Q.P. In Seventh Heaven As 'Rovers Are Swept Aside

composed finish
By The Spider
December 15 2002

Saturday, 14th December, 2002 Albion Rovers 0 Queen's Park 2 (Scottish League - Third Division)

A superb away win against the League leaders saw Queen's rise two places in the League to the giddy heights of 7th place. Colin Stewart will probably never have an easier shut out in his life, partly thanks to some stout defending in front of him by the established trio of Moffat, Agostini and Fallon, but also due to some totally inept play by Albion Rovers who, on this display at any rate, have less chance of being promoted than Queen's do! Perhaps over-confidence had something to do with it, but 'Rovers were not nearly as fired up for this game as the visitors appeared to be.

There was triple good news for Queen's fans prior to kick-off. Club captain Danny Ferry had recovered sufficiently from his recent serious illness to merit a place on the bench and, although goal hero in waiting David Menelaws didn't make it into the final 16, along with fans' favourite Chris Fisher both were part of the squad that travelled to Coatbridge demonstrating that they too are close to full fitness.

'Rovers could, and should, have taken an early lead. In only the 2nd minute a shot was deflected into the path of right back Paterson but, from only ten yards out, he hooked his shot wide of Colin Stewart's left hand post. Having been somewhat let off the hook there, virtually the remainder of the half belonged to Queen's as the home side got pushed deeper and deeper into their own half.

However, Queen's did suffer a temporary setback in the 9th minute when Tony Quinn became the victim of a two footed challenge from "midfield powerhouse" (according to the programme notes" Silvestro and was taken to hospital in some distress with a suspected broken leg, although the Queen's medical staff were hopeful that it might not be as bad as it looked. It was either a fair challenge or a tackle with malicious intent from Silvestro, and from the enclosure it would be hard to say which. However, referee Dougie Smith was right beside them when it happened, so having decided to award a foul against Silvestro, it seemed strange that the 'Rovers midfielder wasn't even spoken to, let alone cautioned or worse.

Anyway, with the busy little Ross Clarke on in Quinno's place, Queen's set about securing a different form of retribution and did so even as Tony's ambulance was just leaving the ground. John Gemmell had the initial strike at goal, but the ball deflected to the edge of the area where Willie Martin was the first to react and he pounced to stab the ball past Shearer and in-off the inside of the 'keeper's right hand post.

Three minutes later the big 'keeper struggled to cope with a bouncing effort from Johnny Whelan, before Lumsden became the only player of the afternoon to be shown a yellow card for a two footed challenge on Willie Martin which certainly looked no worse than Silvestro's prior indiscretion.

Apart from a free header by Cormack from a corner which sailed harmlessly wide, it looked to be only a matter of time before Queen's grabbed a deserved second. However, Shearer was in good form and saved well from a high shot by Stephen Canning in the 28th minute. The 'Rovers 'keeper then had to watch as a 30 yard screamer from Willie Martin only just evaded the top left hand corner, before depriving the Queen's scorer from notching another when he dived low to save Martin's close range left foot shot after John Gemmell had miscued a free header across the face of the goal.

Shearer's best moment came in the 36th minute when Richard Sinclair, playing in a very attack minded role, turned superbly on the edge of the box to curl what looked to be an unstoppable shot towards the postage stamp corner. As the Queen's fans in the enclosure prepared to cheer a magnificent effort, Shearer somehow arched himself in mid-air to claw the ball wide - a truly magnificent save.

Had the ball gone in it would have been Sinclair's first goal for the Club, so it was understandable to see the disappointment written all over his face. It now looked as if Queen's would only have the one goal to show for their efforts but, as the half entered injury time, they achieved the objective of securing a wider margin. Johnny Whelan was the architect with a measured diagonal ball between the 'keeper and the left back, and somehow it was Richard Sinclair who suddenly appeared in a striking role to coolly prod the ball past Shearer and spark-off wild celebrations both on and off the pitch.

In anticipation of a 'Rovers' backlash in the second half, Queen's tried to grab a quick third immediately after the resumption and Shearer had to make saves from Ross Clarke and John Gemmell. In particular, Gemmell's finish was disappointing as he tamely hit the ball into Shearer's midriff after Canning and Allan had put him one on one with the 'Rovers 'keeper.

'Rovers now began to totally dominate the outfield play, but with Moffat, Agostini and Fallon doing a magnificent job of repelling everything that was being thrown at them, the home side were unable to get close enough to see the whites of Colin Stewart's eyes. Cormack did have a chance to pull one back in the 63rd minute though, but a great blocking challenge from Agostini saved the day.

Stewart was finally called into action in the 71st minute, but Lumsden's first time shot lacked sufficient power to cause Colin any problems. A minute later, the play briefly swung from end to end as Willie Martin hit a shot on the turn narrowly past before Mercer hit a bobbling shot which Colin Stewart needed a second attempt at before he brought in under control.

That was 'Rovers last real pot at goal and Queen's should have grabbed a third in the final minute when John Gemmell went by the onrushing Shearer to leave himself an open goal some 25 yards out on the right hand side, but his finish was devoid of composure and his powerful drive soared over the bar. The final whistle sounded shortly afterwards and Queen's left the field to a great ovation, although that was tempered by the sight of another ambulance leaving the ground, this time carrying Stephen Canning who had injured himself whilst challenging for a high ball in the last minute. Hopefully the news on Stephen and Tony Quinn will not be too bad, as neither are players that Queen's can afford to lose for a lengthy period.

Paul Martin and David Hunter are doing such an excellent job of their caretaker roles that the Committee now have plenty of time to make sure that they get the task of finding Cowboy's replacement done properly this time. Certainly, whoever takes over the job will inherit an excellent squad given that Jamie White, Allan Dunning, Chris Fisher and David Menelaws weren't even part of today's pool of 16.

Next Saturday sees Elgin travel south to Hampden, and another three points would see Queen's not only consolidate their present position, but also potentially close the gap on Gretna to make 6th spot a feasible target for before the end of the year after all.

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE : 3/5           STAR SPIDER : Willie Martin (gave his all)

QUEEN’S PARK : Colin Stewart, Richard Sinclair, Stephen Canning (John Gallagher - 89), Steven Moffat, Damiano Agostini, Stevie Fallon, Willie Martin, Johnny Whelan, John Gemmell, Tony Quinn (Ross Clarke - 11), Jimmy Allan (Danny Ferry - 60)

Subs (not used) : Tony Mitchell (GK), Paddy Gallagher

Scorer(s) : Martin (13 mins), Sinclair (45 mins)

Booked : none

ALBION ROVERS  : Scott Shearer, Andy Paterson, John McCaig, Jordan Smith, Peter Cormack, Todd Lumsden, Kevin McAllister (Jim Dick - 72), Chris Silvestro, Lee Duncan (Iain Diack - 53), Charlie McLean (Mark Weir - 53), Jim Mercer

Subs (not used) : Chris Fahey (GK), Mark Richardson

Scorer(s) : none

Booked : Todd Lumsden (dangerous challenge)

REFEREE :  Dougie Smith *** (* = inept, ** = poor, *** = mediocre, **** = good, ***** = excellent)