| Queen's Park |
| Motherwell |
| 0 |
| 3 |
| (Foran 3) |
| The dream ended for Queen's with defeat at Motherwell's hands in the League Cup, as unsurprisingly Queen's were unable to lift their performance to the level achieved in the Aberdeen game. We were even a little disappointing, with too many players as uninvolved as they've been in the most recent games. But had Steven Canning not missed spectacularly from 6 yards, Motherwell would have been put in a serious position, and who's to say what would have unfolded? Of course, without our three first-choice central defenders keeping Motherwell out became an even more formidable task. Agostini joined Reilly and Sinclair in the stand, and Tony Quinn was forced back into defence for the first time in years. Robert Dunn was preferred in attack to Frankie Carroll, and he would put in a hard-working performance, but lack of support from the midfielders forced him into doing too much outside the box- a feature of recent games. In goal, the experience of Mark Cairns was too much for Billy Stark to ignore. Queen's started the game with enthusiasm, driving at the Motherwell goal from kick-off. They'd been forward a few times, with Trouten looking sharp, before a neat move in the 6th minute ended with Canning's shot flying straight at Meldrum. Motherwell didn't get close till the 19th minute. A free-kick was launched back into the middle after being cleared at first, and Foran's drive at the back post from 8 yards was fumbled out by Mark Cairns. Two minutes later came a moment that will linger in the memory far beyond the final of this season's League Cup. David Weatherston made a fool of the Well left-back, and squared the ball across for Steven Canning, with Meldrum helpless. Canning merely had to tap the ball over the line, but hesitated, taking more than one touch before desperate defending got the ball cleared. That wasn't all. From the resulting corner, beautifully taken by Paton, Quinn got up there to head it down, and Dunn forced a shot in which was scrambled away, before Canning's follow-up was blocked. It was thrilling stuff, and when the time comes for this season's final, remember these chances; it could have been us. The support were stunned, and Motherwell were spurred into action. It was no surprise that they should take the lead three minutes later. After Donnelly's header had shaved the post, a fine ball from midfield put Foran away. The Irishman was too quick for Jonny Whelan, and coolly fired the ball beyond the onrushing Cairns to the relief of the Well support at the far end of the South Stand. Motherwell began to look like the Premierleague side, and a slick move should have seen them extend the lead in the 33rd minute. However, Lasley dragged his shot wide of Cairns's right hand post to a chorus of jeers from the Hoops support. Just before half-time. Foran headed straight at Cairns. Shortly after, referee Tumilty awarded Motherwell a corner when Quinn seemed to have been tripped when fighting for possession, and the abuse of the referee from the crowd reached a crescendo. Already, he'd seemed reluctant to penalise Motherwell players for fouls, and no Well player would collect a booking until Donnelly (who should arguably have been booked much earlier) late on. Our hope was that Queen's would come out blazing for the second half, just the way they had started the game. Instead, it was Motherwell who attacked, and pretty soon we'd been set on fire with the goal that sealed their win. The Queen's goal was put under intense pressure, with Foran striking the bar, and we just couldn't spoon it away. Foran forged his way back in, and struck, the ball landing in the net despite the presence of three Queen's Park defenders on the goalline. Motherwell had Queen's at their mercy, and McDonald forced a magnificent save from Cairns at close range, before Foran turned it back in for the Australian to crack the post. Then Foran stooped to head a cross wide, prior to Motherwell scoring a third in the 56th minute. McDonald broke away on the right of the box, but went down very easily under close attention from Ferry. It was probably a penalty- his shirt seemed to be pulled- but McDonald did himself no favours by exaggerating; except, of course, for the fact that he got the penalty. Foran tucked the kick away to Cairns's right, though Queen's's most impressive player did guess correctly. The match was clearly over in any meaningful sense, and Queen's could do little more than keep the score down in the remaining half-hour. We began to lose the ball ever more easily, and so any chance of a welcome goal receded. Billy Stark did try to push his players forward, bringing on Richard Bowers for Jonny Whelan midway through the half. The team switched to a 3-4-3 system, but Bowers made little headway against tough defenders. Queen's had struggled for ages to get out of their own half, but Dunn did go fairly close from a Trouten free-kick in the 72nd minute. Two minutes on, Cairns made another smart save to push Elliot's twisting volley over the top. The corner was well-cleared by Quinn. The closing minutes were played out, but it was a case of getting it all over and done with. Ronald was introduced for Canning, but was of little value in midfield, while Paton deserved to be booked for an 86th minute lunge. Tommy Murray came back into the team for a few minutes, replacing Dunn. It was a frustrating night, and our lack of a proper striker was made brutally clear yet again. Still, if the midfield are unable to take a grip of the game at any stage, or support Dunn and the tireless Weatherston with runs, we will always be running up a hill to get goals. Without doubt, we could do with having Quinn back as a driving force in this area. These issues aren't all that relevant against a far better team like Motherwell, but they were still evident, and must be corrected soon. Thanks to the players and Billy- they gave us some unbelievable times in this competition. Now it's time to sort the league out. Queen's Park: Mark Cairns, Paul Paton, Mick Dunlop, Tony Quinn, Jonny Whelan (Richard Bowers 67), Steven Canning (Paul Ronald 77), Stuart Kettlewell, Alan Trouten, Robert Dunn (Tommy Murray 84), David Weatherston, Mark Ferry. Substitutes not used: Shaun Molloy, David Crawford. Booked: Paton. Motherwell: Colin Meldrum, Brian Kerr, Stephen Craigan, Scott McDonald (Ross McCormack 77), Richie Foran (Calum Elliot 71), Jim Paterson, Steven McGarry, Paul Quinn, Keith Lasley (Kevin McBride 79), Brian Donnelly, Mark Reynolds. Substitutes not used: Marc Fitzpatrick, Graeme Smith. Booked: Donnelly. Goals: Foran 25, 48, penalty 57. Referee: Mike Tumilty. Attendance: 2,408. |