Queen of the South v Clyde

Recap

Clyde’s first win at Palmerston since May 1997 couldn’t have come at a more welcome time and it came about courtesy of one of the gutsiest displays of the season.

Bryn Halliwell replaced Allan Morrison between the sticks and Kevin Fotheringham was brought in in favour of David Hagen in the left-midfield position.

Queens, as they always seem to do at home, started the match very brightly with Clyde struggling to get to grips of the midfield and gain some possession. In his first league match since November, Halliwell had to react sharply to gather a low header inside the first minute. Against the run of play on 7 minutes, Clyde took the lead with their first real attack on goal. Ian Harty crossed the ball into the box from the wide right position, Andy Smith managed to knock the ball down on the edge of the box and Kevin Fotheringham brilliantly scored his first goal for the club with a delightful volley over the keeper and into the top corner of the net. The goal seemed to drag Clyde into the match and Harty, this time on the left wing, managed to force his way into the box but his low cross cum shot was blocked by the home keeper. Fotheringham almost added a second goal soon after with a clever chip shot from range that initially looked to be going well over the bar but eventually had the keeper scrambling as the ball hit the roof of the net. Marshalled superbly by Kernaghan, the defence was defending the penalty box well but Queens were still playing good football through the midfield and two efforts from distance had the sizeable away support squirming in their seats. One was in a similar mould to Fotheringham’s effort and skimmed the bar with another going just past the post; on both occasions Halliwell looked less than comfortable. Jack Ross, not at this stage performing as everyone knows he can, then had a decent shot saved comfortably. Approaching the interval, a free-kick was conceded 25 yards from goal and, after a lay off, McAlpine rattled a shot off the cross bar with Halliwell again looking fairly lost. The last significant piece of action in the first half saw Ian Harty get a hold of the ball in the box but from a tricky angle he put a low shot just pass the far post. A 1-0 lead at half-time was definitely welcome, but the performance at this stage was only really adequate.

Almost from the first kick of the ball in the second half, Clyde looked to be coming onto their best form and a second goal 40 seconds into play was exactly what the travelling supporters were looking for. Harty did well to gather the ball on the left wing and he cut inside and put slightly deflected shot into the bottom corner of the net from 20 yards. The keeper seemed to be very slow in getting down, but nevertheless the striker should be commended for the goal. The next 20 minutes saw Clyde’s best spell of the match as the majority of play was participated in the home sides half, although few clear cut chances were created. There was a potent threat throughout the spell from several corners but no-one could get a clear header on target. Fotheringham put a teasing cross in from the left wing between goalkeeper and defenders but Andy Smith was just too late in arriving in the box to make any contact. Colin Marshall, who was becoming more and more of an attacking menace, then had a good chance when the ball rolled out to him from a corner, but he couldn’t keep his shot down. Midway through the half, Substitutions were then made by both sides and it changed the match almost instantly. The enforced removal of Jimmy Gibson (for David Hagen) destroyed the shape of the side for a while and Queen of the South also threw on some more attacking options. All of a sudden, The Bully Wee were being forced back a rate of knots and Gary Wood should have scored from close in for the home team but he blasted over. A combination of Halliwell and/or the post then denied Paul Burns scoring with a powerful shot from a wide position. A goal was coming however, and it arrived in the form of a soft penalty. A corner should have been cleared and when someone eventually connected with the ball, the Queens player that it hit at the edge of the box appeared to use an arm but the ball was thrown into the box again it a deflection took it onto Stuart McCluskey’s hand. Halliwell went the right way but couldn’t stop the resultant penalty going in. It was back to the wall stuff for the next 10 minutes or so but credit to the defence who spiritedly kept the scoreline unchanged. Jack Ross’ improvement was obvious at this stage also as he played a true captain’s role in holding the makeshift midfield together. Keogh and Gilhaney then came on and chances began to be created again on the break, easing the pressure at the back. Gilhaney’s pace and determined running led him to be in the box with the ball twice but unfortunately a poor shot and a poor pass prevented the win being tied up. Colin Marshall also had a superb run from one box to the other but seemed to run out of steam and his cross went straight out of play. Before the final whistle, several incidents in front of the Clyde support raised the temperature somewhat. Fotheringham was booked for a two footed challenge, which admittedly also won the ball, but it was iffy and the unknown Queens player who took the heavy impact deserves credit for immediately getting his feet. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for Derek Allan who decided to square up to young Gilhaney after he had been wrongly awarded a free-kick after a tussle between the two. Dougie McDonald’s decision, having watched Gilhaney win the ball fairly and then clearly be blatantly pulled to the ground, led to minimal police intervention in the away section such was the disgust.

A fantastic result for several reasons at this precarious but exciting time for the club. Performances will no doubt ebb and flow between now and May but if the same level of commitment can be found consistently then there is no reason why the league can’t be won.

STAR RATINGS *****

Halliwell *** One superb save in particular but overall looked a little rusty.
McCluskey *** Did a good job again in a position he probably doesn’t favour.
Mensing *** Some good things and some bad things.
Kernaghan **** Apart from one or two mistakes near the end, outstanding.
McLaughlin **** Won praise from his manager and rightly so.
Ross *** Seemed off the pace in the first half but improved greatly.
Fotheringham *** Excellent goal and did quite well throughout.
Marshall *** Some good attacking play but also switched off at time.
Smith **** Another hard-working and effective shift from the big man.
Gibson *** Not his top form but stuck to his difficult task well enough.
Harty **** Another goal, and was a threat Queen’s struggled to handle all night.

Hagen ** Wasn’t really involved in his spell on the park.
Keogh *** Used his presence to good effect in the last 10 minutes.
Gilhaney ** Brought a threat, but chose the wrong option twice in front of goal.

REACTION

ALAN KERNAGHAN – ""I’m delighted. We scored the second goal and looked comfortable, but then they changed things and it became pressurised. We started slashing at things in our box and it’s caused us to concede a penalty. I spoke to the ref because it was a harsh one and he says he feels sorry for the player. After that it was backs to the wall but we defended well. We had little half chances after that when Gilhaney has broken away twice but just picked the wrong option.

""It’s the first time we have won here in my time as manager. There was a lot of endeavour from both sides and not much class but that’s how it is at this stage of the season. It’s maybe a wee bit early for it, but it’s a dogfight for the next 10 games. I saw it yesterday at Falkirk v St.Johnstone where it was exactly the same, it was a battle. The Chairman will be happy he loves a close match…!

""I said to the players ""you know what you’ve got to do"" and that was really my team talk. They reacted really well. We started a bit shaky but the longer the game went on the better we got.

""Our defending was better than it was on Saturday and I thought McLaughlin was immense especially in the air. Simon and Stuart did better and for Fotheringham and Marshall on the wings it is a thankless task in that position in our team. You have to be a jack of all trades, heading the ball away at one end and crossing it in at the other. It’s tough work for them.

""We are back on the winning trail. A lot of people thought the defeat on Saturday was the end of us so to bounce back and not let that affect us was the big important thing for us.

""Jimmy had a bit of a tight groin so that was the reason we took him off early.

""It would be great if the end of the season was next week but it’s not. Brechin is going to be a hell of a tough game but we have to be ultra professional like we were tonight. ""

JOHN CONNOLLY – ""We’ve made two mistakes tonight and lost the game. Maybe the crowd don’t see what I’m talking about but it’s bog standard, basic mistakes. Jim Thomson was guilty twice and he has to hold his hands up for that.

""Their second goal is deflected and we’ve hit the bar and the post; we don’t seem to get any breaks. Nobody can tell me we weren’t the better side tonight. In the second half we pummelled them. I thought we deserved to take something from the game and I’m very disappointed we didn’t.

""They’ve just played long balls all night, trying to get on the end of them. Their keeper got a touch on the shot that hit the post I think – that’s some save. There was a lot of time wasting going on and the referee wasn’t generous enough with his added time.

""There’s still a lot to be played for but I think we’ll know a lot better who is going to win the league in the next three weeks. I’m not going to nail my mast to a club at the moment. There are massive fixtures all round coming up and you’d be surprised if one club won all their games.""

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