Spiders bounce back to net points
Forfar Athletic 0 Queen's park 1
Forfar: Brown, McCulloch, Tod, Bishop, Tulloch, Campbell, Fotheringham (Mowat 65), Sellars, Watson (Gordon 82), Templeman (Gibson 15), Harty. Queens Park: McGeown, Little, Brough, Gallagher, Douglas, McBride, Stewart (Henry 90), Capuano, Daly,Quinn, Murray. Goals: Watson 76 og. Att: 413 |
With Homer posted absent as he was earning a crust for News International, Gulliver's chauffeur for the night was his daughter's young man. The lad has his failings - he follows the wrong Hoops for a start - but we are trying to educate him.
And when Sean is driving, unlike when Homer is at the wheel, there is time to take in the glorious scenery that Scotland can boast. After the winter we have endured, tonight was bit special. We had a herd of deer at the start of the motorway - what's the bets venison is on offer at some local restaurants tomorrow? And then a quite glorious drive in the evening sunshine. Say what you like about our wee country, but as the sun slowly set over the snow-covered peaks, Gulliver felt at poetic peace.
It was almost enough to make you forget that we were heading for a must win game - or at the very least one we couldn't afford to lose. Make no mistake; even though there are still some 10 games left to play, defeat for Queen's tonight, on top of the shattering loss against Berwick on Saturday, would all but have ended our play-off hopes. As it is we are still outsiders, but at least we are still in the running.
But while we were well worth the result in the end, we could have been dead and buried right at the start. Within the first minute of the game, Forfar waltzed through the middle, and Templeman found himself one on one with the smallest keeper in the league. When the ball bounced perfectly for the striker, all in the ranks of the visiting supporters turned away waiting for the ball to hit the net. Instead, it landed softly in the hands of McGeown and Queen's breathed a sigh of relief.
That miss gave our youngsters the chance to settle - and for once they took full advantage. The team didn't show too many changes from Saturday - Brough came in for the suspended McGinn, with Little moving to right back - and Capuano came back in at the expense of Henry. But we looked far more intent on getting something from the game, and while our early scare was followed by a scrappy interlude, we were soon on the front foot.
Ten minutes in and the offside flag (rightly) denied Daly. Two minutes later Stewart burst forward, and was unlucky to see his effort hit the side net instead of the back of the rigging.
Queen's continued to press and won a series of corners which produced no end result. We had the upper hand, and when Chris Templeman limped off after less that 20 minutes, the optimists in our ranks just began to get a wee glimmer that this could be our night.
That belief was strengthened a few minutes later when a bad lapse in our defence gave Forfar another glorious opportunity. Thankfully, when all seemed lost, Brough popped up on the line to knock the ball clear. Encouraged by the let-off, we took the game to our hosts. Murray produced a trademark break down the left before firing in a cross which begged to be converted; sadly, nobody obliged. Douglas then produced a sweet cross for Daly to attack. The striker got to the ball first, but couldn't direct his header on target. Just after the half hour, Murray broke clear again, but this time his final ball to Stewart wasn't quite good enough and another chance went abegging.
It was a measure of our control that it took Forfar until the 44th minute to win their first corner. It's a measure of what 49 years of watching Queen's Park can do to you that Gulliver feared the worst as the ball was swung into the mix. Thankfully, the fears were unfounded and we reached the interval with the scorers untroubled.
Half-time Forfar 0 Queen's Park 0.
The second period continued in much the same vein. Queen's played the better football - without creating enough clear-cut chances. Forfar, for their part, were content to follow a more direct route - and it almost paid dividends when the offside flag denied Sellars.
While that was a near thing, Queen's had their own gilt-edged moment 12 minutes in. Daly won a corner down the right and Douglas produced a wee gem of a delivery. It bobbled about the box until it seemed Gallacher had to put it in. His effort smacked the underside of the bar, defied the laws of physics, gravity - and plain decency - and somehow rebounded to safety.
Knowledgeable commentators in the visiting ranks suggested that our moment had come and gone. But thankfully nobody told the players, who continued to take the game forward.
A series of corners could have brought us a reward; Tony Quinn could have put us ahead with a glancing header; and Daly was unlucky to see his cross blocked by the home keeper with a posse of players waiting to pounce.
Needless to say, the home side also had their moments, notably after 62 minutes when we tried our own brand of soccer suicide. Fortunately, McGeown wasn't in the mood to be beaten and saved acrobatically with his feet.
Again we took strength from the escape and surged forward. We came desperately close to breaking the deadlock after 73 minutes with a peach of a move. Daly and Stewart combined to cross for McBride. His header had goal written all over it, but somebody forgot to tell keeper ... who flew across goal to tip the effort away.
But hardly had the disappointment had time to reach the pit of our stomachs than we were ahead.
We won a free kick on the right; Douglas swung in a wicked delivery - and Watson's despairing attempt to clear only succeeded in lifting the ball over the head of his own keeper and into the net.
We had the lead; normally the time when we are at our most vulnerable.And naturally, we had to endure agonising moments as the home side tried to salvage the night. McGeown twice had to be alert to deny Harty and Campbell, but there was a lovely determination in the ranks of the visiting players that we were not to be denied.
In the end, that resolve reaped its reward, with as good a three points as Queen's have earned on the road this season. Last week against Shire we were sparkling; tonight we showed an equally important side to our nature - a collective will to win.
Gulliver reckons we need at least another five victories to have a chance of making the play-offs. We are just about good enough to do it, but regardless of where we finish, your scribe has this confident prediction; the rollercoaster ride will go on; we'll hit some heavenly highs and plumb the depths of despair. We'll curse at officials and bemoan our lack; but at the end of the day, we'll take whatever fate throws at us and come back for more.
Keep the faith ... and let's hope for more of the same when Shire come calling on Saturday
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See you all
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SFL Div 3 |
P |
Pts |
| Livingston | 36 | 78 |
| Forfar Athletic | 36 | 63 |
| East Stirling | 36 | 61 |
| QUEEN'S PARK | 36 | 51 |
| Albion Rovers | 36 | 50 |
| Berwick Rangers | 36 | 50 |
| Stranraer | 36 | 47 |
| Annan Athletic | 36 | 43 |
| Elgin City | 36 | 34 |
| Montrose | 36 | 24 |