Queen's Slaughter Morton, But Only Manage A Draw

deserved a hat trick
By The Spider
November 9 2002

Saturday, 9th November, 2002 Queen's Park 1 Greenock Morton 1 (Bells Scottish League - Division Three)

For most of the season, Queen's fans have been going on about how much their side has been dominating games and that the League table is presently a poor indication of their real form. Well, if Morton fans didn't believe a word of it before this afternoon's cracker, then rest assured that they do now. Had Queen's won this game 6-2, it wouldn't have flattered them and the match stats are certainly going to make for particularly interesting reading on this occasion.

In fact, had this been a boxing match, judges would have awarded Queen's 13 of the 15 rounds, so commanding were The Spiders throughout the game. However, as always it's goals that count, and had David Hopkin's 56th minute volley dipped under the crossbar rather than having crashed off it, then the match would have gone entirely to this site's pre-match prediction and Morton would have undeservedly taken all three points. That they escaped with one is entirely down to their goalkeeper, Craig Coyle, who was in absolutely sensational form and who conducted a personal vendetta against John Gemmell throughout the ninety minutes.

It took a little while for the game to develop, no doubt both sides were taking it easy until all 1,779 spectators were sitting comfortably. The first goalmouth action took place at the Morton end, thereby setting the pattern for the remainder of the game. A long clearance from Damiano Agostini looked to be running all the way through to Tony Quinn, but Coyle sprinted out of his area to clear the danger. Then Allan Dunning totally wrongfooted Bottigileri on the right touchline, the first of many occasions that he would do so, before crossing for Quinn who volleyed over from an offside position. However, it was certainly encouraging to see the foraging midfielder taking up such an advanced position twice in quick succession.

In the 12th minute a Jimmy Allan run from right to left across the edge of the penalty area was brought to an abrupt halt by a rash and unnecessary challenge from behind by Gaughan. John Gemmell hit the direct free kick cleanly and Coyle made a good low save as the ball skidded off the greasy surface. Gemmell was given a similar opportunity three minutes later, this time about five yards further back, and his absolute screamer looked to be going into the top left hand corner until the blur that was Coyle made a fantastic right-handed save to divert the ball over the bar. Tony Quinn then missed a sitter when he headed Stephen Canning's left wing corner inches past the back post when allowed a free header on the edge of the six yard box right in front of goal.

As Queen's kept up the pressure, Johnny Whelan and Stephen Canning produced some great stuff out on the left touchline, thereby allowing Canning to progress unhindered to the bye line, but Allan Dunning couldn't get enough on the near post cross and his volley slipped just past Coyle's right hand post.

The first of six Morton booking's, another indicator of the pressure that the amateurs were to exert on the full-timers, came in the 21st minute when John Maisano was shown a yellow card for tripping Stephen Canning on the halfway line. At long last, to the relief of their supporters, Morton forced Colin Stewart into his first save of the game three minutes short of the half hour mark when the tall on-loan 'keeper comfortably held a high header from McGregor.

A quickly taken free kick by Danny Ferry found Stephen Canning inside the Morton penalty area, and whilst the youngster's header went straight up in the air, he was first to react to the dropping ball but couldn't keep his half volley down though.

It had been a decent enough 45 minutes, particularly satisfying from a Q.P. perspective, but most home fans had a nagging feeling that Morton couldn't go through the entire second half without posing more of a goal threat than they had done up to this point.

Neither side made any changes during the interval and nor was there initially any change from the pattern of the first half as Queen's quickly put Morton on the back foot again. Tony Quinn forced Coyle to make a good low save from his well struck long range left foot drive, and then Stephen Moffat saw his fierce volley charged down as Morton desperately cleared their lines at the third attempt following a 49th minute mini-siege from Queen's.

However, those Queen's fans who had been basking in Queen's dominance suffered a rude awakening in the 56th minute when former Scottish internationalist David Hopkin hit a glorious dipping volley from the edge of the Queen's area which beat Colin Stewart all ends up only to rebound to safety off the cross bar.

Then Marco Maisano joined his brother in Mr. Mack's little black notebook following a reckless "studs up" one-footed challenge on Damiano Agostini. A 65th minute left wing corner from Stephen Canning found it's way through to Johnny Whelan at the back post, but Stephen Moffat couldn't get out from underneath the cross back over from his midfielder. A great crossfield run from Danny Ferry then allowed Jimmy Allan to jink his way to the bye line but, with John Gemmell handily placed at the back post for a deep cross, Coyle came smartly off his line to pluck the ball out of the air before it could reach him.

Morton could have been reduced to 10 men in the 68th minute when Bannerman had an off the ball swipe at Whelan. However, referee Mack took an inexplicably lenient view by merely giving the impetuous sub a severe talking to. Yes, Bannerman had failed to make much contact with Whelan's heel, but the intent was there and should have been more severely punished. However, this was the same hapless official who had booked the same player twice during a midweek game and had allowed him to remain on the park until a furiously flagging assistant had reminded him of his duty, so perhaps we shouldn't be too surprised by this latest faux pas after all.

Two minutes later, Morton took a lead that even their own fans could scarcely have seen coming. A powerful corner was whipped over from the left and David McGregor made a good blindside run along the six yard box before diving headlong to bullet home a header that gave Colin Stewart no chance whatsoever. This knocked the stuffing out of Queen's and they began to visibly wilt as the prospect of another home defeat began to prey on their minds. All credit therefore to John McCormack for making a surprise double substitution in the 75th minute that few, if any, could have foreseen.

Neither Crozier nor Clarke could have been viewed as potential match-savers, and yet their introduction re-energised Queen's at a time they needed it most. One of the most amazing ten minute spells seen at Hampden in many a year began in the 80th minute when Stephen Canning forced a near post save from Coyle. The visiting 'keeper did even better a minute later when a measured 40 yard diagonal pass from Steven Moffat found Brendan Crozier on the right side of the penalty area and his early shot towards the postage stamp corner produced another great save from Coyle.

Then a tremendous stop from a superb Gemmell overhead kick nearly brought the house down, but the ultimate contest between those two was still five minutes away. However, before both sets of supporters could catch their breath Stephen Canning grabbed an 83rd minute equaliser with a low 12 yard shot as Queen's pressure finally paid off.

There could now only be one possible winner and Morton needed to resort to desperate measures to avoid being over-run. Bannerman finally got his yellow card a minute later for barging Moffat in the back before Hopkin joined him seconds later for an identical offence, this time on Crozier as the energetic sub headed for goal. After taking an eternity to get the Morton wall to retreat the obligatory 10 yards, Moffat ran over the ball with Gemmell following up behind him. However, Hawke had misread the script and, fooled by Moffat's dummy run, was only two yards away from the ball by the tiime Gemmell struck it in his direction. Needless to say, Hawke became the 5th visiting player to fall foul of Mr. Mack, but it was just a shame that Gemmell hadn't stepped over the ball for Ferry who was next in line to strike it, or we could have been treated to a repeat of the famous incident from the Zaire v Brazil 1974 world cup game!

More than two minutes after the original foul on Crozier, John Gemmell finally got to take the free kick legitimately and his shot was just a blur as it cannoned off the wall before dipping over the bar for a corner. Although that cross was competently cleared by the Morton defence, their respite lasted only a few seconds as some great chasing down of the ball by Clarke and Crozier ultimately created a heading opportunity for Canning which Coyle safely dealt with. However the keeper's moment of real glory came in the 88th minute when his personal dual with John Gemmell reached it's high noon. Crozier swung over the perfect cross from the left touchline and John Gemmell's header from six yards was every bit as good as McGregor's earlier effort which had given Morton the lead. The difference this time was that Coyle managed to achieve the impossible save that Colin Stewart could not have been expected to make, and somehow the Morton 'keeper flung out his right hand again to break the heart of the 18 year old Queen's striker who could realistically have expected to have had at least a hat trick on any other day.

Still the excitement wasn't over as Morton staged a late rally. Their fans thought that they had snatched it when Williams netted in injury time, but Uotinen became the 6th visiting player to fill the pages of the ref's notebook for his deliberate volleyball-style punching of the ball into his fellow striker's path. Then Morton were awarded a free kick just outside the edge of the Queen's area when Agostini and Moffat challenged for the same ball and sandwiched Hopkin in the process. Moffat was injured in the process and, against his wishes, required treatment before being led to the side of the pitch. However, the defensive wall did it's job by blocking the shot and the whistle blew before Moffat could be waved back on.

Although referee Eddie Mack was given a lot of stick by Queen's fans following the incident, in the cold light of day they should realise that the two decisions which so annoyed them were not entirely his fault. Had Morton not been time-wasting so much during the last quarter of an hour (their 'keeper in particular), then he would not have had to add on so much "injury" time. Also, if Stephen Moffat had suffered a blow to the head or was bleeding, then he had no choice but to wave the trainer on and, having done so, he again had no option other than to make Moffat leave the field whilst Morton took their injury time free kick. Regrettably, not that most of them would know how to use it anyway, but there appears to be little place for common-sense in the SFA's guidebook to referees nowadays. 

Whilst this writer has been critical of John McCormack's recent changing of Danny Ferry's and Stevie Fallon's roles, today Cowboy's decision was vindicated as both players demonstrated the soundness of the new system. The defence, the slack marking at the corner apart, looked rock solid throughout and on the few occasions that the wall of Agostini and Moffat was breached, Fallon's impeccable reading of the game ensured that the much vaunted Williams wasn't given the merest sniff at goal.

However, we've seen Queen's reach this standard several times already this season, albeit in cup competitions, and the key now is to maintain this level of performance against the so-called lesser sides on a regular basis. Next week the side heads to Falkirk for the basement clash against East Stirlingshire, and if they fail to raise their game to today's level and don't take all three points, then not only will they have let themselves and their supporters down, but all today's excellent work will have been for nothing.

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE : 5/5           STAR SPIDER : STEVEN MOFFAT (incredibly consistent)

QUEEN’S PARK : Colin Stewart, Danny Ferry, Stephen Canning, Steven Moffat, Damiano Agostini, Stevie Fallon, Allan Dunning (Paddy Gallagher - 66), Johnny Whelan, John Gemmell , Tony Quinn (Ross Clarke - 75), Jimmy Allan (Brendan Crozier - 75)

Subs (not used) : Tony Mitchell (GK), Jamie White

Scorer(s) : Canning (83 mins)

Booked : none

GREENOCK MORTON  : Craig Coyle, Derek Collins, Emilio Bottigileri, David McGregor, Paul Gaughan, Marco Maisano (Warren Hawke - 68), Phil Cannie (Stuart McDonald - 79), David Hopkin, Alex Williams, John Maisano ( Scott Bannerman - 56), Jani Uotinen

Subs (not used) : Robbie MacKillop (GK), Anton Smith

Scorer(s) : McGregor (33 mins)

Booked : J. Maisano (10 - trip), M. Maisano (63 - dangerous challenge), Bannerman (84 -push), Hopkin (85 - push), Hawke (prematurely charging down a free kick), Uotinen (90 - deliberate handball)

REFEREE :  Eddie Mack ** (* = inept, ** = poor, *** = mediocre, **** = good, ***** = excellent)