| Queen's Park |
| Albion Rovers |
| 5 |
| 0 |
| (Weatherston, Kettlewell, Trouten pen. Ferry 2) |
| Queen's looked like potential champions yesterday following a 5-0 stuffing of an off-form Albion Rovers at Hampden. In doing so Queen's gained ample revenge for their heartache at Cliftonhill this season, and surprised everyone, not with the quality of their play but by the ease with which they won. Rovers began the match in sprightly fashion but were clearly disheartened by David Weatherston's clinical opening goal, and the standard of finishing would continue to be of that high standard. Assisted as they were by an increasingly disoriented Rovers, Queen's ran amok and set themselves up perfectly for the biggest game of the season: next week's visit to Berwick. Unsurprisingly, Robert Dunn was left out of the side in place of Paul Ronald, but that was the only change Billy Stark made from the team that saw to Elgin last week. He couldn't change a team filled with such self-belief, a team developing in every game; it was remarkable to see the pace and drive of Stuart Kettlewell yesterday, and Paton's authority, and Cairney's skill, and Weatherston's tireless pace. These are fantastic players; holding on to them in the summer will take some doing. Of course our recent run (of 6 wins and a draw in the last 7) has been achieved almost entirely without Richard Sinclair and Steven Reilly, two of our best players. Steven Canning has been steady enough at left-back but Mick Dunlop has towered over attackers in the middle. In fact the Dunlop/Agostini team has been just as good as the Sinclair/Reilly team ever was. Witness the fact that we've not let a goal in during the last 4 games, and David Crawford hasn't even had to save much during that time. Yesterday, Rovers only real came close in the early stages, with a few decent moves and a few worrying free headers, but they were all easily dealt with. Their best chance fell to Scott Chaplain at the back post, but he wasn't ready and his tap was cleared off the line. By that point of the game Queen's were already ahead The rain had been lashing down for most of the opening 15 minutes, but dried up a bit in time for Queen's to score. David Weatherston took a pass through and with sublime confidence, drilled the ball low into the far corner in a repeat of his strike against Dumbarton. We didn't add any more goals during the first half but Alan Trouten certainly should have scored after being put clean through by Weatherston's pass. Debutant Scott made a fine save, and Weatherston then couldn't quite find Trouten as he overhit his cross (though it was very unselfish of him not to go for goal alone). Rovers seemed demoralised, and Queen's started the landslide not long after the restart. Stuart Kettlewell gathered the ball on the right and drove into the box, letting fly from a tight angle, and the ball took a slight deflection on its way past Scott. But it was a great strike. Queen's were in complete control, and scored a third from the penalty spot with 20 minutes to go. Weatherston seemed to have lost possession on the far corner of the penalty area, yet reclaimed the ball and was tripped from behind by Chisholm. A giveaway from Rovers, and Alan Trouten scored the penalty by placing it low to Scott's left. We weren't finished there. Billy Stark threw on Dunn and Carroll for Weatherston and Ronald (who had displayed his usual bravery and given Lennox a torrid time), and almost immediately Frankie pushed Trouten's crossfield pass onto Ferry who rolled the ball home. Rovers were all over the place now and the fifth saw their defence descend to new levels of helplessness. Somehow they manage to ship the ball across their own penalty box straight to Mark 'Bryan' Ferry, who easily nodded it into the net for his 11th goal of the season- putting him just one behind Weatherston. Two goals for him on a day when he hardly had a decent shot at goal- yet he was superb in every other department. 5-0, and there were still ten minutes left for Queen's to equal their 51-year record victory over Albion Rovers or, more importantly, for Robert Dunn to finally score a goal. Neither happened, but how could one ask for more? Queen's scoring five goals against the men from Coatbridge- it was a dream day, and a fine way for Jonny Whelan to say goodbye to the club. He's off to New Jersey to take up a coaching post, but will be at Berwick next week to see Queen's take on his old club in what could be the match of the season. Eight games to go- those new QP sweatbands might come in useful for each of them. Queen's Park: David Crawford, Paul Paton, Mick Dunlop, Steven Canning, Damiano Agostini, Alan Trouten, Stuart Kettlewell, Paul Cairney (Tony Quinn 80), Paul Ronald (Robert Dunn 75), David Weatherston (Frankie Carroll 75), Mark Ferry. Substitutes not used: Richard Sinclair, Mark Cairns. Goals: Weatherston 16, Kettlewell 53, Trouten penalty 70, Ferry 76, 80. Albion Rovers: David Scott, Gordon Moffat, Tommy Lennox (Ian Chisholm 63), Kevin Nicoll, Peter Watson, Philip Creaney (John McGoldrick 46), Bobby Thomson, Scott Chaplain, Bryan Felvus, Pat Walker, Bryan Smith. Substitutes not used: Andy Sim, Trialist, Lee Thompson. Booked: Moffat, Nicoll. Referee: John Underhill. Attendance: 654. |