Hibees Struggle To Overcome Battling Spiders
tried hard
By The Spider
July 16 2002
TUESDAY, 16TH JULY, 2002 QUEEN'S PARK 0 HIBERNIAN 2 (PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY)
Due to a number of players being on holiday, plus injuries to Paul Borland and David Menelaws (a forward from East Stirlingshire) which will rule both out of all the pre-season friendlies, it was a strange line-up for the opening friendly of the season (there had previously been a closed door friendly against Dumbarton where Paddy Gallagher scored in a 2-1 defeat) against Premier League Hibs. The Edinburgh side also went for a mixture of youth and experience bearing in mind that they were due to play Cowdenbeath the following night in another warm up match for their forthcoming Finnish tour.
The "newcomers" in the Queen's squad included two former Spiders in Damiano Agostini (returning from a season in Italy after his time with East Fife) and the aforementioned Paddy Gallagher (returning from a brief stint with Stranraer). The debutantes were John Gallagher (a defender from East Fife), Steven Moffat (possibly the defender who was with Arbroath last season), Gordon Lappin (a midfielder from Gourock YAC), Karl Lejman (another midfielder, from Sauchie Juniors), Stuart (or Steven?) Jack (a forward, also from Gourock YAC), James Allan (a midfielder from East Fife) and Darren Magee (a midfielder who was with Dundee a couple of seasons ago, but who has been recovering from a bad injury and has most recently been in the Junior ranks).
Still to feature, apart from David Menelaws, are Alistair McNiven (a full back who has been called up from the U-18's) and Jai Henderson (a goalkeeper from Sauchie, and formerly with Stenhousemuir, who was on the bench but not used).
Chris Fisher didn't take long to get into the action when he quickly turned on a pass to feet, ghosted by two defenders and shot narrowly wide of Colgan's left hand post with his left foot. His effort lacked power though, not surprising given that the ball had actually been on his right foot when he flicked at it with his left!
Hibs responded two minutes later and took the lead with their first serious assault on goal of the night. A quick break down the right wing left John Gallagher exposed for lack of pace and, although the initial cut-back was blocked, the ball fell loose for Freddie Arpinon to fire past Mitchell from just eight yards out.
Considering that Bobby Williamson's two prior visits for pre-season friendlies with Kilmarnock had seen Queen's lose seven goals on each occasion, there were fears that another rout could be on the cards, but Stephen Canning raised Queen's fans' hopes with a neat piece of individual skill in the 10th minute. Accepting a Ferry pass out on the right touchline, Canning cut inside dragging the ball past two static defenders before unleashing a superb left foot shot from the edge of the penalty area which only just cleared the crossbar at its left hand junction.
In the 21st minute, John Gallagher showed that he's not scared to come forward and have a go himself, but his long range effort lacked both power and direction.
Hibs looked strangely subdued despite their bright start and it took until the 42nd minute before they created another clear cut chance. Again it fell to Arpinon but this time the little striker pulled his close range effort wide and harmlessly into the side netting.
Nick Colgan was far too casual in the 53rd minute when he tried to play a passback out to Laursen on the left touchline. Chris Fisher, who was only a few yards away at the time, managed to get a toe to it but the ball fell behind him and his subsequent shot on the turn was easily saved by the errant Hibs 'keeper.
Paddy Gallagher, despite an impressive showing against Dumbarton, was completely out of touch in the first half and he gave way to Jimmy Nairn who looked to be a tricky little player. Only on the park for 10 minutes, the former East Fife midfielder drifted by two Hibs markers and released a delightful ball from John Gemmell, but the young forward had been just too eager with his run into space and was ruled offside when clean through on Colgan.
Somewhat against the run of play, and completely out of the blue, Hibs grabbed a second in 58 minutes when Ulrik Laursen headed home a John O'Neil corner. A third nearly followed eighteen minutes later when substitute Whittaker hit a glorious volley over the stranded Tony Mitchell, but a fortuitous deflection took it onto the roof of the net.
Gordon Lapping tried a similar effort two minutes later, but it also dipped over, this time of its own volition. Volleys were certainly in vogue at this point, and Whittaker was only inches away in the 83rd minute when his first time strike from a left wing cross dipped just over the bar.
Queen's nearly grabbed a consolation goal with four minutes remaining when Stephen Canning sent a magnificent lob from 30 yards over the head of the retreating Colgan. It looked a perfectly executed goal but somehow the Hib's 'keeper twisted backwards in mid-air to claw the ball back from behind him so that it bounce inches past his left hand post. Perhaps not quite in the "Banks" class, but if there's a better save made all season, it'll will earn rave reviews rather than the few bye-lines that this poorly covered game got from the media.
So, despite the defeat, a valuable run out for Cowboy's new signings. Whilst it is too early to judge the new boys yet, Agostini will surely feature this season as will Magee if he attains full match fitness. The remainder will need to show a bit more of their potential if they are to dislodge last season's regulars.
Saturday brings a pleasant jaunt down to Annan where a few Queen's goals would keep the travelling support happy.
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE : 3/5 STAR SPIDER : Neil Collins
QUEEN’S PARK : Tony Mitchell, Danny Ferry (Richard Sinclair - 63), John Gallagher, Neil Collins, Damiano Agostini (Steven Moffat - 67), Gordon Lappin (James Bruce - 80), Stephen Canning, Karl Lejman (Stuart Jack - 63), John Gemmell, Paddy Gallagher (James Allan - 46), Chris Fisher (Darren Magee - 67)
HIBERNIAN : Nick Colgan, Alen Orman (Les Byle - 63), Ulrik Laursen, Kevin Nicol, Gary Smith, Ian Murray, Alan Reid, John O'Neil, Paco Luna, Freddie Arpinon, Tom McManus (Steven Whittaker - 63)