( Whelan ) ( Diack )
Tony Mitchell was back in goal after an absence of 4 months or so, a consequence of Colin Stewart's departure. John Gemmell had picked up a bug, and so was replaced by Allan Dunning in attack. Young Stuart Kettlewell and Chris Lamb were given their first bench places. Tactically, there was a switch of sides with Richard Sinclair moving to the left to accomodate Danny Ferry in his more accustomed right wing-back role.
Queen's habit of conceding early goals has been stamped out recently, so it was a real sickener when Albion opened the scoring just 3 minutes into the match. Silvestro gathered a ball from midfield and paced down the right, avoiding half-hearted challenges from Clark and Ferry, before crossing to the back post for Diack to knock the ball past a flatfooted Mitchell. Quite a few of the visiting fans had yet to take their seats, due to some congestion at the turnstiles caused by a bigger than usual turnout. They had missed one of the few good moves by their team, and the opening goal.
It would take quite a while for Queen's to assume any sort of rhythm to their play, and chances were extremely limited. There were only scraps in the opening 20 minutes, with Allan nearly getting on the end of a short McCaig passback, and Steven Moffat touching the ball wide after Willie Martin had pressurised Shearer at a corner kick. Shearer's first save of any description came after 19 minutes, when he comfortably dealt with a 20 yard Whelan shot.
There were some signs of nervousness evident in the Queen's Park rearguard, perhaps a symptom of the problems in adjusting to playing with a different goalkeeper. After a low shot was worryingly fumbled by Mitchell in the 24th minute, Damiano Agostini elected to fire the ball straight out for a throw, instead of turning and launching the ball upfield, which would have seemed the obvious option. Mitchell demonstrated that he can be just as effective a keeper as Colin Stewart though, tipping away in an agile fashion a powerful cross-shot by Bradford eight minutes later.
Willie Martin has the power and pace to trouble full-backs and when he received an excellent Moffat pass before turning and crossing into the area, James Allan should have done better than to slice his effort high and wide of target. Allan then disappointed again a minute after, shooting weakly after finding his way into a reasonably good position.
A couple of minutes before half-time, Queen's best opportunity arrived. Allan played a low ball towards the penalty spot, Allan Dunning attempted to get his shot in but found Shearer blocking his path. Willie Martin then fired in from the rebound but Shearer proved an insuperable barrier once more. The incident highlighted once more Queen's Park's need for a poacher, someone who can pick up loose balls close to goal and score from them.
The half-time interval was extended by a few minutes to allow for a change of referee and to obtain a new assistant. An injury to A. Hunter allowed his assistant A. Aird to take over. The new referee did little to help the quality of the game improve, with his whistle seeming to persistently blow at inopportune moments for some fairly petty offences.
In truth, the second half was as big a disappointment as the first. Queen's were certainly missing the presence of John Gemmell against some hefty opposing defenders, and an equaliser looked unlikely unless it was to come from the mysterious Menelaws, whose appearance in a Queen's jersey we have craved for so long. As it turned out, he was not needed for that. By the time he replaced Allan Dunning in the 69th minute, Queen's were already level. The goal had come 6 minutes earlier; Ferry collected a clearing header and volleyed a deep cross to the back post with precision, where Johnny Whelan was waiting, and he peeled off his marker to stoop and head the ball low past the outstretched left arm of Shearer and into the net at the far post.
The replay that many had predicted now seemed likely. Queen's probably enjoyed the better of the further exchanges in the match, though they were nearly caught two minutes after the goal when Mercer found room on the edge of Mitchell's box but smacked the ball into the side netting, but the momentum gained after the goal soon fizzled out. The introduction of Menelaws certainly livened up Queen's attack, and after being on the pitch barely a minute he showed he is certainly back to fitness, outpacing the Rovers defence to gather a long ball. He charged towards goal but his cross-shot was easily saved. A few minutes later, and he was again involved, slinging over a delicate cross which Willie Martin flicked just over the bar on the volley at the near post. Menelaws is clearly a cheery character, full of enthusiasm for the game, and it looks as though he is no mean footballer either. He will surely go on to establish himself as a regular in the team, though at whose expense, at least in the short term, is debatable.
The game drew to a close quietly but Rovers threatened before the end, the danger coming from crosses. Twice the ball was played across goal with no visiting forward sharp enough to get on the end of it, and Mitchell and a slightly uncertain defence breathed a sigh of relief. Indeed, so did we all. Queen's are still in the Cup, and for that we can be thankful. This was a tie which could well have slipped away from us had we not scored when we did, and an improved display will surely be required to defeat the Coatbridge men on home soil in the replay, and secure a third round tie with Hamilton or East Fife. A word on the draw: it was made at Hampden, and as we watched just a few hundred yards away, I was probably the only person in the room fervently hoping that Queen's were not drawn against either Celtic or Rangers. For me, the most important thing about the cup is not the financial rewards to be reaped, but the prospect of a run to the latter stages. The draw Queen's Park were given allows us a realistic chance of that happening. After all, it's about playing for the sake of the game, and the more games the better!
Queen's Park: Mitchell, Sinclair, Ferry, Moffat, Agostini, Fallon, Martin, Whelan, Dunning ( Menelaws ), Clark, Allan. Substitutes not used: Taggart, Lappin, Kettlewell, Lamb.
Goal: Whelan 63.
Albion Rovers: Shearer, Paterson, Stirling, Smith, McCaig, Cormack, McAllister
( Mercer ), Silvestro, Bradford, Diack, Dick ( McLean ). Substitutes not used: Weir, Duncan, Fahey.
Goal: Diack 3.
Attendance: 1,117.
Replay scheduled for Tuesday, 7 January, at Cliftonhill Stadium, kickoff 7.30 pm.