| Queen's Park nearly made the perfect start to life without Kenny Brannigan, and I don't think I'm the only fan who left Hampden gutted that we didn't take the three points today. Bobby Dickson and Scott Murdoch made four changes from the side that started against Elgin last week. David McCallum and Frankie Carroll returned after injury, while Alan Trouten came in for David Clarke. There was also a change of goalkeeper - David Crawford being handed a new 'electric blue' No.1 shirt in place of Steve McGovern. Queen's lined up in the familiar 3-5-2 formation, with Ross Clark returning to his more accustomed central midfield role, and Alan Trouten this time playing wide right. It was Rovers who had the first shot of the match, after only 1 minute, but David Crawford was untroubled by McLaren's effort. Queen's then put Rovers under early pressure by forcing three corners in a row before the ball was finally cleared. After 8 minutes Queen's created the first real chance - Harvey and Carroll combined well on the right, and Ross Clark forced a save from Fahey with his header from Harvey's cross. Then it was Rovers' turn to come close. Yardley layed the ball off to John Bradford, but his shot was blocked by Shaun Molloy on the six-yard line. With 19 minutes on the clock, Queen's took the lead. An Albion defender tried a pass-back to Chris Fahey, but he clearly hadn't realised that Ross Clark was still lurking near the penalty area. The ball fell straight to Ross, who had time to get the ball tangled under his feet before putting the ball coolly to the keeper's left. On one hand a gift of a goal, but it still had to be finished off, and Ross kept his head well to do this. The next 10 minutes were pretty much uneventful, but just after the half-hour mark a Jered Stirling cross was blocked by Paul Harvey to give Rovers their first corner of the match. Stirling took the corner himself, and John Bradford headed inches over. Three minutes later and Bradford had another go. A deflection left goalie Crawford stranded, but fortunately the ball went just past his left post for a corner. Jim Mercer then headed just wide, but this time Crawford had the ball well covered. On 45 minutes Brian Blair had a great chance to double Queen's lead, but he mis-placed his low header from McCallum's cross, and the ball went harmlessly wide. Half time score: Queen's Park 1 - 0 Albion Rovers It was Rovers who started better in the second half. Crawford made a save less than 60 seconds into the half, and then David McCallum had to clear the ball off the line two minutes later. Queen's then had a spell of pressure. Frankie Carroll got into the box, and his shot went past the keeper only to be cleared for a corner by a defender. Queen's won a second corner, and then a throw-in in an attacking position, but the spell of pressure ended when the referee gave a soft foul against Carroll. Rovers broke straight up the pitch from this free-kick and won themselves a penatly. McKenzie ran down the Rovers right, tracked by Paul Harvey, and after he entered the box he went down, apparently the victim of a push. Stirling stepped up to take the kick, only to see David Crawford dive to his right to push the ball round the post. From the corner, Mercer got up for the header, and Crawford made another good save down low. The next twenty minutes was mainly Albion Rovers pressure. First Crawford's poor goal kick was returned by Gavin Rushford, and his clearance was then charged down. Crawford managed to get back on his line before the ball was crossed in for Yardley, who headed over. Jim Mercer then wasted another headed chance, this time from a free-kick. With fifteen minutes to go, McKenzie foolishly kicked the ball away, unhappy with the ref's decision to award Queen's goal kick. He was quite rightly booked for dissent. Just after this, Queen's had a good chance to kill the game. A ball from the left had opened up space for two QP players on the right of the area. Alan Trouten hit the shot, but it was blocked by the keeper. Soon after, McKenzie was again causing problems for the QP defence, this time shooting narrowly over from distance. With four minutes to go, the best chance of the match was passed up by Mark Yardley. Confusion in the QP defence resulted in Reilly attempting a header back to Crawford from about 6 yards. Yardley though intercepted the ball, but somehow managed to once again head over the bar. The QP fans really thought this was going to be our day, and it would have been had Silvestro not been on the post to clear away an Ally Graham header from a corner. Rovers continued to apply pressure into injury time. There had been several stoppages during the second half, but all the same the four minutes or so that referee Downie chose to add on seemed like an eternity to the QP support. Rovers won a free kick on the edge of the 'D', and Stirling stepped up to hit it. An eight-man QP wall was set up, and Stirling's strike looked to be heading into it. Somehow though the ball found it's way cleanly through the wall, past a stretching David Crawford and into the back of the net. A real sickener if ever there was one. This was the last action of the game, as the referee blew for full time immediately after the restart. On paper it's a draw, but having come so close to winning, it feels like a defeat. If truth be told, Rovers had more chances during the game that Queen's, and at the end of the day they may well feel hard done by to have only drawn with us. From a QP supporter's perspective though, it's gutting to have missed out on the win. We rode our luck a lot in the game, but mainly I think we have David Crawford to thank for keeping us in the lead for so long. Having now seen all three of the first-team goalkeepers in the last three games, I think that Crawford has best staked his claim to the No.1 jersey. It was always going to take a second goal to win this one, and next week it will be all the more important to take our chances. Gretna are an on-form side at the moment, and it is bound to be tough. There is also still the question of who will be managing us next week. All, as they say, will be revealed in time, and we can be sure that in time things will sort themselves out for the club. Until then, it will have to be fingers crossed, and hope the roller-coaster isn't too wild! Basil's Man of the Match: David Crawford |
| Queen's Park Albion Rovers |
| 1 1 |
| (Clark) (Stirling) |
| Queen's Park: David Crawford, Alan Trouten, David McCallum (Damiano Agostini 64), Gavin Rushford, Shaun Molloy, Ross Clark, Paul Harvey (Stuart Kettlewell 89), Ally Graham, Frankie Carroll (Bryan Felvus 71), Brian Blair. Subs not used: David Weatherston, Steve McGovern (SK). Booked: McCallum (47, mis-timed challenge) Goals: Clark 19. Albion Rovers: Chris Fahey, Chris Silvestro, Jered Stirling, Daniel Black, Neil McGowan, Graeme McLaren, Marc McKenzie, Ricky Patrick (Graeme McCaul 82), Mark Yardley, John Bradford (Scott Crabbe 71), Jim Mercer. Subs not used: Andy Paterson, Charles Connolly, Carr (SK). Booked: Patrick (14, late challenge), McKenzie (76, dissent) Goals: Stirling 90+4. Referee: Jamie Downie. Attendance: 505. |