 |
| Spartans |
| Queen's Park |
| 3 |
| 2 |
| (Mitchell, J. Seeley, Henretty) |
| (Trouten, Weatherston) |
| It's been many a year since Queen's Park could be considered true Cup-fighters, up there with the best of them. Yet in all our 133-year participation in the competition, its probable that we've never quite sunk so low as we did in losing to Spartans this year. The non-league side outfought and at times outplayed the Spiders, displaying a tenacity and resolve that Queen's could not match at all. Queen's were frighteningly nervous in defence, especially during an agony-filled second half, for much of which they were pummelled, weak in midfield, and bereft of height, strength and variation in attack. In fact, there hardly were any attacks. An early goal from Trouten, which was well-taken though a little fortunate, did nothing to lift the players. Instead Spartans took a grip on the midfield that they never really let go of. A physically powerful side, Spartans are certainly not the football team Queen's are capable of being. But they didn't allow us to play the way we wanted - and we couldn't adjust. Billy Stark's formation was strangely cautious - he elected to field only one forward, Weatherston, supported by the returning Harvey, and this defensive mindset hinted at an overestimation of Spartans. They are nothing more than an honest-to-goodness team full of hard, tough players, and to set out so negatively for a match against a non-league side was a baffling approach. Paul Harvey was ineffective, due to a combination of factors: he didn't look match-fit, and he was being played too far up the park to dicate play in the way he can. Tony Quinn should not have been fielded in place of Paul Paton, who had given some tigerish performances of late and did add bite when introduced late on. And continually we gift goals away from corner-kicks. In this respect, it was a similar story to that told against Albion Rovers at Hampden last March; as soon as one went in from that source, confidence was sapped, and that another, then a third, would fly in were inevitable. Just as inevitable was that we would mount some kind of fightback at 3-1 down - it's this team's saving grace when every other talent deserts them - but we would not have merited a draw. As touched on, the team was subject to a few changes from the disappointing draw with Albion Rovers. Paul Harvey and Tony Quinn came back into the XI, forcing Paton and Felvus onto the bench. Perhaps Billy Stark wished to rely on experience, and maybe he saw containment of Spartans as the first objective for Queen's. Whatever, the day would turn out to be disastrous for us. Queen's failed to get forward during the opening few minutes, and it was immediately clear how tough this was going to be. The City Park pitch was tight, sloping and bumpy, hardly conducive to subtle passing, and Queen's needed to show there was a steelier side to their armoury. But they barely gave hints of their passing ability anyway. During the first half we did defend strongly, yet the fact we had to more than Spartans did was worrying in itself. Most confusing of all was the fact that we took the lead in the eighth minute. As the Spartans defence pushed out, Mark Ferry struck a low ball from the left firmly beyond their back line, finding Alan Trouten free and onside at the back post. Alan took a touch before putting the ball underneath goalkeeper Brown and home at the far post. To take the lead so early was pleasantly unexpected, but Queen's continued to make heavy weather of the match. The game settled into a pattern of the home team gaining most of the fouls, at the discretion of a referee who showed them much leniency, and having most of the attempts at goal. But none of these gave much concern to David Crawford, who comfortably dealt with a header in the 15th minute, and up until then had only had to catch a couple of inswinging crosses. In the 19th minute, a header ghosted wide of his post, then Burns came crashing in to challenge Agostini and send a volley wide five minutes later. Queen's had not displayed much skill, nor got forward much, but so far Queen's were fine aerially at the back and Spartans gave little indication of scoring. How that would change. Referee Underhill first seriously incurred the wrath of the visiting fans 5 minutes before half-time, when he penalised Mick Dunlop for obstruction despite the fact that the defender was clearly being hauled back. Two minutes later he booked Agostini, then failed to card Thomson of Spartans for a similar foul. Throughout, he looked both eager to give Spartans the benefit of any doubt and keen to be part of a famous cup upset. Queen's looked as if they would reach half-time unbreached, but an equaliser arrived right at the end of the half. A corner was not cleared, and Agostini and Dunlop stood watching as Mitchell poked the ball into the net off Crawford's right-hand post. A more committed and focused Queen's effort was required for the second half. Yet it was soon clear that we were to get a fiasco instead. For some reason, Stark opted to move right-back Ross Clark into the forward line, dropping Harvey back into the middle. This instead of bringing a proper striker into the fray, when both Murray and Felvus on the bench. At the same time, Queen's reverted to a back 3, with Trouten and Ferry now acting as wing-backs. Quite simply, the system didn't work. Within 6 minutes of the restart, Spartans had gone ahead with a goal that exposed wretched organisation at a corner-kick. The ball was sent over from their left, and no Queen's player was able to stop it from reaching Seeley at the back post. His downward nod seemed saveable but somehow the ball eluded Crawford, and squeezed through at his near post. Spartans now exerted a grip on the game, continuing to be assisted by weak refereeing. Burns should have been booked after downing Trouten as the referee showed evident reluctance to yellow card any Spartans player. Kettlewell, Queen's best player, did manage a shot that ended up well past, but Spartans subsequently had two wonderful chances to extend their lead. Firstly, in 62 minutes, Manson knocked a cross from the left wide of the post despite standing all alone inside the box. A few minutes later, Johnson's header was held by Crawford but the substitute had been completely unmarked and should have done better. But Spartans were not to be denied, and the third goal arrived in the 67th minute. Once more a corner-kick was not dealt with, Henretty rising to power the cross from the left well beyond Crawford before wheeling behind the goal in celebration. The tie looked over, and heads on the Queen's side slumped in disbelief. Not quite over... it rarely is with Queen's Park, and the response was 3 minutes in coming. Some neat interplay, in one of our only attacking moves of the game, ended with Trouten slipping the ball to Weatherston who rolled the ball past Brown. In the 76th minute Steven Reilly became the second Queen's player to be booked, to howls of disapproval from an increasingly enraged support. Then finally Billy Stark made a couple of substitutions, bringing on Paul Paton and Bryan Felvus for Tony Quinn and Ross Clark. They weren't quite too late to turn the game around, because almost instantly Felvus had a chance to fire Queen's level. A Spartan slipped in his own box, and Felvus, with just Brown to beat, had time to take a touch before firing the ball off the grounded keeper's foot. We knew then that the game was up. Alan Trouten managed to lash a volley well over the top before the end, but there was little chance of Queen's attacks yielding anything. No pressure was sustained, and some woeful play at the back could have allowed Spartans a fourth before the end. After Crawford hammered a clearance off Reilly's back, one fan suggested that if Spartans scored from the subsequent rebound, it would be the worst goal Queen's had ever let in. They didn't, but it may well be that the result itself was the most dismal in our long history. Rarely have we been so deserving of a defeat. To move forward, Billy Stark must convince his players that we will reach the play-offs, and that doing that will consign Saturday's failure to mere history. We are certainly still capable of doing it. But this performance cannot be repeated. To let down such a large travelling support was unacceptable, and a chance to entice many to make Queen's a weekly pursuit, home and away, was lost. No longer can we even legitimately claim the title of Scotland's best amateur team. It was a sickening and degrading day for the club. Spartans: Kevin Brown, Daniel O'Donnell (Dan Gerrard 60), Mark Burns, Stewart Fowlie, Jon Seeley, Willie Bennett, Craig Manson (Omar Kader 80), Iain Thomson, Bob Mitchell (Phil Johnson 57), Craig Smart, Donal Henretty. Substitutes not used: Chris Seeley, Paul Roseburgh. Goals: Mitchell 45, Seeley 51, Henretty 67. Queen's Park: David Crawford, Ross Clark (Bryan Felvus 78), Mick Dunlop, Steven Reilly, Damiano Agostini, Alan Trouten, Stuart Kettlewell, Tony Quinn (Paul Paton 78), David Weatherston, Paul Harvey, Mark Ferry. Substitutes not used: Shaun Molloy, Tommy Murray, Alexander Cowie. Booked: Agostini, Reilly. Goals: Trouten 8, Weatherston 70. Referee: John Underhill. Attendance: 711. |