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Watt a finish after super sub Smith stuns Stranraer

Stranraer 2 Queen's Park 3

Stranraer: Mitchell, Kane, Taggart, McKeown, Noble, Winter (McColm), Stirling, Christopher Aitken, Gallagher, Malcolm, Grehan (Moore). Subs Not Used: Marshall, Shepherd, McGregor. Booked: Grehan. Goals:Grehan, Malcolm Queen's Park: Parry, McGinn, Little, Brough (Murray), Meggatt, Longworth, McBride, Anderson (Stewart), Burns, Daly (Smith), Watt. Subs Not Used: Strain, Gallagher. Goals: Longworth, Smith, Watt. Att: 390 Ref: Euan Anderson

If we're being brutally honest, it could be argued that there are downsides to following Queen's Park. Matches in the SFL Division 3 aren't the most glamorous in the world, and those who follow the club all over the country are realistic enough to admit that European glory is just about as likely as the Tories winning an election in Scotland.
But we do have our moments ... and no matter what else may be said, it's never predictable watching the Spiders and it's very seldom dull.
Take today for example, the range of possibilities as we headed south to Stranraer were just about as numerous as the average speed cameras that blight Homer's existence.
We could finish the day savouring the delights of third spot in the league ... or we could drum the depths of despair as defeat would leave us languishing in the bottom half of the table.
And what did the omens suggest ... take your pick. Our record at Stair Park is abysmal to put it kindly, so surely we had no right to expect the three points?
Then again, we've won three and drawn one of our last four outings - and made a potentially tough Scottish Cup tie in Huntly look remarkably like a stroll in the park. Surely, on such a run of form, anything less than victory was unthinkable. You see what Gulliver means when he says it's difficult to predict what will happen when you watch Queen's Park.
What was perhaps more predictable, was the 11 players who would take the field at the start of the game. David Murray was not quite fit enough to start, so Sean Burns, who performed admirably in Murray's absence at Huntly, kept his place, as did the other 10 outfield players
The rest of the 16 saw Strain replace Hughes, with Bradley being the one to drop out to allow Murray to warm the bench.
We now knew the personnel, but we still wondered which QP team was going to turn up. We soon got the answer ... and it was the one we wanted. The Spiders were up for it from the start.
Despite facing the strong wind and driving rain, Queen's came out the blocks quicker. Within the first minute, McGinn had romped down the right and sent in an inviting cross. No Hoops players were on hand to take advantage.
Two minutes later, Queen's were almost undone as they waited for a whistle that never came after McGinn seemed to be eased off the ball by Winter. The home side played to the whistle and it took a fine save by Parry to keep the scoreline level.
These opening minutes set the tone for what was a thoroughly entertaining afternoon. Queen's - with McBride and Anderson very much to the fore - had the majority of possession. But Stranraer, despite struggling to get a share of the ball, looked menacing on the break.
Nine minutes in, McBride had a shot well saved by Mitchell. Sixty seconds later came a huge injury scare for Queen's. Meggatt and Parry - neither of whom could be called a lightweight - collided in our box. Both went to ground and it took a couple of minutes before they got back on their feet, with the keeper in particular looking a bit on the groggy side.
The anxiety over the injuries turned to joy within seconds of the restart. Queen's won a corner after Watt and Burns combined. The flag kick was whipped in by McBride and Longworth made his "Clyde" run to the near post and glided a header past Mitchell to put the Spiders one up.
Queen's were looking good at this stage and continued to take the game to Stranraer. Burns' delivery was first class every time he got the chance to put in a cross, even if he wasn't involved as much as we might have liked. Longworth looked like a man with more goals in him, while Chuckie gave the impression of a player who was in the mood to enjoy his afternoon.
That was the positive, the other side of the coin for followers of Queen's was that we were failing to make the most of our opportunities. And how we were made to pay.
With almost 25 minutes on the clock, the home side broke with purpose. Winter found himself in space and was only denied by a super block from Parry. Sadly, the rebound fell at the feet of Malcolm; he crossed - and Grehan scored with ease to make it 1-1.
Queen's tried to get right back on the front foot, but the goal had taken a bit of the wind out of our sails. True, Chuckie was unlucky to be denied as Mitchell had to race from his box and head the ball clear. However, disaster was just around the corner, and as is so often the case with this wonderful club, we were the architects of our own undoing.
The normally excellent Daryll Meggatt telegraphed a pass to Burns. The effort was duly intercepted; Stranraer motored upfield - and Malcolm was left with the simple task of prodding the ball home to put his side 2-1 ahead.
Two such sickening blows would have sunk many teams, but Speirs' Spiders are made of sterner stuff and they tried to rectify the damage. Just after the half hour, Anderson swept a glorious ball out to Burns, but for once Sean's cross failed to hit the mark.
Minutes later came the move of the match. Longworth, Anderson and Watt were all involved as the ball finally reached McGinn on the right. Hopes rose ... and sank as the cross sailed harmlessly into the arms of the home keeper.
We had the bit between our teeth now and pushed forward again as the interval loomed. McBride and Watt won a corner. The first effort was cleared, but as the rebound was swung in again, Daly got his napper to the ball. His effort beat Mitchell ... but not the bar - and as it rebounded to safety, the last effort of the first period had come and gone.
It was hard to believe that we had enjoyed so much possession - and were losing the game. Then again, this was Queen's ... and it was Stranraer we were playing. We had seen it all before.
Half-time
Stranraer 2 Queen's Park 1

As the teams re-appeared for the second period, the first thing to strike Spiders fans was David Murray now in his left-wing berth. The immediate reaction was Burns had gone off, but he was now in the left-back slot, with Meggatt in the centre of the defence. Eventually, a process of elimination established that it was Brough who had been replaced. Whether it was injury, or a tactical switch, there was no denying it was a bold move to replace a centre-half with a winger.
The intention was obviously to take the game right to our hosts, but the plans were disrupted within 90 seconds of the restart. Davie Anderson crunched into a tackle, but while there was nothing amiss in the challenge - and no response from Aitken, our wee midfielder was left on the ground - and failed to recover.
One bonus we have at the moment is the strength on our bench. Anderson will always be missed, but having a replacement like Paul Stewart to come on greatly softens the blow.
The Spiders were soon back on the attack and after 51 minutes, Stewart pinged a great ball to Murray, but the wee man just failed to take it in his stride and Kane was able to clear.
Three minutes later Longworth turned provider, laying a great ball into the path of Watt, but Chuckie failed to hit the target and a great opportunity went abegging.
Although Queen's were in the ascendancy, the home side were not there just to make up the numbers. They had a chance to take a real stranglehold on the game as the hour approached. Firstly, Queen's had three attempts to clear the ball in our own box - failed to take any of them - and were relieved to see the danger end with a header over the top from Malcolm.
If that was a warning, it was one we ignored. The ball was immediately gifted back to Stranraer, and it took a smashing double block from Parry to stop Grehan adding to his goal tally.
Fortunately, Queen's got the message this time and regained the upper hand. Time after time we engineered inviting situations; time after time we failed to deliver the killer ball. It was beginning to look like another one of those Stair Park afternoons ... but little did we know the delight that lingered round the corner.
With just under 20 minutes to go, Gardner Speirs played his last sub card, replacing Daly with Craig Smith. Gulliver would love to say it was an inspired substitution which swung the game our way: Gulliver would love to say that Smith turned things round with a goal of individual genius and real beauty. While things were certainly about to change for the better, even Super Sub Smith would find it hard to claim he knew much about his equaliser.
He'd been on the field less than two minutes and had possibly not even been involved before he set off in pursuit of a long through ball. Despite Smith's blistering pace, McKeown was clear favourite to get there first - and he did. The defender's first thought was obviously to hook the ball clear - and he did. Unfortunately for him, but to the joy of all in the visiting camp, his clearance smacked Smith right in the coupon and ricocheted back towards the goal. Mitchell stood and watched; everybody in the crowd thought the ball was going wide ... until they saw it nestling in the back of the net.
It was the kind of farcical goal that Queen's just don't score. It was a goal that did more than just tie the game, it energised a belief that maybe this could finally be our day.
Naturally, there were scares before the final magic moment arrived. The appearance of Michael Moore for the home side prompted some anxiety as he's nicked the points from us on more than one occasion in the past. He had a couple of sights at goal - one in particular from a long throw after McGinn had to leave the field for treatment. Fortunately, Queen's held out and began asking more questions of the home defence.
With 89 minutes on the clock they came up with one that Stranraer couldn't answer. It looked as if Burns' ball to Murray had just too much pace on it, but the wee flier refused to give up the ghost. He reached the ball right on the line and swung in a cross. Longworth reacted quickest and nodded the ball into the danger area where Chuckie Watt lay in wait to smack it into the net. A quick glance at the linesman to make sure there was no flag to deny our dreams ... and then the travelling support, players and bench erupted.
With Queen's now 3-2 ahead, the only thing we wanted was the final whistle. It took an eternity to arrive. There were five minutes of injury time played, most of them "watched" by visiting fans with their hands over their eyes. Surely we couldn't have this one snatched from our grasp?
The home side did their best to make us suffer, but Parry and Co. stood firm to spark jubilant scenes as referee Anderson finally brought proceedings to a close.
The way the Spiders reacted at the whistle were more like title-winning celebrations, rather than those to mark what was after all "just" a win to take us into third place - with almost three-quarters of the season still to go. But those who have suffered so many agonies over the years at Stair Park wanted to milk the moment, and they certainly made it very clear to the players what the success meant to them.
Next up is the wee matter of a visit from league leaders Annan. There's a score to settle there in view of the five-goal drubbing they dished out to us on the season's opening day. But perhaps even more important is another chance to build on the head of steam we've developed over recent weeks.
Away back at the start of this report, Gulliver said following Queen's was seldom dull. If ever a game backed up that statement, this was the one. Keep the Faith ... we'll no doubt need it before the season is out!

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