| Queen's Park |
| Stenhousemuir |
| 1 |
| 0 |
| (Weatherston) |
| I hope you're enjoying it. Queen's won their seventh successive league game yesterday, eclipsing some of their greatest-ever winning streaks even if not eclipsing their best form. This was the least satisfying victory of the 9 we've achieved in 2007, and we had to rely on an extraordinary late save from David Crawford to hold on to the win. Yet there was always the feeling that Queen's played within themselves, attempting a great deal of pretty football but not managing to play the final ball enough of the time. Queen's won the match thanks to a first-half strike. David Weatherston's goal on the half-hour mark was another to make you shake your head in admiration, the dashing young forward sliding the ball between McCulloch's legs instead of cutting it back from the bye-line. Sadly, he had to be taken off before the end, after a brave attempt to play on fell through. Queen's will miss him on Tuesday night against East Stirling (obviously) if he is unavailable, and it's true that we didn't really look like scoring once he had gone off; Robert Dunn, playing his best-ever match for the club in the half-hour he had on the park, sent over a couple of superb crosses from the right that nobody could reach. He also turned sharply, passed with coolness and subtlety, and looked an all-round more confident player than ever before. It's true that he did all of his work outside the penalty area, but that seems to be where he wants to play; after all, he hasn't scored in 18 months. Defensively we were as sound as usual, but suffered from the referee's willingness to penalise every tackle and award Stenhousemuir a number of free-kicks in dangerous positions. From one of these, two minutes into stoppage time, youngster Gary Thom powered a header towards the corner of the net, and it looked certain to go in; but somehow DC got the tips of his gloves to the ball to push it away. It was one of the finest saves the redeveloped Hampden has seen, and the towering peak of Crawford's incredible run of seven games without conceding a goal. The match had started off, on a very sunny day, with most of the play aimed at the visitors' goal- unusually, at the Mount Florida end in the first half. Weatherston was unfortunate not to win a penalty, or perhaps a free-kick on the edge of the box, in the 6th minute when his shirt was tugged as he brought a high ball down. As a result, he had to shoot, and the keeper saved, while Mark Ferry's follow-up effort was also blocked and Stenhousemuir were able to clear. Queen's had much of the game but didn't come close again until the 19th minute. A smart move resulted in Paul Paton charging into the box on the right, but his slightly clumsy first touch forced him to rush the ball to Stuart Kettlewell, who couldn't keep his footing from 12 yards out. Our goal, eleven minutes later, arrived after a Stenhousemuir attack. McLeish's corner had been forced back out to him, and though he got a fair degree of power behind the second delivery, DC was alert enough to grab it. Now Queen's moved upfield, Kettlewell sliding a delightful pass through to Weatherston; and Davie went on from there, roaming along the goalline before cheekily slipping the ball beyond McCulloch, who did touch the ball but was clearly surprised by Weatherston's imagination. From then on the game didn't ever look like slipping from our grasp until stoppage time. A Sinclair free-kick was smartly tipped over by Crawford 11 minutes into the second half, but Stenhousemuir wouldn't run close again until that remarkable save. Queen's did though; with 13 minutes left, Kettlewell swung a shot wide with the outside of his boot from Mark Ferry's lay-off, and six minutes after that Dunn's precise cross was met by Ferry, who headed the ball down, and it almost went in, McCulloch reacting late to push it away from the post. There can be no doubt that Queen's deserved to win, given that they played with the kind of authority you would expect from a team with 6 wins-in-a-row to their name. Given that Arbroath and Berwick have been on winning streaks of their own, at just the wrong time for Queen's, our title hopes appear slim. However, by Tuesday night we could have officially qualified for the play-offs; and when you consider that last season we would have celebrated that alone, it would surely be a worthy achievement in its own right. Queen's Park: David Crawford, Paul Paton, Steven Canning, Richard Sinclair, Damiano Agostini, Alan Trouten (Robert Dunn 63), Stuart Kettlewell, Paul Cairney, Tony Quinn (Richard Bowers 89), David Weatherston (Frankie Carroll 73), Mark Ferry. Substitutes not used: Steven Reilly, Mark Cairns. Booked: Trouten. Goal: Weatherston 30. Stenhousemuir: Willie McCulloch, Kevin McLeish, Craig Menzies, Robert Forde, Gordon Thom, Paul Murphy, Thomas Sinclair (Steven Desmond 69), John Dempster, Andy Thomson (Brian McLaughlin 73), Gareth Hutchison, Paul Tyrrell. Substitutes not used: Robbie Henderson, Stephen Aitken. Booked: Thom. Referee: Scott MacDonald. Attendance: 621. |