The mood at the club darkened just a little yesterday afternoon, after a fraught second half which saw Stenhousemuir secure a share of what was a dour struggle. It's a result Queen's will settle for, given that Mick Dunlop was dismissed for a second booking with around 9 minutes to go. Queen's lost their patience in the second half, both with referee Sproule and with some of the uncompromising tactics of their opponents. Yet Stenny were probably the more threatening side in that period, and after substitute Diack's close-range header slithered under Cairns 7 minutes after the break, they should have taken a quick lead when Diack unfathomably back-heeled the ball at goal with 2 team-mates next to him, the goal at their combined mercy. The game degenerated into a war of attrition in the latter stages, with too much biting and scratching, and plenty of incompetence from a referee who had clearly given up on the game at half-time. As well as Dunlop, Stenhousemuir's Baird should certainly have been dismissed after lashing out at Paton, and following this up by kicking the ball into touch. These two alone would have been sufficient for a red, but he'd already been booked! And still Sproule failed to take action. A barmy individual.
Queen's themselves had taken the lead with a tremendous Mark Ferry goal in the 37th minute, he striking fiercely into the top left-hand corner from 25 yards out. Paul Ronald had been in a tangle with McBride in the build-up, but play continued (though probably this was because Sproule saw nothing), and the goal was as surprising as it was great. We hadn't shone during the first half. but the team looked full of character and so the second-half slide was frustrating. Passes were misplaced, tackles made petulantly, and the players struggled to keep their emotions in check. It didn't help, either, that Tony Quinn left the field midway through the second half. Robert Dunn came on, replacing Ronald who was drawn back into Quinn's position. But Ronald was shakier in the midfield- he had been a big, strong target up front- and Dunn just looked; well, slow. Of mind as well as of foot. He took too long to make decisions, and there was little incision to his play. One is reminded of Paul Harvey's first season at Queen's, when a blatantly talented player consistently underperformed. Of course, Dunn has the extra advantage of being much younger than Harvey was, but he must start contributing a bit more when he gets the chance to play.
On the whole, not a brilliant start to what could be a landmark week for Queen's. A draw is however, an acceptable result against a tough team. What matters now is that the players stay calm and don't let the pressure of maintaining their unbeaten run cause it to end. We could do without another penalty shootout as well- but then we're quite good at those aren't we?
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