| Queen's Park |
| 3 |
| East Stirlingshire |
| 0 |
| ( Harvey, Ferry, Weir ) |
| Queen's moved into third place in the table with a routine win over what is still the country's worst side, making sure of the win within the opening 20 minutes. In fact the sheer quality of our first two goals was such that the players could almost have walked off immediately after them, with a standing ovation still guaranteed. Paul Harvey and Mark Ferry both struck from distance with beautifully precise shots, and over the course Queen's performed well. It's becoming clear that despite the absence of a noted striker in the team, we are still notching up a fair number of goals, with the midfielders tallying up a good amount so far; so we might not need a replacement for Frankie Carroll, but Ross Clark is looking like a worthier successor to Danny Ferry each and every week. Missing from last week's drama at Elgin, both Richard Sinclair and Paul Harvey were again doubts to start this game, but as it turned out Harvey made the XI while Sinclair was not considered fit enough yet. David Weatherston was rewarded for last week's goal with a starting place, stepping in for Richard Bowers, and Mick Dunlop made his debut at left-back, replacing Shaun Molloy who was presumably injured. The game began in fairly nondescript fashion; not surprisingly, Queen's had the majority of the ball, and were denied a penalty in the 2nd minute when Clark appeared to have been tripped after a strong burst into the box. 6 minutes later, Weatherston's cross spun across the area, evading any Queen's player. In fact Queen's forced 4 corners in these early stages, yet it was Shire who had the first goal attempt, Diack trundling a speculative shot wide. The former Albion Rovers player was well-shackled throughout, and his strike partner, former Queen's cult hero Ally Graham, had an even less successful afternoon, looking well off the pace. Ross Clark is clearly relishing the chance to overlap from his right-back position at the moment, and another powerful run in the 14th minute saw him beat a defender before cutting into the box and driving his shot off the back of a defender. But when Queen's opened the scoring 5 minutes later, the goal originated from the other flank. Mark Ferry showed great patience at the corner of the area to find Harvey instead of shooting, and the veteran received the ball 18 yards out, dispatching it with bend and aplomb into the right-hand corner of Jackson's goal. Pure football. If that was good, the second was brilliant. Ferry picked the ball up more than 30 yards from goal via Clark, and, looking up, launched a massive lob high and dipping underneath the crossbar, completely dumbfounding Jackson. Those that sneer at the prospect of such quality entertainment at a Queen's Park match would have been baffled and firmly put in their place during the last couple of minutes! The challenge for Queen's now was less holding on to their lead than continuing to keep their shape and discipline, for in all honesty a Shire comeback appeared impossible. And for the most part Queen's did this. Needless to say, opportunities would be wasted. Stuart Kettlewell, clean through on Jackson in the 25th minute, struck a firm shot off the post, then the goalkeeper blocked a Weatherston effort after the striker had been neatly provided by Jonny Whelan's flick. In between times a Mark Tyrrell volley shaved the Queen's bar. Then with a minute left until half-time, early substitute Dymock swung wildly at a loose ball when free inside the Queen's box. Billy Stark had reason to be very satisfied at half-time, his team selection well vindicated. Queen's went on to command the opening 15 minutes of the second half as well, yet they rarely looked like extending their lead. Four minutes after the restart, Kettlewell's ball in from the right was missed by a stretching Whelan, and Mark Ferry fierce follow-up was blocked at close range by Oates. A moment of real controversy was then averted in the 58th minute, but only by David Crawford's agile goalkeeping. DC parried Derek's Ure shot away for a corner, but a Shire player had surely handled the ball before it broke for Ure. Shire were edging their way slightly into the game, and Dymock's low shot was comfortably held by Crawford three minutes later. Mark Ferry came close with a placed shot from 25 yards as play began to open out noticeably. Tyrrell and Dymock both had efforts as Shire endeavoured to make this look like a contest, and with 19 minutes to go Jonny Whelan was replaced with Richard Bowers. It looked a good tactic, using Bowers's pace to catch out a more advanced, yet tiring, visiting side on the break, and five minutes later another good dribbler, Alan Trouten, came on for Kettlewell. Queen's merely had to see out play, but a third goal arrived to put a gloss on the match and the scoreline. Alan Trouten got free inside the box, receiving Clark's pass, and his delivery was met firmly by fellow substitute John Weir. With his first touch, Weir's forehead put the ball past Jackson and completed the scoring. Queen's should have grabbed a fourth before the end when David Weatherston was sent racing clear through Shire's half, but on reaching the 6-yard box he chose to set Bowers up instead of shooting himself. Neither had timed things properly, and Queen's will need their forwards to contribute more over the coming months, but while the midfield is scoring goals we will cope fine. Queen's Park: David Crawford, Ross Clark, Michael Dunlop, Steven Reilly, Andy McGinty, Paul Harvey (John Weir 82), Stuart Kettlewell (Alan Trouten 76), Tony Quinn, Jonny Whelan (Richard Bowers 71), David Weatherston, Mark Ferry. Substitutes not used: Damiano Agostini, Alexander Cowie. Goals: Harvey 19, Ferry 20, Weir 83. East Stirlingshire: Derek Jackson, Scott Livingstone, Mark Tyrrell, Steven Oates, Jamie McKay, Steven Blair (Steven Dymock 41), Carl Thywissen (Trialist 71), Paul Tyrrell, Iain Diack, Ally Graham, Derek Ure. Substitutes not used: Andy Brand, Henry Sobolewski, Aaron Gillespie. Referee: Alan Boyd. Attendance: 454. |