Cheer Up Paul Smith -
instant hero status!
By The Spider
August 21 2002
Tuesday, 20th August, 2002 Berwick Rangers 1 Queen’s Park 2 (Bells Challenge Cup - Third Round)
As the thirsty party of travelling supporters emerged from the supporters bus at Shielfield Park over an hour before kick off (the roadworks weren't nearly as bad as anticipated), they were horrified to learn that the Berwick Rangers Social Club immediately adjacent to the ground was closed and up for sale (given that it's miles off the beaten track, they can't have much chance of finding any other use for it!). As they began the long trek back towards town and the nearest watering hole, the pre-match talk centred around which of the four Queen's championship heroes from three seasons ago would feature in the respective club's starting line ups.
Most fans know about Neil Inglis, Graham Connell and Johnny Whelan, but who was this other member of the elite? That question was quickly answered when Berwick took to the field as loud cries of "there's only one Ross Godfrey" greeted the hapless former Cowdenbeath 'keeper to remind him of that glorious May day when his pathetic flap at a Danny Ferry chip-shot put Queen's firmly on track for title success.
Noticeably absent however was the usual sarcastic cry of "show us yer medals" in the direction of those Berwick players still part of the Club who had taunted Queen's players following a win at Hampden near the end of the season, but the so-called "Dream Team" had then lacked the bottle to complete the job in their remaining half dozen fixtures whilst Queen's, of course, won all of their last five. However, it would only be 13 minutes into the game before that very cry would be raised by one enthusiastic Spiders' fan (no names though - wouldn't want to embarrass the Committee Member to whom he is related!).
Anyway, against that background, the scene was set for two teams with no great liking for each other to compete in the quarter finals of a cup competition where neither side had progressed beyond this stage before. As widely predicted, John McCormack had elected to solve his left wing back problem (Marshall gone, Borland injured and John Gallagher suspended) by bringing in Jamie White for his first game of the season. Craig Taggart came in for the other suspended player, John Gemmell, with Stephen Canning dropping back to play in a deeper role wide on the right.
The main surprises were instead reserved for the Berwick starting line-up. Following an excellent start to the season which had seen The Borderers go undefeated in four matches with three wins, last Saturday they had come a cropper at Stenhousemuir losing 2-0. Not necessarily the worst result in the world for a one-off bad performance, but try telling that to Berwick manager Paul Smith who reacted badly by dropping seven of his starting line-up for this match, thereby failing to pay Queen's the proper respect for what was, after all, a chance to win a semi-final spot in a national competition.
With this being Berwick's home game, it had been presumed that Queen's would come under early pressure and have to survive numerous attacks before gradually coming back into the game. In fact, nothing could have been further from the truth judging by the pattern of play.
Queen's had the bulk of the early possession and were quite content to play the ball around leaving Berwick to forlornly chase after it. A late tackle born through frustration earned Queen's a free kick near the right touchline and Danny Ferry's cross was met by Steven Moffat, but his headed effort was glanced well wide.
Berwick swept quickly back up to the other end of the field and a diagonal crossfield pass from deep in their own half on the left side had Jamie White in trouble. Misjudging the flight of the ball, he allowed it to drop behind him and Forrest ran on to the bye line before crossing for McCormick who also saw his glancing header drift harmlessly wide of goal. Then Jimmy Allan forced a corner with a good run down the left touchline but Craig Taggart's header from the resultant dead ball cross also failed to hit the target.
Right on the quarter of the hour mark Queen's put together a superb move. It started out on the right when Steven Canning nodded a Moffat long ball back to Danny Ferry. The Queen's captain quickly played the ball forward to Craig Taggart's feet before an excellent dummy over the ball allowed it to run through to Willie Martin on the edge of the area. Willie turned neatly to feed the ball through to Stephen Canning who had continued his run ever since his cushioned header back to Ferry and the youngster's shot brought out an instinctive near post diving save from the much maligned Godfrey. Jimmy Allan's inswinging corner from the right caused all kinds of problems in the heart of the six yard box and the ball ran through to Canning but his chip back across goal was just too hard and high for Damiano Agostini to take advantage with the Berwick defence in disarray.
Whelan then tried his luck with a long range snapshot straight at Godfrey whilst Wood responded for Berwick with a header straight at Tony Mitchell.
Although Jimmy Allan had been fairly anonymous in his first couple of competitive games after looking bright in the pre-season games, his dashing runs down the wing against East Fife had raised hopes that there was a lot more to come and a 22nd minute run right through the heart of the defence brought him a good shooting opportunity which Godfrey saved with his legs from close range before the 'keeper did likewise from Willie Martin's attempt from the rebound before holding Stephen Canning's attempted lob just under his bar.
Berwick then had a little spell of pressure where McCormick sent a header narrowly past Mitchell's right hand post and this was soon followed by a near post header from Bennett which sailed over the crossbar. Bennett then fired in a deep cross from the left touchline which initially looked to be going over Mitchell before the Queen's 'keeper recovered well to clutch the ball under the bar.
In the 32nd minute Danny Ferry tried to lob Godfrey from 25 yards (perhaps looking for a repeat?), but this time it soared harmlessly over the bar.
At this point Queen's were looking very comfortable and "going about their business well", as Cowboy is often prone to say, but then a silly avoidable mistake allowed Berwick to snatch an undeserved lead. Agostini dwelled on the ball in midfield for far to long before touching it too far in front of himself thereby allowing a challenge to be made, and when the ball spun loose it was collected by right back David Murie who quickly advance before slotting the ball low past Mitchell's left side from the edge of the area with his left foot. A bad goal to lose at any time, but a terrible one in such an important game which Queen's were doing so well in.
Shortly before half time, McNicoll had a chance to make it two, but he was unable to keep his header down from a left wing free kick.
Queen's took the field at the start of the second half to great vocal encouragement from their large travelling support which was quickly rewarded with an equaliser. Playing the ball out of defence, a sweeping move of first time passes saw the ball move from Agostini to Ferry to Allan before the ball was slipped across the area to Johnny Whelan who looked set to slide the ball past Godfrey before being upended from behind by Murie. The Liverpudlian, who had earlier endured some heckling from locals for his scouse heritage, took ample revenge by rolling the ball wide of Godfrey's despairing dive from twelve yards.
It was no less than Queen's deserved and they now had their tails up. Firstly a Moffat touchline header freed Willie Martin on the left wing, and the eager striker strode into the Berwick area before neatly going past the last defender. Sadly he lacked that bit of necessary composure and his cross cum shot evaded both the far post as well as the supporting players. Moffat then set up another opportunity for Martin, but Willie's header went wide of the mark.
What turned out to be the winning goal was only delayed by a minute though. Following a great move up the left wing, Jimmy Allan exchanged passes with Craig Taggart before dribbling his way into the area and slipping the ball past an exposed Godfrey. For a moment it didn't look as if it was going in, although Canning was following up to make sure, but it bobbled off the base of the post before finding the back of the net.
If Queen's had one problem it was perhaps that they had taken the lead too early as Berwick quickly made a double substitution and then encamped themselves in Queen's half for the remaining 25 minutes. Queen's were forced further and further back, the main concern being that they were defending far too deeply and simply inviting Berwick onto them with little chance of breaking out from the siege that was being laid.
Burke shot narrowly past Mitchell's left hand post before Godfrey offered Queen's the briefest of respites by gifting the ball to Willie Martin at the edge of the area with a poor pass. Martin showed a nice piece of quick thinking by laying the ball back to Taggart who had a clear shot into the empty net, but the most recent signing dithered before being fairly tackled from behind.
Fortunately for Queen's, whilst Berwick launched attack after attack, they all lacked imagination and Agostini, Moffat and Whelan (now playing as central defender!) comfortably cleared everything that came their way. Suitably encouraged by the ineptitude of their opponents' forward line, Queen's actually created two half-chances of their own, but Agostini's left foot volley was off target and Godfrey saved Quinn's shot.
Two minutes from the end, a miss-hit clearance from Richard Sinclair which was as bad as Godfrey's earlier gift to Martin fell kindly in the Queen's area for Burke, but his curling shot wide of Mitchell also went wide of the 'keeper's left hand post.
After an agonising two minutes of injury time (where did that come from?), referee Brown finally blew his whistle to signal that Queen's were through to their first cup semi-final (excluding the Glasgow & Charity Cups of course) in over 75 years! Okay, so it's not quite as prestigious as either the League or Scottish Cup competitions, but that mattered little to players or supporters last night as each acknowledged the efforts of the others in some joyous final scenes.
On the way home, there was much debate about which of the remaining three clubs would be the preferred draw. Some wanted either Queen Of The South or St. Mirren on the basis that there would be little expectation of success, and there would be more pressure on their opponents the longer the game remained scoreless. For them, perhaps remembering "the Forfar disaster" of 1982, the thought of facing Brechin at Hampden was just too much to bear?
Well, grin and bear they must, for that is what the draw produced thereby avoiding the possibility of what would be regarded as the potentially most attractive Final between the two First Division sides. Nonetheless, it does provide Queen's with the chance to make the final but, for now, all thoughts should turn to the visit to Cappielow this Saturday when Morton will present the latest obstacle between Queen's and that much sought after first league win of the season.
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE : 4/5 STAR SPIDER : STEVEN MOFFAT (another elegant display)
QUEEN’S PARK : Tony Mitchell, Danny Ferry, Jamie White (Richard Sinclair - 46), Steven Moffat, Damiano Agostini, Tony Quinn, Craig Taggart (Ross Jackson - 74), Johnny Whelan, Willie Martin (Chris Fisher - 81), Stephen Canning, Jimmy Allan
Subs (not used) : Stewart Thomson (GK), Karl Lejman
Scorer(s) : Whelan (pen-55), Allan (63)
Booked : none
BERWICK RANGERS : Ross Godfrey, David Murie, Tony Smith, Grant McNicoll, Alan Neill, Mark Bradley (Alex Burke - 68), Gordon Forrest, Graham Connell (Martin Neil - 68), Gary Wood, Mark McCormick, Neil Bennett
Subs (not used) : Neil Inglis (GK), Eddie Forrest, Gordon Connolly
Scorer(s) : Murie (39)
Booked : none
REFEREE : Tom Brown **** (* = inept, ** = poor, *** = mediocre, **** = good, ***** = excellent)