Scottish League Division 3
	Queen's Park	2
	CANNING, DUNN
	East Stirling	1
	Ure
Tuesday, April 3, 2007

HOMER has said it before, and makes no apology for repeating it; he likes the word penultimate.
It has a special resonance when it applies to our second last scheduled home game with dreams still burning bright.
Penultimate it may be, but Homer and his wee chum Gulliver couldn't help but think tonight might provide the ultimate test.
After all, as the little anorak will tell you, we are on the verge of equalling the record of consecutive victories in one season (eight-in-a-row way back in 1967-68, when Homer was a spotty teenager); we have already established a new record for clean sheets; we're challenging for the title ... and victory tonight would all but seal at least a play-off spot.
So who would you least like to face? Naive newcomers might be tempted to suggest things couldn't come much easier than the perennial bottom dogs at home. Those who have suffered in the Queen's cause know only too well that Shire have put the bite on us more often than a bibbed Sauchiehall Street charity collector, but with more pain.
Anyone who doubts the capacity of the Firs Park outfit to wreck our ambitions would be well advised to remember they have already beaten us twice this season. And our last Hampden clash saw Queen's end up with just eight men on the park as the red mist descended.
So,could we gain revenge tonight and keep the home fires of ambition burning?
If we were to win we would have to do so without the services of a first choice trio. Leading scorer David Weatherston, Alan Trouten and Tony Quinn all went off injured on Saturday against Stenny, and they were missing tonight.
We did, however, welcome back the new gnarled veteran of Hampden, Paul Ronald, while the two other places went to Robert Dunn and Richard Bowers.
Added to the bench were Shaun Molloy and young striker Chris Colquhoun.
So, from the managers' cliche book we'll extract this gem: With so many established stars out, it's the chance for others to step up to the plate and show they are worthy of a regular start.
And, in the absence of Trouten, who will create the openings? And, in the absence of Weatherston, who will tuck those openings into the onion bag? Homer awaits.
The bookies have Queen's 1-7 tonight, so that makes it a banker home win, doesn't it? So why is Homer a nervous wreck?
Queen's didn't look nervous at all, as they started very confidently.
Paton made an early foray down the right and his deep cross found Bowers rising at the far post, but his header was blocked for a corner.
It was Paton again a minute later, combining with Dunn to send the striker to the byline, but his cross was taken by keeper Nugent at the second attempt.
It was all Queen's in the first 10 minutes; plenty of possession and peppering the Shire box with crosses from both sides, but we were still waiting for a Hooped shirt to get on the end of one.
The seventh minute summed up the early play. Good build-up on the right, Ronald's cross went through the box, Ferry collected on the left and sent it back in, Shire cleared, and Canning lashed a shot well over the top from the edge of the box.
And so it went on. 14 minutes in and it was Cairney's turn to set up a cross from the right. Again it was knocked out, but this time Bowers brought out a good save from Nugent, low down and again at the second attrempt. Someone follow the next shot in, please.
Queen's were denied a stonewall penalty in 16 minutes. Bowers was twice held back going into the box and eventually the pull on his shirt - clear as daylight from the stand - put him off altogether.
But referee Colin Hardie, no stranger to controversial decisions in the Third Division, ignored the appeals. The referee, bizarrely, seemed to indicate to the protesting Hoops that Bowers had tripped at the most inopportune moment!
Bowers tried again two minutes later. Ronald neatly nutmegged Galloway and Bowers took advantage to shoot just over.
Shire were rarely seen as an attacking force, but they did have the ball in the net after 28 minutes, but Tweedie was well offside. Still, the ease with which the tricky McKenzie came inside Canning to get in the cross did nothing for the butterflies.
But Stevie Canning had an answer to the Homer butterflies. Homes posed the question: Who will create the openings? The answer was Steve Canning. And Homer posed the question: Who will position these openings in the onion bag? The answer was Stevie Canning.
Yes, it was a magnificent solo effort that lit up Hampden in 35 minutes. Canning burst from his left back billet and, seeing no obvious pass ahead of him, just kept bursting. He burst, in fact, to within some 25 yards from goal, where he unleashed a beautifully struck right foot rocket that blasted past Nugent high to his right despite the keeper getting a hand to the ball.
Homer awaits no more. Well, not for the first goal, at least.
And we could, perhaps should, have had a second as Ronald had a low cross blocked, Paton had a header bundled clear from the line, and generally we had Shire on toast. But, and you've heard it before, one is never enough. Okay, I know one was enough on Saturday, but you get my drift, you share my anxiety, you mirror my joy at the half time whistle.
Half-time: Queen's Park 1, East Stirling 0.

We could have done with a fast start, and nearly got one. Within a minute of the restart, Cairney sent Bowers down the left and his cross was powerfully headed narrowly over the bar by Ronald.
Straight to the other end and the first sign of hesitation in the centre of the Queen's defence could have been punished, as Galloway was allowed to go clear before firing straight at Crawford. A wee warning, but it didn't help Galloway as he was hooked in 56 minutes in favour of Boyle.
The wee warning didn't help Queen's, either. Despite all the previous history between the teams here, despite all the wee warnings, Queen's again conceded a goal at Hampden Park to the worst team in Scotland.
It brought to an end 706 glorious minutes without conceding a goal, and it was a shocker. McKenzie, the player identified in the first half as one who looked like he could cause Queen's problems, waltzed down the right, slung over a cross which was missed all the way through to the back post, and Ure had the easiest task to tap the ball behind Crawford. What an anti-climax; you couldn't make it up.
The problem now for Queen's was that Shire suddenly realised they weren''t here as cannon fodder. Their tails were up, as they showed in a wee five minute spell, and it was obvious Queen's would have to raise their game.
But Queen's weren't Dunn yet - and therein lies a wee clue. Yes, you've guessed it; Robert Dunn, who has yet to score for Queen's but has given Homer and Gulliver no end of copy with his attempts across Scotland, finally got it right.
Ronald won a towering header 25 yards out, knocked the ball into the box on the right, and Dunn's pace got him there before the keeper to knock the ball into the net. And, fittingly, the goal came in front of the Queen's fans, and did Dunny celebrate; almost as much as Homer and Gulliver.
Believe me, when Gulliver saw the team pre-match he said Dunn was destined to score the winner. Let's hope he's right.
It was the turn of Queen's to be lifted by the goal, and first Cairney and then Sinclair had efforts blocked for corners as we pressed forward, with Carroll having replaced Bowers.
And Dunn almost doubled his career tally for Queen's in 73 minutes. He showed great control to pull down a clearance wide left and round McAloney. He cut inside towards the box, stepped inside a defender, and fired in a low shot which Nugent gathered comfortably.
Shire made another change, sending on Brownlee for McBride.
Sinclair bravely took on the chin the full force of a goalbound Ure shot in 86 minutes - a job for Bob's magic sponge - and then Dunn went off to a rousing ovation to be replaced by the livewire Colquhoun. And Dunn was named Man of the Match. A perfect finish.