| Queen's Park |
| East Stirlingshire |
| 1 |
| 3 |
| (Weatherston) |
| (Stewart pen, Boyle, Ure) |
| An inept and undisciplined display from Queen's allowed East Stirling to grab another win over us, as the form of the team completed the full circle that had begun in the second half against Stenhousemuir. Shire have beaten us far too often in Billy Stark's time as manager but the coach had no solution to the problem we've had against them lately, namely making a strong, convincing start. Instead, we did nothing up until Shire's first goal, and the players' complacency soon changed to petulance as Paul Paton was sent-off for a bad lunge. Two further reds would follow as Queen's finished a match with 8 men for the first time in their history. Referee Stephen Nicholls would take a huge amount of criticism from the home support afterwards but in fact most of his decisions seemed sadly correct. The penalty that gave Shire the lead was dubious, Dymock falling to his knees under a tackle, but it may have been the correct decision. In any case- and this pattern would be repeated throughout- if the referee was to blame, then, to an even greater degree, Queen's were too. The ball had been pathetically given away, squared aimlessly across our own box to give Shire the opportunity. And that's the point really. East Stirling remain a poor team, but like the last time, Queen's made things easy for them. Crazy mistakes- Steven Reilly had maybe his worst ever game and made several- and a lack of urgency early in the game contributed to our downfall. After Stewart had easily scored from the spot, Queen's were further hampered only 2 minutes later when Paul Paton lunged wildly into the tackle after losing possession on a surge forward. The referee had no doubts, and Paton was sent-off, leaving us in an almost comically bad way before even half an hour had gone. Queen's would have most of the ball for the rest of the half, but Shire looked the more likely on the counter attack, and Molloy and Ure both came extremely close. Billy Stark's words had an obvious effect on the team's second-half performance, and we were certainly much improved by then. We got a deserved equaliser just after the hour mark. Dunn hammered a free-kick at goal, Tiropoulous parried it out, and when Ferry returned a delicious cross to the back post, David Weatherston was waiting to barge the ball over the line. Even with 10 men we knew Queen's could win it from this point, and had the referee awarded them a penalty in the 67th minute, they may well have done. Instead, after Weatherston had raced clear of the keeper and gone to ground near the goalline, the referee dismissed our pleas out of hand and booked the striker for diving. While it did look like a dive at the time- and Weatherston had gone too far wide of goal to have a decent chance to score- the after-match testimony of Tiropoulous would suggest that the referee had in fact got it wrong. In any case why was the linesman, yards from the incident, not asked for his opinion? That was the turning point. Within a minute the game had swung dramatically back in Shire's favour, and again a horrendous mistake was responsible. Substitute McBride was gifted a clean run through on goal, and with McBride on the edge of the area Richard Sinclair had no option but to fell him. While other Queen's men were nearby, none were between McBride and the goal and the referee was probably right to show the red card. We might have got away with it. but the players were stunned, and Boyle took full advantage from the free-kick, sending it soaring into the top-right corner. Mark Cairns had been too slow to react, and collectively the will seemed to have been sapped from the Queen's players. That said, we did make a brief go of it, and Alan Trouten was unfortunate that his mesmerising run wasn't rewarded with a goal. Instead, the ball came off Tiropoulous's outstretched right boot. The visitors added a third with 13 minutes to go, a ridiculous scramble eventually ending when Ure planted the ball in the net. Two fine blocks by Cairns in the run-up had been to no avail. The score could have become even more embarassing as Shire spurned a few chances in the dying minutes, with Queen's stranded upfield as they tried to get back in the game. The score might not have got worse, but the atmosphere and mood certainly did. With only 3 minutes to go, Alan Trouten's dismissal reduced Queen's to 8 men, the first time this has ever happened. What happened exactly was unclear but it seems that Trouten may have struck an opponent following a midfield tussle. A new low point for Queen's? Yes, and the depression could hang over to next week, with at least 3 players now guaranteed to be missing from the team that takes the field to face Arbroath. Usually we do well in adversity. But wouldn't it be nice if we didn't have to make amends for these awful results, and could simply enjoy winning on its own terms? Queen's Park: Mark Cairns, Paul Paton, Mick Dunlop, Steven Reilly, Richard Sinclair, Alan Trouten, Stuart Kettlewell, Tony Quinn (Paul Ronald 46), Robert Dunn (Steven Canning 76), David Weatherston, Mark Ferry. Substitutes not used: Damiano Agostini, Tommy Murray, David Crawford. Booked: Ferry, Weatherston. Sent-off: Paton, Sinclair, Trouten. Goal: Weatherston 61. East Stirlingshire: Robert Tiropoulous, Scott Livingstone (T. McAlone 75), Steven Learmonth, Carl Thywissen, Gary Wild, Joe Boyle, Steven Dymock (Paul Brownlie 72), Paul Stewart, Derek Ure, Mark Molloy (P. McBride 46), Stephen Adam. Substitutes not used: Alan Ward, Anton Nugent. Booked: Learmonth, Thywissen. Goals: Stewart pen 24, Boyle 69, Ure 77. Referee: Stephen Nicholls. Attendance: 458. |