| Stenhousemuir |
| Queen's Park |
| 1 |
| 2 |
| (McBride) |
| (Trouten pen, Ferry) |
| Weekends like this don't come around often enough. The supporters of Wattenscheid should emigrate to Scotland so that they can be at every Queen's match- or failing that they could fly and back forth every weekend- because then we'd win every one of them. Based on this evidence anyway. Queen's gave a superb performance, with eager attacking football and loads of chances, in what was one of the best games of the season. And they were inspired to do this by a support that didn't let up for one second of the 90 minutes. Stenhousemuir may have begun well, with new signing Thomson getting clear sights of goal only for Crawford to foil him. Yet Queen's looked very dangerous, even on the break. Alan Trouten was in electric form until a second half injury, Mark Ferry passed the ball better than ever, David Weatherston's pace terrified an ageing defence. Inevitably there were scares- we missed one penalty, then conceded a needless late goal. But the combined forces of Wattenscheid and Queen's Park would simply not be denied, and together they earned Queen's one of their most significant wins of the season. Queen's had already gone close many times before winning a penalty in the 44th minute. Stuart Kettlewell missed a glorious header after making a late run to meet Weatherston's cross, and Alan Trouten volleyed straight at McCulloch despite his superb control having put him clean through. David Weatherston also had a fierce shot tipped wide following Ferry's outstanding crossfield pass, and a wonderful corner move had seen Ferry dummy the short delivery for Canning, with Weatherston's breathtaking flick coming back off the post with Stenhousemuir motionless. The breakthrough looked sure to be made once Scott McCulloch had scythed Weatherston down inside the box. But Steven Canning couldn't convert his third penalty in succession; his placed shot was weakly struck. Would Queen's once more fall to undeserved failure at Ochilview? The question was answered decisively within the first 15 minutes of the second-half. The goals at Ochilview are usually always scored in the second half, and it was the same now. First Queen's won another penalty, referee Norris penalising a handball on the goalline. A red card should also have resulted. Alan Trouten didn't let that worry him; the ball struck the net firmly. Only a couple of minutes later it was two. Paul Paton's long free-kick found Mark Ferry isolated in the box, and he headed well beyond the goalkeeper. It was such a surprise that your reporter didn't get even a glimpse of the goal from the other end, so thanks must go to Ian and co. at QPTV for coming to the rescue as usual. It wasn't quite over, despite a brief sit-in from the QP support; McBride stabbed the ball high into the net from 6 yards with 12 minutes to go. Yet Stenny continued to play conservatively, and Queen's saw the game out more easily than it seemed at the time. Roars of relief greeted the final whistle; it'd have been a good party in the club anyway, but a win made sure that we still wanted to get up in the morning despite the night's excesses. So Wattenscheid have done their bit in helping Queen's get promoted; it's up to us to make sure we do. Stenhousemuir: Willie McCulloch, Craig McEwan, Darren Henderson, Shaun Fagan (Paul Tyrrell 59), Mark Cowan, Scott McCulloch, Kevin McLeish, John Dempster, Andy Thomson, John Paul McBride, Brian McLaughlin. Substitutes not used: Johnstone, Thomas Sinclair, Gareth Hutchison, Robbie Henderson. Booked: McCulloch, Fagan, Henderson, McBride, McLaughlin. Goal: McBride 78. Queen's Park: David Crawford, Paul Paton, Mick Dunlop, Steven Canning, Richard Sinclair, Alan Trouten (Robert Dunn 60), Stuart Kettlewell, Paul Cairney (Tony Quinn 82), Paul Ronald, David Weatherston, Mark Ferry. Substitutes not used: Jonny Whelan, Richard Bowers, Alexander Cowie. Booked: Sinclair, Ronald, Kettlewell. Goals: Trouten penalty 55, Ferry 59. Referee: Euan Norris. Attendance: 589. |