| Queen's Park |
| 1 |
| Montrose |
| 1 |
| ( Reilly penalty ) |
| ( Kerrigan ) |
| If you're going to draw, why not make it look as if you're going to win. Queen's and Montrose have now drawn their last 5 games with each other, but of them all this was easily the most exciting to watch and brought about Queen's best performance at home since beating Elgin in their first home game of the season. Thus, the fact that we didn't win was jarring, made more so as Montrose seemed to offer little threat as the match moved to a close. More than most sides though, Queen's have a curious lack of a killer instinct, either throwing away games that were there for the winning or passing up chances to win games they had been in control of. The team is still relatively young however, and such flaws can be wiped out, however long they've been in place. As another step away from the Stranraer disaster, the match offers hope that six points can be gained in the coming, eminently winnable, two fixtures. An identical line-up and formation were chosen following the win at Gretna, and the substitutes were also the same. Kenny Brannigan had no intention of messing with the formula, even if that meant once more leaving out Richard Sinclair, not considering Steven Canning, and fielding Steven Fallon in a left wing-back role at which, although he has worked admirably at playing in, he has been slightly shaky. Montrose, without a defeat since the appointment of Henry Hall, had always been a tough obstacle for Queen's even while a poor side, so getting a second successive win didn't seem on the cards before the match. Rain would lash down intermittently before and during the game, making the surface progressively soggier, and had the game lasted about ten minutes longer, could have had a detrimental effect on the quality of the play. As it turned out, Queen's played neat football throughout despite the conditions, and started positively. The win last week had put wind in Queen's's sails and their determination was obvious from kick-off, Derek Carcary obviously surprising the Montrose defence who were totally unaware of his pace - for about one second. A couple of weak Michie efforts for Montrose provided the first shots at goal, then Wood hooked a shot narrowly wide of Scrimgour's left hand post in the 11th minute. But despite Montrose having more attempts at goal, Queen's looked the more dangerous side, and had a first half-chance when Carroll rose to meet Harvey's cross, knocking the ball unawares back to the edge of the box where no-one was positioned to meet it. In the 28th minute Queen's should have opened the scoring, and it was Derek Carcary who spurned the chance. Derek's first goal for the club is eagerly awaited given the excitement he has given whenever he's been played, and it should have arrived here; collecting Harvey's pass which was threaded through the defence, Carcary homed in on goal but Butter blocked his first shot, and with the goal gaping the teenager slammed the rebound wide when a goal seemed a certainty. But the maturity the young striker had shown in keeping himself onside and getting into such a dangerous position made us think that his first goal may not be too long in arriving. The teams were evenly matched for most of the first half with chances divided up roughly equally. For Montrose, Wood found an excellent shooting chance in 32 minutes after sidestepping Ferry but blasted just over the top. Play moved swiftly to the other end and Carroll's claims for a penalty were dismissed by referee Mitchell, probably the correct decision. Then it was straight back up to the Queen's area and Ferry, playing heroically, cut out Michie's cut back from the bye-line. Ferry was again instrumental in foiling another Montrose attack five minutes on after Queen's defence was left exposed by Webster; clean through on goal, his shot was parried by Scrimgour, and Ferry intercepted his pass from the rebound. With Ferry and Carcary in such inspired form, Queen's were putting in a performance above their usual Hampden average, and could have taken the lead right on half-time when Whelan headed Clark's superb cross from deep on the right on target at the back post, only for Butter to paw the ball over the bar. If anything Queen's would up a gear in the second half and gradually they took command of the game as Montrose retreated into defence - one that didn't look all that secure. Three minutes after the break, Ferguson made an appalling hash of a header out of the box, allowing Carroll to pick up and shoot at Butter from close range. Another three minutes later, Carcary, showing nimble footwork on a soaked pitch, broke through into the middle and blazed a shot not that far over. Queen's were gaining in confidence all the time, and Paul Harvey, whose creativity was present for as long as he was on the pitch, found Carroll with a neat pass which Carroll back-flicked beautifully into Carcary's path. Carcary's cross was held comfortably, but this sort of football has been absent from the National Stadium for so many weeks that John McCormack's under-achievers of last year were beginning to seem like 1870s groundbreakers by our recent standards. But a corner can be turned if today's level of performance is maintained, and a second win on the trot seemed to be heading our way when a 65th penalty was awarded Queen's way. Another example of Montrose's hesitant defending, Ferguson again made a meal of things, losing control of Whelan's header on the edge of the 6-yard box and allowing Carcary to gain ground. Giving the 17 year-old an inch of room is fast becoming a suicide-ticket for opposition defenders, and as Carcary charged past him Ferguson flattened Derek from behind. Not even a Scottish League referee could miss such an obvious penalty award. Reilly stroked the ball to Butter's right, and the ball entered the net underneath the goalkeeper's diving body to give Queen's the lead they deserved. But was it one they could keep? A Montrose equaliser certainly looked unlikely as Queen's strengthened their grip on the match, albeit with a second goal seeming far off. In the end, their failure to capitalise on their domination of possession would prove fatal for Queen's as the game seemed to be drifting quietly to a conclusion. Having already used Kettlewell for the tiring veteran Harvey, Kenny Brannigan threw on Paddy Gallagher for Carroll instead of the more obvious goal poacher, Stephen McAuley. Another rift developing? It's the last thing we need given McAuley's tremendous displays earlier in the season and if Kenny Brannigan manages to lose faith in his own signings as well as players he inherited from someone else it's a worrying sign. Queen's began to sit back and Montrose moved into attack, giving the home support jangly nerves in waiting for Webster to bend a free-kick from a decent position just inches past and over. Sadly, it wouldn't be the visitors' last threat and the sickening equaliser came with three minutes left to play. Spink, on as a substitute, gathered on the left after a lazy goal kick had surrendered possession, cut inside and drilled a low shot off the far post. Hearts in mouths turned to heads in hands as Kerrigan bashed the rebound quick as a flash into the empty net, and the meagre to non-existent travelling crowd ( minus a group of louts whose devotion to their team stretched to leaving at the Queen's goal ) tried and failed to celebrate a goal. There's a lot we could teach these types of 'supporters' when it comes to goal celebrations - nothing less than battering the back of the dugout, cavorting like a dervish and gesticulating wildly at the other team's fans can be deemed acceptable. Sadly there's not much we can teach Montrose, or anyone else for that matter, about how to hold onto a lead. To their credit Queen's regrouped and went on the attack for the short time that was left, and should have been awarded a penalty kick when a Montrose defender virtually carried a cross away from goal. To the utter disgust of the more vocal element among the home fans Mr. Mitchell saw nothing wrong; if he saw anything at all, he presumably felt that the contact was accidental. To compound this lazy and cowardly refereeing ( you can't give a team two penalties in one game, it's against the rules ), Mitchell added on less than a minute of stoppage time when surely the convention of 30 seconds added for each substitution demanded that at least two extra minutes be played ( five substitutions were made in total ). So a good showing from Queen's, and many players seemed to have recovered their form and are learning to work together as a unit again. Whether Kenny Brannigan elects to stick with the current eleven and its formation may depend on the availability of other players, Ally Graham especially, but if Derek Carcary's last two performances when starting are properly accredited then there can be no doubt that the youngster has what it takes to become a fixture in the Queen's team - and that means now, not a year or two down the line. If he continues to progress and finds some composure in front of goal, he's not likely to be at Queen's by that time. Queen's Park: Derek Scrimgour, Danny Ferry, David Stewart, Ross Clark, Damiano Agostini, Steven Fallon, Paul Harvey ( Stuart Kettlewell 62 ), Steven Reilly, Frankie Carroll ( Paddy Gallagher 84 ), Jonny Whelan, Derek Carcary. Substitutes not used: David McCallum, Stephen McAuley, David Crawford. Goal: Steven Reilly penalty 66. Montrose: Jim Butter, Barry Donachie, Stuart Ferguson, Elliot Smith, John McQuillan, Steve Kerrigan, Kevin Webster, Keith Gibson ( Graeme Sharp 66 ), Scott Michie, Martin Wood ( Robbie Henderson 82 ), Craig Smart ( Darren Spink 85 ). Goal: Steve Kerrigan 88. Referee: G. Mitchell. Attendance: 433. |