| Queen's Park |
| Montrose |
| 0 |
| 3 |
| (Kerrigan, Fotheringham 2) |
| Billy Stark suffered what is perhaps his worst defeat to date as Queen's boss as Montrose - with no manager - stuffed the Spiders before a deserted South Stand at Hampden. Fielding the same team as last week, Queen's demonstrated their superiority for much of the first half over their unambitious opponents, but never looked like scoring, and defensive frailties were exposed in the second half by a visiting team just as stunned as Queen's were at their ability to score 3 goals away from home. Just where are Queen's headed? Our form is all over the place, and we've only seen glimpses of the excellent football we displayed during much of last season. The players are still trying to produce that quality, but if anything they're trying too hard to; even last season, it hardly proved a winning style all the time. This isn't to denigrate skilful football, it's the essence of the sport. But the truth is that the Queen's players simply aren't skilful enough to pull off a lot of the things they attempt during the course of games. Instead of acting on instinct, the players think out every move, yet still make the wrong decisions far too often. Montrose, like so many other teams, have a more instinctual approach and while they're not a good team by any means, this way will reap rewards occasionally. Yesterday was one of them, and it was embarassing for Queen's. As stated, Billy Stark made no changes to the team that defeated East Fife, with Paul Harvey's return still seemingly a world away and Quinn, Sinclair and Weir all injured. There was a new face among the substitutes however as teenage midfielder Paul Cairney was given a jersey; in fact we had no recognised defender listed in reserve. The visitors came south under the temporary management of Ian Gilzean after Henry Hall's resignation, and if the Queen's players thought this would make them a softer touch, it was a grave error. Queen's commanded play for much of the first half and a 3-0 scoreline seemed, on the surface at least, very far away during this time. However, if you looked closely it was possible to see how unlikely we were to score a goal despite a lot of the ball. In the 6th minute Kettlewell cleverly stepped ahead of the Montrose defenders to pounce on Dunlop's lofted cross but his header travelled well over the bar, and ten minutes later a low drive from Trouten inside the area was just about held by Butter at his near post. Both Queen's players would go on to have their worst games of the season after this. Montrose edged into their way after the opening half hour or so as Queen's inital brightness dimmed. In the 36th minute Henslee ran through the middle of the field but could only send his strike trundling beyond the left hand post. Like last week, Queen's ended the half with a surge. Good movement from Weatherston on the left led to him getting his cross over, one which spun off a defender's foot and rebounded to relative safefy for Montrose. That was in the 40th minute; with half-time almost upon them, Queen's forced the issue. First Kettlewell gathered Murray's cross to the edge of the area on his knee, and attempted a smart overhead kick which was headed away at Butter's near post. Then Mark Ferry forced the first real save from Butter, receiving Clark's ball over an advancing defence and blasting in an effort that the keeper parried. Ferry again went close before the whistle, reaching a header which looked like it should have been netbound but was in fact in Butter's direction, the keeper spilling it back out before a clearance was made. The half-time whistle went just as Stuart Kettlewell was trying to turn the ball back into the box. Queen's had not shone in the first half but had still looked a good deal more purposeful than Montrose, who with their jittery clearances and hurried passes looked all too keen to settle for a draw. Damningly it was a pattern Queen's ended up emulating during a nightmarish second half. Things didn't look all bad at first as Queen's were first to attack, some lovely jinking from Weatherston on the left winning a corner kick in the opening seconds of the half. That was wasted (aren't all of our corners?) and six minutes later Montrose went ahead with their first attempt on target. From a right-wing free-kick, Kerrigan rose to bullet header well beyond Crawford with the defence static. It had come out of nothing; Montrose had not been putting us in any danger at all prior to this. With the crucial first goal having gone against us, Billy Stark sought to rectify the situation by introducing Kevin Proctor for the surprisingly anonymous Tommy Murray. As has become his trademark, Proctor was involved instantly, incredibly winning headers at 3 consecutive corners as soon as he entered the fray. From the first of these, his knock on was met by Kettlewell and subsequently headed over the top by a defender. Then in 67 minutes, Kevin had a chance for glory but, wheeling round to meet Weatherston's cross, could only volley over the top. Not the easiest of chances, but coupled with Mark Ferry's shot into the sidenetting 4 minutes later, critical ones. Within a few minutes Montrose had more or less sealed their win with a goal on the counter attack. Fotheringham advanced through the centre, and unleashed a blinding shot from 20 yards that smacked past Crawford, who stood slightly off his line but may well have been beaten in any case. It was a sucker punch and Queen's were flat on their backs by the time the 3rd went in in the 77th minute. Fotheringham stepped up to send a free-kick curling round the meagre Queen's wall to the right of our area and past Crawford at his near post. It was a textbook strike, yet all too predictable for anyone in the crowd who could have seen exactly where Fotheringham was going to put the ball. Unfortunately David Crawford didn't and it was a case of poor judgment. Queen's were now headed inexorably for their heaviest defeat of the season in front of their worst crowd of the season, with the tiny handful of Montrose supporters barely audible even when greeting their goals. It was by now a sorry afternoon for the club. A frustrated and demoralised pair of Kettlewell and Agostini picked up bookings not long after the goal, then Jonny Whelan received his now-mandatory late and meaningless appearance, replacing Mark Ferry. He did volley comfortably over just after coming on but to be fair no-one was going to be capable of turning the game around for Queen's now - not even George Best in his prime. In the 84th minute Proctor connected with a cross from the right but Butter made a fine block, and with a minute to go a Montrose player dragged a shot wide when in a decent position. Paul Cairney would be handed a debut before the end, and in stoppage time Montrose could have added a fourth goal. They had achieved a mere handful of efforts at goal - they probably had even fewer chances than they had fans - but Watson should have done better after receiving a long pass that found Steven Reilly floundering to reach him. We were spared that ignominy, but it was of scant meaning. To lose by three clear goals to Montrose is nothing short of a disgrace, yet if Queen's Park's recent history is anything to go by, next Saturday's visit of Raith Rovers in the Scottish Cup should see a more spirited display and probably a tighter outcome. Queen's Park: David Crawford, Ross Clark, Mick Dunlop, Steven Reilly, Damiano Agostini, Alan Trouten, Stuart Kettlewell, Paul Paton (Paul Cairney 90), David Weatherston, Tommy Murray (Kevin Proctor 58), Mark Ferry (Jonny Whelan 81). Substitutes not used: Richard Bowers, Alexander Cowie. Booked: Kettlewell, Agostini, Trouten. Montrose: Jim Butter, Barry Donachie, Elliot Smith, Paul Doyle, Levi Stephen, Steve Kerrigan, Kevin Webster, Stephen Fraser (Kerr Dodds 69), Greg Henslee (Calum Watson 76), Martyn Fotheringham, Euan Hall. Substitutes not used: Jamie McKenzie, Andy Cargill, Michael Hankinson. Goals: Kerrigan 52, Fotheringham 73, 77. Referee: Martin Sproule. Attendance: 351. |