Deadly Daly at the double
East Stirling 0 Queen's Park 3
Queen's Park: McGeown (Peter Hamilton), McGinn, Gallagher, Brough, Douglas, Stewart, Capuano, Henry (Holms), Murray (Chris Hamilton ), Daly, Anthony Quinn. Subs Not Used: Lauchlan, Watt. Goals: Murray, Daly (2) East Stirling: Sorley, Donaldson, Forrest, Bolochoweckyj, Hay (Johnston), Weaver, Harding (McKenzie), Stevenson, Rodgers (Brady ), Lynch, Maguire. Subs: Spence, Nicholls. Booked: Rodgers, Forrest, Stevenson. Att: 297 Ref: S Nicholls |
Tonight was one of those uplifting experiences.
Gulliver hadn't had the happiest of days, and your scribe has to admit that he wasn't full of confidence as we headed for Ochilview.
We had a back four who were so young they must have asked for a special dispensation from their teachers to be out so late, and we were still missing Martin McBride, the player who has been our shining light in midfield recently. Frankie Carroll was missing from the attack, adding to the sense of foreboding.
Naturally, with so much going against us, we produced as good a 45 minutes as we have seen in many a season - and that includes the second half performance against Celtic. We ran Shire off the park, scored three goals, and then completed the job in the second period without too many scares.
The line-up was not one that many people would have predicted. We had a back four of McGinn, Gallacher, Brough and Douglas (possibly one of our youngest ever?), a midfield of Stewart, Quinn and Capuano, flanked by Henry and Murray, with Daly spearheading the attack. Mark McGeown in goals must have felt like a grandfather figure as he warmed up with his young charges.
It was essential that our youngsters got the chance to settle, without giving anything away early. Naturally, we nearly conceded within the opening two minutes as a free-kick from Donaldson just eluded Rodgers at the far post.
However, within 60 seconds, we showed what we could do at the other end. David Murray showed his new-found confidence, allied to his familiar turn of speed, to leave Donaldson for dead. The cross was perfect, the only problem was that the wee man had broken so quickly, nobody in blue and orange could get there quickly enough to apply the finish.
Another break moments later earned us a free-kick in Douglas domain. Being kind, we'll call his effort a sighter, but at least we were going forward.
It was a crisp night, with the plastic surface slick, qualities that were matched by the Queen's Park passing and movement. Jack Henry was marauding to great effect down the right, and his efforts brought our first concrete reward just before the quarter-hour.
The break down the right was lightning fast, Henry's cross was dangerous, but as Daly challenged keeper Sorley, there was little doubt that the custodian was favourite to get to the ball first. But favourites don't always come up trump; Daly and the keeper both got little on the ball - and David Murray was left with a tap in at the far post.
The golden rule after taking the lead is to settle on it and not give your opponents encouragement. Naturally, Queen's instantly conceded a free-kick - and although Lynch looked offside, the whistle never sounded and we had reason to be grateful for McGeown's acrobatics as he clutched the striker's header.
The scare had the desired effect for the away fans as the youthful Queen's side soon got right back in their stride. Henry was again the architect as he gave Daly a shooting opportunity. Sadly, the finish failed to reflect the build-up play and Sorley saved easily.
But midway through the half came another big moment as Queen's doubled their advantage. Murray broke, crossed; Daly stretched - and the ball was in the back of the net to put us 2-0 up.
To say the confidence was flowing through the young veins would be an understatement. Our self-belief was typified by a neat pass from Capuano, which was instantly volleyed goalwards by Paul Stewart. Sadly, Sorley was on hand to save.
Shire responded by going up field and winning their first corner, with 27 minutes on the clock. The cross was dangerous, but just when goal threatened, McGinn popped up in the perfect place to relieve the tension.
Those who follow the Glorious Hoops have often seen us on the attack - then seconds later concede a daft goal. Tonight the boot was very much on the other foot as Daly instantly got his second, and our third.
To call the defending comic-cut would be giving comedy a bad name. Sorley and Bolochoweckyj should have had the situation under control, despite admirable pressing by Murray and Daly. However, they contrived to make a total mess of things; bounced a clearance off each other - and then watched helplessly as Daly somehow stopped himself laughing long enough to bring the rebound under control and guide it over the line.
For the next five minutes we saw Queen's produce our version of fantasy football as we stroked the ball around with ridiculous composure; and made the team who are Livingston's closest challengers look very ordinary.
The pattern was typified by a glorious break which ended with a Barry Douglas shot being saved by Sorley.
It was the last action of a memorable 45 minutes, and few in the crowd would have been heading to the bookies to pick-up their winnings on a score at the interval which read:
East Stirling 0 Queen's Park 3
It's maybe a measure of what watching this team over the years can do to you, but despite our superiority; despite our three-goal cushion - and despite the fact that Gulliver's old pal Homer could just about have dealt with the Shire attempts on goal - this correspondent still had concerns about what might happen after the interval;.
After all, Shire couldn't be that bad; they would have to come out with all guns blazing, and how would our very young team cope if we lost an early goal?
Shire boss Jim McInally obviously wasn't too chuffed, and hooked Hay and Harding, replacing them with Johnson and McKenzie.
The changes didn't have any immediate impact. While Queen's didn't quite have the same urgency as they did in the first 45, they looked calm enough, and in control of the situation in the early stages of the second period.
Four minutes in and Henry was again the provider of a spectacular cross from the right. Again, it eluded all his colleagues - a pity - as it deserved better.
McGeown was then called into action to save from Lynch, but although the stop was comfortable enough, the aftermath wasn't as the keeper needed treatment before finally limping off to be replaced by Peter Hamilton after 55 minutes.
The young keeper has had his problems recently, but has never looked like losing his composure. The same can't be said of Shire who had three players booked in quick succession as they tried desperately to get a foothold in the match.
They failed, and Queen's remained in the driving seat, without quite regaining the panache of the opening period.
Holms replaced the tiring Henry, who had put in at least a shift and a half, but still the momentum was with the Spiders.
With around 15 minutes left, we saw the evidence of yet another training ground routine. When we won a free-kick not far outside the box, it seemed tailor made for Douglas to have a crack. Instead he ran over the ball, and kept on running. Stewart came in, chipped the ball up to Barry - now at the far post - and he headed it back into the mix. Quinn rose to meet it and was inches away from providing what would have been a glorious fourth goal.
Murray, who had also put in at least a shift and three-quarters, gave way to Hamilton with around 10 minutes left. And wee Chris almost made an immediate impact when he combined with Stewart to give Tony Quinn a sight at goal. The Shire players hadn't read the script properly, however, and contrived to block the skipper's goalbound effort.
A performance like this deserved a clean sheet, but it took a fine stop from Peter Hamilton in the dying seconds to deny Lynch from a corner.
Fittingly, the last word came from the Spiders as Capuano sent a long-range shot sizzling wide with almost the last kick of the game.
One swallow doesn't make a summer, and there will undoubtedly be disappointments ahead. But what tonight did show was that we have some super young talent coming through; we can play the game the way it's meant to be played - and we can sometimes close out the job properly.
We were good tonight; Shire were bad - but how would you fancy being in Gardner Speirs' shoes on Saturday? He's either got to tell a couple of the young stars from this victory that they're not going to start against Berwick, or leave Ricky Little and Martin McBride on the bench.
It's a dilemma, and one I'm glad I don't have to face.
Keep the faith; the rollercoaster might just have started back in the right direction.
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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 |