| Queen's Park |
| Montrose |
| 2 |
| 2 |
| (Harvey, Felvus) |
| (Henslee, Fraser) |
| Queen's Park's play-off bid now seems to have unravelled completely after they failed to dispose of lowly Montrose, despite holding the advantage of a 2-goal lead early in the second half. Yet again, Queen's could not punish their opponents, as 2-0 became 2-1 within a very short space of time; earlier good chances had been squandered, and the chance to put the game beyond Montrose was chucked away by Weatherston and Felvus, who both showed a woeful lack of composure in front of goal. Montrose are a poor side - their passing left a great deal to be desired, their play for two thirds of the game was aimless - yet like almost all of the other teams in the league, they are deadlier in attack than Queen's, and after a sustained battering of the Queen's goal, Henslee headed home an equaliser 11 minutes from the end. It's very difficult to believe this has happened - at one stage Queen's held a ten point lead over Elgin, with a game in hand to boot, yet now find themselves behind the northerners. And, because of the difficulty of the remaining games, and the shattered morale of the players, a recovery from Queen's now seems a fantastical prospect. Queen's played slicker football yesterday than during most of the time in recent weeks, but, emphatically, goals win games and this most serious of flaws within any football team - no strikers- has crushed Queen's. They weren't exactly helped by an injury to David Crawford in the first 20 minutes of the game, but replacement Mark Cairns played well, made one fine save before the Montrose equaliser, and made a valiant attempt to prevent Henslee's equaliser. It's also difficult to see how David Crawford could have saved either goal, coming as they did from a free-kick and a corner, just where he's at his weakest. There can be little doubt that Billy Stark will shoulder much of the blame for Queen's's collapse over the last 3 months, and searching questions must be asked of his performance and tactics yesterday. Even before the game, it was clear that he'd selected an impotent bench; in fact, it looked almost as if the list of replacements had been slapped down onto paper a few minutes before kick-off with little thought. Kevin Proctor's absence from the squad was little more than was expected but why is it that a fit, keen striker - always eager to warm-up and travel away from home when he's not even in the 16 - is completely ignored when goals are at such a premium? The bench yesterday contained a half-fit Canning, a semi-retired Whelan, and a player- Tommy Murray - who in my belief is certainly not good enough to play in the Queen's Park first team. Stark's decisions to bring Canning on at Arbroath and yesterday go down as two of the worst he's ever made - Stevie was miles off the pace in both games and it was clearly asking too much to expect him to impress in such crucial games, when short of match practice and playing out of position. Stark chose to bring off Mark Ferry with 17 minutes to go, just when the midfielder had been giving one of his best performances in months; a similar decision was made in the East Fife game a couple of weeks ago when Tony Quinn was substituted. In both cases the opposition promptly scored. Billy's decision making has been consistently wrong for some weeks now, and thought it was unlikely to have been deliberate, more could have been done to prevent Queen's withdrawing into a shell midway during the second half and allowing Montrose space and chances. It wouldn't be right to want Billy to turn into a ranting, raving boss -a Brannigan clone- but it would also be encouraging to see him do a little more in the way of visibly encouraging his players during the games. It would also rouse the fans. Whether he is capable of adequately motivating the players cannot be known with any conviction but based on results in the last few months his credibility as a manager is wobbling. Because of the club's amateur ethos, as well as the full-time contract he was recently handed, it's highly unlikely that Billy Stark would be dismissed by the committee. Given his alleged stubbornness and determination, his resignation also seems fanciful. But there can be no doubt that his seeming failure to qualify Queen's for the play-offs is a major setback in his managerial career- one in which he's enjoyed few highlights to date. Queen's still have to fulfil three games and obviously must be dutiful in their attempts to win and salvage something back from what's turned into a sickening season, but the players seemed to be on their last legs yesterday and minds were clearly fearful and nerve-ridden. The summer trip to Germany will be much welcomed as a chance to recharge batteries and lift spirits (for fans as well as players, in fact), but also as a chance to bed in new players; the obvious necessities being some new strikers. Frankly, it'd be easy to simply wish the season over now, and I'm tempted to do so. But football fans are full of pride in their clubs, and all those who go to Stenhousemuir next Saturday - though there may not be many- will be there for precisely that reason. Queen's Park: David Crawford (Mark Cairns 24), Paul Paton, Mick Dunlop, Steven Reilly, Richard Sinclair, Ross Clark, David Weatherston, Tony Quinn, Bryan Felvus, Paul Harvey (Steven Canning 87), Mark Ferry (John Weir 73). Substitutes not used: Jonny Whelan, Tommy Murray. Booked: Quinn, Reilly. Goals: Harvey 27, Felvus 51. Montrose: Sandy Wood, Darren Kelly (Steve Kerrigan 63), Stuart Ferguson, Graham Hay, Stephen Fraser, Barry Donachie, Kevin Webster (James Russell 75), Greig Henslee, Calum Watson, Hugh Davidson, Gary Middleton (Kris Brash 56). Substitutes not used: Ian MacLeod, Michael Hankinson. Booked: Watson, Donachie. Goals: Henslee 54, Fraser 79. Referee: Jamie Downie. Attendance: 369. |