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Another bad day at Balmoor

Peterhead 2 Queen's Park 1

Peterhead: Jarvie, Tully, Strachan, MacDonald, Donald, Webster (Sharp), Redman, Beasley (Ross), McBain, Bavidge (Wyness), McAllister.Subs Not Used: Jellema, Davidson. Booked: McAllister, McBain. Goals: McAllister 2. Queens Park: Parry, McGinn, Meggatt, Little, Gallacher, Anderson, Watt (Quinn), McBride, Smith, Longworth, Burns (Daly). Subs Not Used: Lockhead, Bradley, Ronald. Booked: McGinn. Goals: Burns. Att: 505 Ref: Brian Winter

While we are not quite at the squeaky botty time of the season, Queen's have certainly arrived at the tumbling tummy stage. You know the symptoms - every time the opposition moves upfield you get the sickening feeling that they might score; while our attacks induce a feeling of nervous tension as you try to will the ball into the net.
It's enough to age you very quickly, and there are still several months to go, but starting from today, we had a run of fixtures that could prove pivotal. The right sequence of results could propel us into genuine title challengers; the wrong results could consign us to another battle to first reach - and then progress from - the play-offs.
Our next four games see us take on three teams at the wrong end of the table, as well as title favourites Alloa. Each game presents its own difficulties, with today the perfect example. Peterhead may be further down the table than anybody could have expected at the start of the season, but they are on a run of three unbeaten, without conceding a goal. They have also proved incredibly awkward for us to beat on their own patch, with only one league victory to our credit at Balmoor since the Highland side joined the SFL.

Sadly, at the end of a bizarre 90 minutes, that remained the case, but we will never have a better chance to lay the bogey of Balmoor to rest.
The Queen's line-up was as predictable as it was promising. Brough was again needed to pound the beat for HM Constabulary, so Gallacher filled his spot in the centre of defence. In fact, with the exception of young Lochhead as sub keeper instead of Adam Strain, it was as you were from last week.
Conditions were as good as they will ever be in this neck of the woods, with no wind, a decent playing surface - and a bit of sunshine to boot.
Maybe those conditions settled Queen's as they tore into their hosts from the very start.
Within the first two minutes, Watt and Longworth combined to win us a corner. The first effort was scrambled clear, while the next ball into the box saw Longworth bring out a decent stop from Jarvie.
That was an encouraging start - and it simply got better from there on. After six minutes, Meggatt's header from a McBride corner was saved; two minutes later, it was Burns' turn to be denied. After 12 minutes, Watt, McGinn and Longworth combined to give Jamie a shooting chance. Sadly, his effort was deflected into the arms of Jarvie. One-way traffic was how Gulliver's notes summed up the position at this stage ... and that's no exaggeration of the way the game was going.
With 20 minutes on the clock, Neil Parry was finally called into action. Until then, the frostbite had been his biggest threat, but Bavidge finally got off a shot that made him move.
It wasn't a difficult save, and his clearance set Queen's on the attack. McBride ended a sweeping move with a shot that Jarvie had to be at his best to turn behind for a corner.
And so it went on. Queen's continued to dominate; continued to pepper Jarvie's goal; with no sign of a breakthrough ... until the 34th minute that is.
Finally all the pressure and probing paid off, A lovely ball from Ricky Little sent Smith galloping down the right. His cross was spot on, leaving Burns with a simple tap-in at the far post to put Queen's 1-0 ahead,
It was no more than we deserved, in fact it was scant reward for our domination of possession. However, as they say in this stupid game, things can change very quickly ... as we would find to our cost.
The home side tried to respond, but the offside flag denied their best moment as McAllister threatened.
Normal service was soon resumed with Queen's on the attack. Smith and Watt could both have given us a more comfortable cushion before the interval, but Craig shot wide and Chuckie's effort was saved by Jarvie.
So after the most one-sided 45 minutes Queen's had ever enjoyed at Balmoor, the whistle sounded with the score at half-time reading:
Peterhead 0 Queen's Park 1.

The hope was that we would continue where we left off; the worry was that we would let the home side back into the game. What few could foresee was the nightmare scenario where we stopped playing and let the home side take over. But it soon became clear that was the likeliest outcome.
Whatever was said or put in their half-time cuppa, it was a different Peterhead that took to the field after the interval. Within the first 90 seconds, Bavidge and Mcallister had half chances, and then a double change really gave the home side the impetus.
Suddenly our passing, so assured in the first 45, became sloppy. Peterhead started to win more and more of the ball - and we found ourselves very much on the back foot.
All of a sudden we were the team under pressure and with the hour mark approaching we were fortunate not to be punished when a couple of slips gave McAllister a sight at goal.
Thankfully, he shot wide - but we failed to learn the lesson and the big striker soon got his chance to make us pay. With 61 minutes gone, we left him in splendid isolation as a cross came in and he accepted the invitation to send a header past the helpless Parry.
That was bad enough, but it was about to get worse,
Just five minutes later, Ricky Little was turned by Bavidge in the box. The defender caught the veteran striker as he prepared to shoot - and it was an easy decision for referee Winter to point to the spot.
McAllister, who had been a forlorn figure in the first half, buried the spot kick past Parry to give the home side a lead they would never relinquish.
Queen's tried to force their way back into things, replacing Burns and Watt with Daly and Quinn. We had our moments, most notably when Smith fired in a shot from the edge of the box. It beat Jarvie all ends up, bounced off the inside of the post - and with half of Mount Florida descending on the rebound, it somehow eluded them all and found the sanctuary of Jarvie's arms. At that point we knew our woeful record at Balmoor was destined to continue, and so it proved.
The 2-1 defeat doesn't yet kill off our title dreams, especially with Alloa next up. However, it does bring us back down to earth with sickening bump, and remind us that even in the SFL Division 3, matches last not 45 but 90 minutes.
The most annoying thing about a bitterly frustrating afternoon is that Gulliver phoned his old chum Homer at the break, Homer was stuck working back in Glasgow and couldn't make the game. The exact comment from Gulliver as he relayed the half-time score was that we were so much in control that if we didn't win this one, we would never win up here.
I know, after all these years, one should know better, but it was true at the time. The next person who coins the phrase about a game of two halves should beware a flying boot from yours truly.
This was a sickener, and no mistake, but we have time to bounce back, starting with the visit of Alloa to HQ next week. And the really good news is that we shouldn't have to make the god-awful journey to Peterhead again this season.
Keep the faith... that's the rollercoaster hit the bottom.


 
 
 

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