Harvey (qpfc.com)

For several weeks now this website has been praising coach Billy Stark and his players for providing a standard of football not witnessed at Hampden for many a season. Even in defeat, the promise of what was to come was there for all to see, so it was somewhat ironical that this convincing victory was preceded by the following comment from the Montrose programme:

Their fans have a finely developed sense of injustice on internet message boards, but four defeats on the trot surely can’t be put down to just bad luck.

Of course not, and everyone here recognised how superior Peterhead were in every department but, equally so, Queen’s completely outplayed Elgin, Cowdenbeath & Gretna (2^nd half) and deserved seven points from those games.

It took a while to get going against Stenhousemuir, but had Montrose heeded the warning of last week’s second half, then perhaps they would have been better prepared for the whirlwind which was to hit them at 3.00pm precisely.

The only change to The Spiders’ line-up came as little surprise with Stevie Reilly’s second half performance last Saturday doing enough to convince Billy Stark that he should retain his place this week in preference to Gavin Rushford. The holy grail of any football team is to score “the perfect goal”. For some it’s when the goalkeeper rolls the ball out to a defender and every other player in the side touches the ball in a move that leads to a goal. A slightly more frequent alternative definition is when one side kicks off and scores without the other team even touching the ball. Sometimes that is achieved by a long ball over the top when a pacy striker takes advantage of a misunderstanding between the ‘keeper and his defence, but what Queen’s achieved yesterday went beyond that.

After the customary kick-off between the two strikers, the ball was played back before being played long up through the middle where it was knocked wide to Mark Ferry whose left wing cross from near the corner flag was fairly bulleted home by the head of Frankie Carroll for his 10^th goal of the season.

Stung by that setback, and with their 3^rd place spot clearly under threat, Montrose tried to hit back quickly and David Crawford saved well with his knees from the impressive Webster. The young Queen’s ‘keeper again kept his side level in the 7^th minute when he made a point blank save from a flick from Sharp.

Notwithstanding these intrusions, Queen’s still looked the more dangerous side as they moved the ball about the field at pace, and one such move ended with Ross Clark netting after a Frankie Carroll volley from a Stuart Kettlewell cross was spilled by Butter. Sadly Clark’s fine finish counted for nothing as he was flagged for offside, but it looked a tight decision at best.

Ferguson tried his luck from long range in 10^th minute, but Crawford saved easily. Another goal was only delayed by a further three minutes though. Stuart Kettlewell had been showing the kind of close control and pace which Ian McCall considers to be potentially worthy of the Premier League, and from his run and cross from the right wing Mark Ferry sent a back post downwards header beyond the reach of a bewildered Butter. It was his second strike in consecutive games, with the latest signing now beginning to fulfil the scoring potential predicted by the Queen’s coach.

Another exquisite move in the 17^th minute between Frankie Carroll, Ross Clark and Stuart Kettlewell ended with the first named nearly getting on the end of Butter’ spill from the latter’s low cross.

Webster was sill proving to be a menace for the home side, and from his right wing cross Wood headed the ball well wide when right in front of a goal. It was a bad miss and, as so often proves to be the case, the opposition took full advantage by going straight up to the other end to score.

Last year, to be quite frank, Paul Harvey was a major disappointment but this season he has been a revelation and all but the most stubborn of supporters have forgiven him for his previous under-achievements. So essential are his performances now, that some are even touting him as a likely candidate for Player Of The Year if he maintains this sort of form.

His 22^nd minute free kick may well qualify for inclusion in this website’s “goal of the season” competition next April as it was a thing of beauty. With the ball positioned some 25 yards from goal on the right hand side of the field, goalkeeper Butter lined up the wall to protect the left side of his goal as he stood at the right side where he could view the ball. As Paul Harvey approached the ball with his right foot, it seemed obvious to all (except him) that he would try to dink the ball over the wall into the unguarded side of the goal, but with Butter shifting his stance to his left foot in readiness to dash to his left, “Harv” did the unthinkable and sent a dipping swerving shot into the keeper’s top right corner from which he had taken just one pace to his left to leave the keeper trying in vain to shift the balance back to his right foot. Had the TV cameras been present, the commentators would no doubt have described it as “Beckham-esque”, so it is such a shame that there were only 410 present to admire it.

Three down after barely twenty minutes, Montrose looked visibly stunned by this latest setback and desperately sought to get at least one back before the interval. Sharp sent in a low trickler in the 28^th minute which David Crawford easily saved to his right, but the Queen’s ‘keeper was more severely tested two minutes later when he had to beat away a powerful drive from the same player following a quick breakaway.

The home side, perhaps worryingly with the second half in mind, began to gain a foothold in the game, and again David Crawford was called upon to keep his goal intact when Webster fired in a direct free kick. Right on the half time whistle, Smart looked anything but when he headed over from close range.

It had been an enthralling first half, so the second period had a lot to live up to. Sadly it failed to deliver, either because Queen’s sat back far too deep, or because Montrose were not as bad a side as they had initially been made to look. Or perhaps it was a combination of both.

At any rate, one half to remember was followed by one to forget from a Queen’s perspective. Stuart Kettlewell spent much of the second half protecting Alan Trouten from Sharp’s insurgences, whilst Webster gave Shaun Molloy a torrid time on the other flank. With Stevie Reilly also looking extremely shaky at times, it was perhaps fortunate for Queen’s that Richard Sinclair was invariably there as last man to clear.

Sharp was booked in 52^nd minute for a petulant trip on Alan Trouten, and in a separate incident seconds later, Mark Ferry suffered the same fate for unnecessarily opening his mouth once too often. David Crawford looked comfortable when saving a Kerrigan header two minutes later, but the next noteworthy incident didn’t occur until the 62^nd minute when Donachie was finally booked to loud ironic cheers from the nearby Queen’s travelling support for persistent fouling.

From the resultant free kick, Ally Graham nodded the ball down to Frankie Carroll whose powerful volley was superbly beaten away by Butter. It was an important save because Montrose immediately broke away and Kevin Webster netted from close range from a Sharp cutback.

It was essential that Queen’s defence now held firm as another Montrose goal in the next quarter of an hour would really have been a cause for concern. Fortunately, every Montrose attack was rebuffed, and Queen’s themselves were able to finally break free of Montrose’s stranglehold in the 72^nd minute to allow Mark Ferry to net from close range after Frankie Carroll had set up Alan Trouten for a shot which Butter again failed to hold.

Substitute Watson headed wide of the far post with a near post flick in the 82^nd minute, before Stuart Kettlewell warmed Butter’s fingers four minutes later with a low shot.

With just two minutes later, Kevin Webster grabbed a second consolation goal for the home side when he embarked on a fine solo run from the halfway line to score with a deflected shot that deserved its good fortune for the skill that preceded it.

This fine victory for Queen’s, combined with Elgin’s home defeat to Cowdenbeath, restores the Hampden side to their arguably rightful place in 3^rd position, although promotion is likely to be beyond the capability of The Spiders or any of the four sides in close proximity.

The next game is in a fortnight’s time against lowly East Stirlingshire at Hampden, and anything other than a convincing home win will be viewed as a major setback such are the standards that Queen’s are now setting for themselves.

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE :  4/5

STAR SPIDER(S) :  Paul Harvey (another virtuoso performance)

QUEEN’S PARK : David Crawford, Alan Trouten, Shaun Molloy, Stevie Reilly, Richard Sinclair, Paul Harvey, Stuart Kettlewell, Ross Clark (Brian Blair – 90), Ally Graham (Bryan Felvus – 84), Frankie Carroll, Mark Ferry

Subs (not used) :  Stevie McGovern (G/K), Gavin Rushford, Martin Bonnar

Scorer(s) : Carroll (1), Ferry (13 & 72), Harvey (22)

Booked : Ferry (52 – dissent)

MONTROSE : Jim Butter, Barry Donachie (Kerr Dodds – 65), Stuart Ferguson, Paul Doyle, Neil Stephen, Steve Kerrigan (Matt Slater – 65), Kevin Webster, Craig Smart, Martin Wood, Euan Hall, Graeme Sharp (Calum Watson – 74)

Subs (not used) : Michael Hankinson (G/K), Darren Spink

Scorer(s) :   Webster (63 & 88)

Booked : Sharp (52 - deliberate trip), Donachie (62 - repetitive fouling)

REFEREE : Alan Freeland **  (* = inept, ** = poor, *** = mediocre, **** = good, ***** = excellent)

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