By The Spider
May 3 2004

Saturday, 1st May, 2004 Queen’s Park 0 Albion Rovers 1 Bells Scottish League – Third Division All the ingredients were present for an exciting game despite its “end of season” status. Apart from “local” derby pride, with both teams on the same points mark their was the added incentive that the winners of this game were likely to finish above their rivals at the end of the season, not to mention the Quinn/Silvestro grudge factor.
So why, especially from a Queen’s perspective, was this such a damp squib of a game where Stephen Canning’s performance was the one highlight for home fans? Well, apart from the enforced absences through injury of Player Of The Year candidates Danny Ferry & Stevie Reilly, consider the un-enforced ones of The Three Stevies (Fallon, Moffat & McAuley), any or all of whom would surely have improved the home line-up.
Given that Messrs. Canning & Reilly have arguably been our two most consistent performers in recent months, perhaps they ought to consider changing their Christian names during the summer lest they too are shown the first team trap door.
Queen’s only made one change to their starting line-up, and it was an enforced one at that with Ross Clark able to come in for the injured Stevie Reilly.
Despite rumours about his intentions for next season, Jonny Whelan remains more committed than most to the cause at present and it was his determination that nearly earned him an early opening goal. Latching onto Stuart Kettlewell’s through ball, the Scouser’s flick was blocked by Bennett before the ‘keeper again did well to save Jonny’s header from the rebound.
Then it was ‘Rovers’ turn to threaten when Derek Scrimgour had cause to thank Ross Clark for getting in the way of a seemingly netbound screamer from McManus.
One big plus for Queen’s has been the re-emergence of a puppy-fatless Stephen Canning in recent weeks and, with the right support, he again looks like a player who could score goals at this level. In the 8th minute he curled a long range effort narrowly over, but it was his near-perfectly executed swivel volley from a Stewart Kettlewell cross two minutes later that missed Bennett’s far post by inches which nearly brought the house down.
Whilst Paul Harvey is capable of flighting an accurate free kick for the like’s of Ally Graham, other like David McCallum pose more of a threat at direct free kicks, so it was very disappointing to see Harvey step up in the 16th minute to send a weak effort straight into the middle of the ‘Rovers’ defensive wall.
Frankie Carroll sent a near post header from a David McCallum cross over the bar in the 20th minute, before Mercer did likewise five minutes later at the back post from a corner.
Smith and Sweeney, ‘Rover’ two tall central defenders, got completely tangled up with other two minutes later which allowed Frankie Carroll to scamper away from them into the penalty area, but his first touch was marginally over-hit which allowed Paterson to get back in the nick of time to block the home striker’s shot.
Allan Dunning, the recent scorer of one of the “goal of the season” candidates (see elsewhere on this site for details of how to vote for your favourite), very nearly grabbed another cracker when his miss-hit right touchline cross almost crept over a startled Bennett who reacted well at the last second to turn it over his bar.
The visitors now enjoyed a brief spell of pressure in a subdued affair, and Crabbe dragged a shot on the turn wide, but neither side now really looked capable of breaking the deadlock.
After their half time refreshments on what was easily the hottest day of the year, perhaps some excuse for the on-field lethargy, each side had early chances at the start of the second period.
Derek Scrimgour easily saved a direct free kick from Stirling before Bennett was more severely tested by a low first time drive from Bonnar.
The only goal of the game came in the 51st minute, and it was so preventable. Even as Bennett prepared to send a long clearance into the Queen’s half, the home defence looked completely lop-sided and so it proved when the ball was diverted into the path of Mark Mackenzie who was left isolated in acres of space to run clean through into the Queen’s penalty area. Derek Scrimgour tried to stay “big” for as long as he could, but when he went down in anticipation of a low shot, the scuffed effort simply floated over him into the empty net. Not one to remember from a defender’s perspective, so no doubt Kenny Brannigan read them the riot act afterwards.
A goal down, but there were still almost 40 minutes to do something about retrieving the situation. This is where a good manager earns his corn.
The next quarter of an hour saw Stirling send another free kick over the bar and Smith volley over from close range from a corner, but still no sign of a Spiders’ revival. Replacing Paul Harvey with David Weatherston (a forward for a midfielder) in the 69th minute looked to be a positive move, but the option to withdraw Stephen Canning to a deeper role instead of sacrificing a defender by moving Jonny Whelan into the position vacated by Harvey simply meant a resumption of the ineffective status quo.
Canning remained the most potent threat as witnessed by his 77th minute ambitious measured long range drive from a tight angle which dipped narrowly over the bar at the back post, and also his 81st minute low drive which Bennett saved, so why was he not left up front instead of being left to shoot from long distance.
David Weatherston will maybe be a first team player in time to come, but he is not yet a better forward than either Canning or Carroll, so another option would have been to give Tony Quinn some much needed match practice and simultaneously raise the spirits of a completely subdued and by now almost disinterested home support. Perhaps KB was a little wary of the aforementioned Quinn/Silvestro grudge factor (Tony’s initial leg break was inflicted by an over the top challenge by Silvestro two years ago) but, if so, why have him on the bench if KB was not prepared to put him in against Silvestro whose own return from a lengthy absence due to injury (couldn’t have happened to a nicer fellow!) had been widely publicised in advanced?
With nothing to lose during the last ten minutes, why not throw on young Alan Trouten to at least let the side benefit from some additional energy, whilst giving the crowd a new face to consider? In any event, Queen’s continued with two up front and failed to trouble the ‘Rover’s defence during that period.
In fact, it could have been worse because ‘Rover’s took heart from Queen’s lack of adventure and it took a great save from Derek Scrimgour to touch a Stirling free kick onto the crossbar, but quite how Bradford missed the rebound will remain a mystery to all who witnessed it, especially considering that no Queen’s players had even bothered to match his follow-up run.
An even bigger mystery was how referee Andrew Hunter failed to send off Bennett for raising a hand to Stuart Kettlewell after a challenge for a loose ball, and who then took the coward’s way out by inexplicably awarding a retrospective free kick to ‘Rovers when he had not gestured that he was playing any advantage in the first place. Mercer’s part in the flare-up that followed was disgraceful for a player charged with leading by example, as was his unnecessary continual baiting of Kettlewell off the ball in the minutes that followed.
Eventually some yellow cards were brandished in an attempt to defuse a situation that a stronger referee would never have allowed to develop in the first instance. Paterson received his in the 83rd minute for a stupid tackle from behind on David Weatherston out on the stand side touchline, and the two minutes later there was the inevitable one for a dangerous challenge by a now totally wound up Stuart Kettlewell.
With two minutes to go, a neat near post flick from Bradford looped over Scrimgour onto the roof of the net, but instead of seeing any tactical switch to allow some late pressure in the hope of gaining an equaliser, still Queen’s persevered in the wastefulness of pumping high balls up to small strikers and ‘Rovers held out with ease, even being able to keep play up at the far corner flag.
In doing so, whilst indulging in some blatant but legal time-wasting, the wrath of the frustrated Queen’s players was incurred, and Martin Bonnar received the loudest cheer of the day for putting Patrick up in the air from behind. Referee Hunter’s stern talking-to when a yellow card for Bonnar was more than deserved, only served to waste further time, and when Bonnar did the same again seconds later as ‘Rovers tried to keep the ball in the corner, Hunter simply used the incident as an excuse to grab the ball and stop the game earlier than was merited. Poor stuff, but it was very much in keeping with the match itself.
So where do Queen’s go from here? Well, unless points (and more importantly good performances) can be gleamed from the remaining meaningless fixtures at Elgin and then at home to Gretna, the pressure on Kenny Brannigan to do the honourable thing will surely increase as it is most unlikely that the Club’s Committee will react to fan pressure and reverse their own decision to grant KB a longer extension than was strictly necessary.
Given that KB is still likely to be at the helm in August, and minus the services of several current senior players who are privately indicating their reluctance to return unless there is a change at the top, there are likely to be wholesale changes in personnel between now and then.
There are two ways to look at this. Firstly, wouldn’t it be a great shame if favourites like Danny Ferry and Jonny Whelan (for instance!) no longer felt enthusiastic about playing at the club they have grown to love more than any other? Then, on the other hand, if Kenny was able to select a team and a style of playing which suited his own choice of players (and there are likely to be several good players on the lookout for clubs this summer – let alone the Dundee United loan factor), how quickly would old favourites be forgotten if KB’s new charges had us challenging for promotion?
So, whatever happens between now and then, don’t despair if it’s all change on the playing front by the start of the new season as there will surely be new favourites waiting to emerge. However, whilst finishing on this positive note, warning should also be served to the committee that the patience of the support will have worn completely thin if they are not seeing a distinct improvement by the end of September and, as the discontent anticipated at the forthcoming AGM should surely alert them, their own positions will come under closer scrutiny if they are not prepared to act positively (if necessary) at that time.
Perhaps KB deserves a second chance with a new set of players that he can truly call his own, but now that his honeymoon is well and truly over, the significance of Paul Martin’s continued attendance at home games will increase with each similar uninspiring Hampden performance.
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE : 2/5
STAR SPIDER : Stephen Canning (easily the most impressive outfield player)
QUEEN’S PARK : Derek Scrimgour, Damiano Agostini, David McCallum, Martin Bonnar, Richard Sinclair (Allan Dunning – 24), Ross Clark, Stuart Kettlewell, Paul Harvey (David Weatherston – 69), Frankie Carroll, Jonny Whelan, Stephen Canning
Subs (not used) : Brian McCue (G/K), Tony Quinn, Alan Trouten
Scorer(s) : none
Booked : Kettlewell (dangerous challenge - 85)
ALBION ROVERS : Neil Bennett, Andy Paterson, Jered Stirling, Jordan Smith, Sean Sweeney, Chris Silvestro, John Bradford, Scott Crabbe, Mark Yardley (Ricky Patrick – 46), Paul McManus (Mark Mackenzie – 9), Mark Carr
Subs (not used) : Mark Carr (G/K), Peter Cormack, David Farrell
Scorer(s) : (Mackenzie – 52)
Booked : Paterson (tackle from behind – 83)
REFEREE : Andrew Hunter ** (* = inept, ** = poor, *** = mediocre, **** = good, ***** = excellent)