It's got to get better than this

Annan Athletic 5 Queen's Park 2

Annan Athletic: Summersgill, Watson, Gibson, Aitken, McGowan, Sloan, Jardine, McKechnie (Holms), Cox, Harty, Bell (Atkinson ). Subs Not Used: Mitchell, John Watson. Goals: Cox 32, Bell 45, Gibson 59, Sloan 62, Gibson 65. Queen's Park: Parry, McGinn, Little, Brough, Meggatt, Gallagher, Smith, Anderson, Watt (Kennedy), Daly, Murray (Longworth). Subs Not Used: Bradley, Capuano, Strain. Goals: Smith 18, 27. Att: 511 Ref: Kevin Clancy

How can a day that promised so much, and had been so eagerly awaited for so long, end up leaving you feeling as if you've been kicked in the delicate places by a Clydesdale horse? Answers on a postcard please, but the simple response is that's what can come of following Queen's Park.
Ever since that June day when the league fixtures for season 2011-12 were officially unveiled, Gulliver - and many others up and down the land - have had August 6 ringed in red on the calendar.
It meant Saturdays were back to normal. OK, we've had the pre-season friendlies and the sparring that was a couple of cup ties over the last few weekends- but this was the real deal.
With order restored to the calendar, the grass in the back garden could once again be left to its own devices without that whine of a lawnmower shattering the peace.
The awful prospect of trudging round Tesco could be left to another day ... or better still to another person!
And for those who follow the Glorious Hoops, the date meant a wee trip to Annan, usually one of our favourite jaunts of the season.
There was an extra spring in Gulliver's step as he set out this morning. Annan also means a re-union with his old chum from Geordie land; a chance to catch up on his news, enjoy a bite of lunch; mayhap a glass or two of red ... and that's before the main event gets under way.
With so much anticipation, there was always the danger of that 90-minute spell in the middle of the afternoon ruining the day. Sadly, that's exactly what happened. What made the eventual outcome so much worse was the encouraging start Queen's made to proceedings.
It had been glorious sunshine when we left Glasgow; the rain was p###ing down when we arrived in Annan - perhaps that should have been taken as an omen.
But there was little sign of the disaster that was to come in the Queen's line up. David Murray came in for the unavailable Sean Burns, while Jamie Longworth returned to take a place on the bench.
It gave Queen's a decent starting XI, but to be fair, the fare served up by both sides in the first 15 minutes was pretty poor. The kindest thing that could be said about the game was that it was scrappy.
Both teams had glimmers; neither could find the breakthrouh. That was until 17 minutes when Queen's got the break they had been looking for. Meggatt drilled in his delivery after Queen's were awarded a foul, and although the effort was cleared, Murray fired the ball in again. This time the effort reached Smith - and he touched it past keeper Summersgill to put Queen's 1-0 ahead.
The home side tried to hit back and Parry had to be at his best to turn a shot from Cox round the post.
But then in 26 minutes came one of those moments that typified all that is best in QP. Ian Watt started it all of with one of his trademark jinking runs. His cross reached Smith - and he finished with aplomb to put Queen's 2-0 ahead,
It was a start better that we could have dreamed of - what followed soon became a worse nightmare than any follower of the Glorious Hoops could have imagined.
At this stage, the important thing from our point of view was that we held on to the lead long enough to let us settle and get comfortable. That was the aim - the reality was very different.
The game started to go wrong on the half-hour mark. Craig Smith drove at the Annan defence and was blocked out. Anywhere else on the park and the foul would probably have been given, but as this was one in the box, play was waved on.
Needless to say, Annan went straight up the field and Harty fired in a shot which Parry did well to parry. Unfortunately, the rebound fell in the path of Cox and he fired it home to get Annan back in the game at 2-1.
Queen's tried hard to restore their two-goal advantage right away, with Watt and Meggatt both breaking down the flanks and setting up opportunities. Neither of them could be converted - and right on the interval came the sucker punch of all sucker punches. Ian Watt lost possession in the middle of the park; Annan drove forward, the ball was finally fed to Bell and he fired past past Parry. The whistle blew almost immediately and at the interval it was all level. But although the soreline said 2-2, there was no question that it was the home side who went in feeling happier.

Half time Annan Athletic 2, Queen's Park 2

The second hslf started with both teams going for the jugular. Queen's had their moments; Annan had their chances - but neither side could make the breakthrough.
The longer things went on, the more the feeling grew that the side which scored the next goal would go on to win the game ... and so it proved.
Just before the hour mark, Annan won a soft foul and as the ball was driven in, Gibson diverted it past Parry to put the home side ahead for the first time.
That was bad enough, but three minutes l;ater, the Queen's defence was all over the place as Annan made it 4-2. Gardner Speirs tried to change the flow of the game by replacing Murray with Jamie Longworth, but with 64 minutes on the clock, the nightmare got worse as Gibson punished more defensive slackness in the QP ranks to make it 5-2.
Although there was still a third of the game to go, referee Clancy could have blown his whistle there and then to put us all out of our misery. He couldn't do that and we all had to suffer to the final whistle knowing that the game was lost, while hoping for that wee miracle that was never going to arrive.
The final moments saw Kieran Kennedy make his debut for Ian Watt, and while the youngster was keen enough, it was the home side which came closest to troubling the scorers. Right on the death, a cross was whipped in to the Queen's box - and although it was deflected by a defender past Parry, the whistle had already gone for an infringement - sparing our blushes.
Seconds later, the final whistle sounded, and a bitterly disappointing afternoon was brought to an end.
The two cup ties we have played this season ended in defeat - which was no surprise given the calibre of the opposition. This was an entirely different proposition. The bald facts are that we went 2-0 up against an Annan team that was missing at least four regulars. Despite that start, we ended up on the wrong end of a 5-2 gubbing.
That's not a good omen for the rest of the season. Davie Anderson is going to miss our next couple of games, starting with the visit of Stranraer next Saturday. Feeling as low as we do just now, it's difficult to see how we are going to turn round our appalling record against the Stair Park side. Then again, the one thing that is always predictable about Queen's is our ability to be unpredictable.
Before the game this afternoon, Gulliver's Geordie chum pointed out that in the second half of last season, we took more points than any other team in Division 3 - including champions Arbroath who finished five points in our wake over that 18-game spell.
We don't want to have to stage similar heroics in the second half of this season, but at least the knowledge of our ability to come on strong when the going gets tough should give us some grounds for optimism.
It's not the start we would have wanted, but at least we all know one thing ... the only way is up!.
Keep the faith, there's an awful long way to go.