| Stenhousemuir |
| Queen's Park |
| 1 |
| 0 |
| ( Cramb ) |
| Once again, Queen's lost without Paul Harvey and there could be no doubt that the gifted midfielder's absence seriously undermined Queen's's considerable efforts in this game. We played well during the first half, taking the game to a home team clearly suffering something of a slump in form after their powerful start to the season. Yet there was no punch in the attack, with the final cross or pass always lacking in accuracy, and Stenhousemuir gradually gained the upper hand after the break. We'd have settled for the goalless draw, and Billy Stark was quite happy to let Queen's play for one, but Cramb caught the defence static with less than a minute left. Yours truly and his associates had the dubious honour of delaying the supporters' bus at Battlefield as they waited in vain for us, alternative transport having been preferred on this occasion. Yet all fans made it to Ochilview in good time, and found themselves parked behind the goal to make way for the phantom presence of all those extra Stenny supporters arriving in their droves to see the latest instalment of their championship push. In fact, the crowd for the game was smaller than for either of last season's meetings. Once the disappointment of Paul Harvey's absence had sunk in, Queen's set about ignoring the fact and attacking the home team. The opening ten minutes were uneventful, and the first semblance of a chance came when Molloy chipped a dangerous cross over to the back post which Kettlewell couldn't properly connect with. Queen's best chance of the half came in 17 minutes when a good move led to the ball breaking for Clark 16 yards out, but he approached the ball all wrong and the drive went woefully wide. Captain Clark was providing a thrust from his right-back position and Queen's had a clamp on midfield, yet their delivery into the box was not great. On a number of occasions we got into good positions yet failed to capitalise, and the decision to play only one forward (Weatherston) would have been better suited to a counter-attacking style. Referee Martin Sproule, a very old friend, and his linesmen didn't make things any easier, and Ferry was contentiously flagged for offside after 24 minutes when put clean through by a ball over the top. Ten minutes later Weatherston's tenacity almost paid off when he took the ball off a defender's toes and tried to charge away, but keeper McCulloch raced out to get there first. From his clearance Stenny broke forward, and Savage had a fine chance when in space but dragged his shot beyond the post on Crawford's left. It was worrying that Stenny should have come closest when Queen's had had so much of the ball, and the home team started to find their groove after the break. Games between these teams have been extremely tight in recent times and this was turning out to be no exception. Stenhousemuir's squad underwent radical changes during the summer in a bid to turn them into the Gretna of 2005/06, but so far it hasn't quite worked out that way, with Berwick the team to beat (and unbeaten to date). Queen's have usually done well against the bigger teams, raising their game, and against an off-form Stenny, could just have won this game. If Paul Harvey had been playing, they probably would have drawn at least. The second half saw Stenny looking a good deal more dangerous as they realised a win was needed to stay in touch with Berwick. After Mick Dunlop had been booked for a scythingly mistimed tackle on the edge of his box, McBride curved a beautiful free-kick bang off Crawford's left-hand post. DC had been at full stretch but hadn't got there, yet Sproule opted for a corner to the growing impatience of the visiting support. From that corner, Savage should have done better than head powerfully wide. McCulloch had to make a good stop from Ferry on 61 minutes after the midfielder had picked up Weatherston's deflected cross, fisting the ball round the post. Then McGrillen took a long ball from only a few yards out and volleyed high over the top. Although under pressure, it was a risible attempt and things would only get worse for the veteran. Five minutes later, he was booked for backchat, and had another wild effort which cleared the crossbar by several feet. To cap it all, he would end up flat on his backside in front of the Queen's support, with one fan teasingly refusing to hand the ball back to him. A glancing header from McKeown went past and Savage also went wayward with a poor shot as Stenhousemuir created the chances. The main threat was their playmaker McBride, and with 15 minutes to go he struck another expert free-kick over the Queen's wall. This time, there was no doubt that Crawford got to it, his flying leap tipping over a shot that looked likely to come back off the crossbar again. Stenhousemuir's good attacks dried up in the closing 15 minutes and it really did seem as though Queen's had done enough to earn the draw. The home side looked increasingly desperate, but one last surge saw them grab a winner with less than a minute to play. Mercer managed to gather the ball out on the right, and with Queen's defence out of place, Cramb rose unmarked to bullet his header home. There was certainly nothing Crawford could have done; had we kept things just a little tighter, we'd have got over the line. There was clearly going to be no comeback and it was a dejected group of players that trooped off the field at the final whistle. Only new boy Dunlop could summon the energy to applaud the visiting support who provided a sympathetic ovation for the players at the end. We've lost more ground, but it was an admirable effort, and there is only a short wait before the next game, against Cowdenbeath on Tuesday. Two questions arise concerning this key match: firstly, whether or not Paul Harvey will be able to make it; and secondly, if Kevin Proctor is considered worthy of a start alongside David Weatherston. Such an attack-minded team and club should surely be looking to play more than just the one striker in a big game at home. Stenhousemuir: Willie McCulloch, Michael Renwick, Joe McAlpine, Greig Denham, John McKeown, John Paul McBride, Jim Mercer, Joe Savage, Colin Cramb, Paul McGrillen. Substitutes not used: Robbie Henderson, Paul Murphy, Marc McKenzie, David Morrison, Chris Fahey. Booked: McAlpine, McGrillen, Denham. Goal: Cramb 90. Queen's Park: David Crawford, Ross Clark, Mick Dunlop, Steven Reilly, Andy McGinty, Shaun Molloy, Stuart Kettlewell, Tony Quinn, David Weatherston, Alan Trouten, Mark Ferry. Substitutes not used: Jonny Whelan, Richard Sinclair, John Weir, Kevin Proctor, Alexander Cowie. Booked: Dunlop. Referee: Martin Sproule. Attendance: 467. |