( McKinnon )
The flu bug which sidelined Ferry had also created doubts over the fitness of Dunning and Canning, however both started. Ross Clark replaced Ferry in the right wing-back berth and in doing so made his full debut, while Dunning's return meant a seat on the bench for Brendan Crozier. He was involved in Queen's first attacking move, when involved in a neat interchange with Canning on the left hand side. A throw-in resulted, from which James Allan failed to control the ball inside the penalty area. Sadly, this was to become a motif for the afternoon.
The visitors had the best of the first half, especially in the earlier exchanges. A free kick after 11 minutes was headed high by Rowe, after Clark's foul on O'Brien. Four minutes later Mallan provided the first shot on target, though it was barely worthy of the title, being an ineffectual attempt easily held by Stewart.
It took until the 22nd minute for the first serious shot, and it came from the boot of John Gemmell. A neat turn 25 yards out led to a powerful drive which just shaved Turner's right hand post. What a shame that Gemmell does not produce these kinds of attempts more often, as they are his best hope of scoring, given his limited pace and lack of sharpness.
Stirling's Gareth Munro emulated Gemmell's effort with a looping volley, which hung in the air before Stewart dealt with the danger by tipping the ball over the bar.
Allan tested Turner, albeit modestly, from outside the penalty area, but the rest of the first half was largely without incident as Queen's struggled to keep possession when they had it and failed to get a semblance of a passing game together. However, they did come very close after 35 minutes. Allan Dunning went on a brilliant jinking run on the left wing, cut into the penalty area, and toyed with a defender before skinning him on the outside when a move inside seemed more likely. Instead of having a go himself though, Dunning played the ball across goal, and it broke for Gemmell, leaning back, to lob the ball off the bar and over. Turner had appeared to touch the ball as he jumped in an attempt to get there, but Mr. Cassidy thought otherwise, and Queen's had to settle with the knowledge that such exciting wing play, if replicated, was bound to cause further panic in the Stirling ranks.
A scare arrived on 38 minutes for the home fans, when Wilson, who had replaced the injured Robert Dunn some fifteen minutes previously, found himself unmarked in the middle of the area when meeting Mallan's cross. In the event the header was a poor one and sailed high, but this sort of slackness hardly boded well. And six minutes later another cross ball from the left led to the opening goal. Agostini's reluctance to tackle led to a low ball into the penalty area finding McKinnon, who managed to fire the ball under Stewart from close range.
At half-time it was hard to imagine any way back from Queen's, given the lack of drive evident in their first half showing. The news of Dunning's withdrawal hardly raised hopes; although only showing his skills sporadically in the first half, Dunning has the talent to outwit defenders, something which his replacement Willie Martin, for all his enthusiasm, simply does not possess. Johnny Whelan was also brought off, Richard Sinclair coming on to make his first appearance in several weeks. This necessitated a tactical switch, with Sinclair and Clark swapping places, while Paul Martin's recognition of the lack of any threat from the right hand side in the first half led to James Allan moving over to that wing.
Sadly, the decision to play Clark in the middle of the field will go down as a bad move, as he simply didn't contribute anything in the second half and looked as if he would rather have been elsewhere.
Sinclair's contribution was almost immediate, tackling O'Brien very cleanly on the edge of his own area as the winger threatened to break free, while the other substitute, Willie Martin, had his first involvement in a one-two with Gemmell, which resulted in John being through on goal. His decision to slide in rather than staying on his feet however meant the chance was lost as Turner touched the ball away. The same combination failed to bear fruit a few minutes later when Gemmell just missed Martin's low ball in from the left.
Allan's switch of sides seemed a positive move as Jimmy looked much livelier after the break. His jinking run led him into the box, where he teased McNally before having his effort deflected off the near post. This attack had immediately followed Mallan's poor header wide of goal after O'Brien's cross had found him free inside the box. Then it was Steven Canning's turn to miss a good heading opportunity, though he didn't even make contact with Allan's corner from the South Stand side, having been left unmarked due to Gemmell taking the attentions of the Stirling defenders.
Queen's had looked more promising since the break but it was still difficult to envisage a goal despite their dominance of possession. Indeed, the points should have been wrapped up for Stirling after 72 minutes when the ball fell for Beveridge 10 yards out; with the defence at sea, the Albion substitute blasted high.
The home side's problems in front of goal were emphasised with 13 minutes left on the clock. Willie Martin's pass to Gemmell left the big forward with one defender to beat before having a clear run on goal. After controlling it, Gemmell then slipped, and the chance to pressurise the Albion defence had passed.
Paul Martin threw on Paddy Gallagher for Tony Quinn with 7 minutes remaining in a last attempt to salvage a draw, but it was never likely to be potent tactic. Gallagher barely touched the ball before the final whistle. One last chance came when another run from Allan fed Martin on the left of the area, but his curling effort lacked any conviction and was an easy one for Turner to deal with.
The need for a new manager, with fresh ideas, was obvious on today's showing from Queen's Park. The return to impotence in front of goal, after 11 goals had been scored in the previous 5 games, is a particular concern. John Gemmell has still to score a league goal this campaign, yet he is the only recognised centre-forward currently available. Someone different up front is now required, yet we must be patient. Today was a disappointment, but expect the players to be totally fired up for next week's trip to Cappielow, where acquaintance with John McCormack will be renewed, and with almost indecent haste too.
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