more than around 30, despite their good form. Even then, the crowd was not the smallest of the season. It's been apparent for a while now that the rise in support we gained after our championship triumph in 2000 has dissipated more or less completely, and it remains to be seen if the play-off challenge will bring fans back as the season reaches its climax. East Fife would have the better of the opening 5 minutes, taking a grip on possession. A lapse in concentration from the Queen's back line allowed a shot to come in from the edge of the area after 2 minutes, with Crawford making his first save of the game. But after this opening spell Queen's assumed control of the game, with Alan Trouten particularly prominent. He blasted a shot across the face of goal in the 6th minute, with Dodds getting a slight touch but looking very uncertain. The corner, which Trouten took himself, was completely misdirected yet East Fife were so sloppy in defence that Trouten was allowed the chance to get the ball back and shoot just wide via a deflection. Defensively it was the beginning of the visitors' woes. Clever play from Tommy Murray in the 11th minute led to him feeding Weatherston on his right; the cross was accurate and Trouten made clean contact, but his volley lacked the power to trouble Dodds. Little happened for some time after that; then in the 28th minute a spectacular volley from Kettlewell diverted the ball back across goal with the shot going past. Then came a good chance for East Fife; the dangerous Smart burst through the middle, with no defenders getting close enough, and his rising shot was tipped wide by Crawford. He should have done better. The game had brought standard fare so far but the last few minutes of the half brought an amazing period of chances for Queen's Park, and quite how they failed to take the lead during it was a mystery. First Paton missed a glorious chance when he met the ball cleanly in oceans of space but could only strike the upright with his header. Queen's regrouped and continued to attack, while East Fife looked on, seemingly helpless. Yet the ball would not go in; Trouten slipped in the area and cracked a cross/shot off the post; then, as the ball was launched into the area for the umpteenth time, Weatherston appeared at the back post to bury it but unbelievably nodded wide with the goal at his mercy. After passing up the opportunity to score it was easy to believe that East Fife would now be the ones to break the deadlock, and they would look threatening in every attack for the first part of the second half. Yet so would Queen's in what was an entertaining first half of the second half. More importantly, it was the time when Queen's made the three points theirs. Two minutes into the half Murray and Weatherston linked up with the latter's shot going comfortably past. Probably he had taken too long before shooting, but there are signs that the partnership of Murray and Weatherston could be a fixture in the Queen's team. The next couple of minutes should have brought an opening goal from East Fife as the visitors repeated Queen's glaring misses at the end of the first half. First Smart squeezed a shot beyond the post, getting no power behind it despite being in an excellent position. Then Noble broke free on the left with Smart in support, but his shot came off the outside of Crawford's right-hand post. Assisted by uncertain defending, both teams looked well capable of scoring. A towering header from Mark Ferry, meeting David Weatherston's cross, was palmed over the bar by Dodds. Ferry had been pretty quiet up until then, but it was a fantastic header, and within 3 minutes he got the reward he deserved when Tommy Murray took his neatly unexpected pass, pushed on towards the box and drilled the ball unstoppably home at Dodds's near post. The match would, nonetheless, continue to swing back and forth, and Smart again should have scored when he received a sweeping cross from the left, only to flick the ball straight at Crawford. The goalkeeper has saved Queen's countless times this season (he saved two penalties, and their rebounds, in the otherwise forgettable game at Bayview in September) and he would haunt East Fife, and Craig Smart most of all, in this game. In the 65th minute Smart hit the post, but Crawford had got a very slight touch to prevent the ball going in. A minute later, he was holding his head in his hands as the Queen's no. 1 made an amazing save from Smart's header at close range. East Fife would be punished for these failures almost immediately, with one of the strangest goals of the season. Trouten struck a shot from 25 yards that looked like an easy catch for Dodds, but he completely misjudged it, allowing the ball to spin off his diving body and bounce, bounce, bounce gently over the line. It has to be classed as an own goal, and while Jim Moffat would claim after the game that Queen's won because of their clinical finishing, he was being protective of his keeper. There was nothing clinical about this goal; it was simply a complete howler from the goalkeeper. East Fife were deflated by the goal and it was pretty obvious now that the game was as good as won. A third goal should have been added by Queen's with 13 minutes to go, but after Murray had sped away down the right, he delayed his delivery too long, finally smacking the ball across goal too quickly for the onrushing Weatherston. Davie could no more than hook the ball over the bar with his leg outstretched. He'll have been disappointed not to get a goal from the game but his effort was peerless again the goals should follow soon. Between them the two teams would make their full quota of substitutions in the closing 12 minutes, with in Queen's case it being a chance to give short run-outs to players who hadn't played for at least 3 weeks. East Fife might have been beaten, but that didn't mean they wouldn't miss chances; substitute Bradford swung at a cross that had been flighted to the back post, missing it wildly. Returning to the top 4 was vital, and equally was important was proving that we could defeat a team higher placed than us in the league, something we've struggled with so far this season. It was pleasant not to concede a goal also. With East Fife looking a stuttering team, it may well be that Arbroath replace them as our main obstacle to a play-off place but in terms of overall talent Queen's should eclipse them both. An exciting time lies ahead. Queen's Park: David Crawford, Ross Clark, Mick Dunlop, Steven Reilly, Damiano Agostini, Alan Trouten, Stuart Kettlewell, Paul Paton, David Weatherston (Jonny Whelan 90), Tommy Murray (Richard Bowers 89), Mark Ferry (Shaun Molloy 90). Substitutes not used: Kevin Proctor, Alexander Cowie. Goals: Murray 56, Dodds own goal 67. East Fife: John Dodds, Andy Campbell, Kris Brash (Euan Donaldson 78), Craig Lumsden, Greig McDonald, Gary Kelly, Sean Paliczka (Trialist 83), Stephan Fortune, Craig Smart, Stuart Noble, Paul Hampshire (John Bradford 78). Substitutes not used: Kevin Bain, Scott Morrison. Referee: John McKendrick. Attendance: 399. |