Queen of the South 1 Saints 1 League Table Here
Team : Cuthbert, Baxter, Forsyth, McQuilken, Vata,
Fraser, Bernard, Reilly, Parker, Sid, Taylor
Subs : Nelson, Dods, Malone, Foxy, Stevenson
Welcome to the new wonderful post-Stark era. Or alternatively, the start of the short-lived Mixu 'n' Jim show. And while there's no denying the improvement over the last couple of week, it unfortunately only applies to some parts of the side with the centre of midfield still a waste ground in terms of talent and skill. Still there were some good individual performances but the summer rebuilding can't come soon enough.
After all the fun and games off the park, it was a chance for Saints to win back some of their fans. Maxwell was still serving out his suspension. So it was a first team debut for Stephen Fraser who partnered Forsyth in the centre of defence. Up front Parker started in place of Chris Hay whilst McLaughlin missed out altogether. It meant an all-too-rare appearance on the bench for Foxy.
We started poorly with the so-called part-timers putting us under pressure from the start although Fraser and Flash were excellent in keeping shots too a minimum with the best Doonhamer chance coming from a 5th minute corner which Baxter headed clear. From it we broke up the park and Sid played a one-two with Keigan but his eventual shot was blocked. Queen of the South broke back up the park through the always-impressive Bowey but a great Forsyth tackle in the area prevented the shot.
The game settled into a pretty scrappy affair with the Saints midfield sitting too deep allowing Queen of the South to keep the pressure up although the defence coped pretty well apart from a 20-yard curling effort which was deflected out for a corner. Saints tried to get back into the game and the 22nd minute saw Keigan get in at the back and his cutback came to Baxter, but his shot was blocked. Queen's came back up the park and Bowey was given too much room to get forward. Luckily, Cuthbert held the shot. On the half-hour Keigan had a good run and won a corner. From it, the ball was played out to Bernard but his shot went well over the bar.
Then in the 34th minute, Baxter fired in a great cross from the right which Sid flicked onto the back post. The ball fell to Stuart Taylor but his shot somehow rebounded back off the bar. At the other end, Cuthbert had a good double save off Jaconelli with the Doonhamer's forward looking distinctly offside. Saints went back up the park and from a McQuilken cross, Taylor turned and his a cracking volley that the home goalie did brilliantly to palm away. And to round off the first half, Keigan was fouled wide right (interesting lack of diving from him today as well) and from the freekick floated into the box, Taylor headed over.
Half-time came and went with the locals playing the Worzels to demonstrate the sheer originality of their wit. Back to the game though and we started a bit more brightly with an early Sid shot held. Then a couple of minutes later Keigan was fouled 20 yards out earning the Doonhamer defender a yellow for his troubles. The freekick was played into the box for Keigan but his shot was a weak one and easily held. The game evened out after that with a real end-of-season feel about the whole affair. And that meant that the Saints players began to doze off again and in 61 minutes the pressure from Queen of the South almost paid off when their no 2 was given plenty of room to fire in a 20-yard shot which cannoned back off Cuthbert's right-hand post.
That was a wake-up call for Saints and a minute later we took the lead. Parker broke down the right flank and cut into the box where he was bundled over. The referee didn't hesitate to point to the spot with little protest from the home side. And after a couple of minutes of psychological warfare from Bowey with Sid over the positioning of the ball, the latter calmly strode up to slot the ball home. Cue for sections of the away support to show their backing of the players by chanting the opposition manager's name - that's loyalty for you.
Two minutes later we should have doubled the lead. Sid played a great through ball for Keigan down the right. He beat the offside trap but ran the ball too wide and despite rounding the keeper, by the time he tried the narrow-angled shot, a Queen's defender was back to cover. The game got scrappier after that with Mavis and the solid Fraser picking up deserved bookings for late challenges.
Bowey hit a snapshot just over the bar with 20 minutes to go as they came back into the game. A nasty head-knock saw Forsyth flattened and he had to go off for treatment. Unfortunately when we were still down to 10 men in the 73rd minute, Queen of the South played an excellent flowing move which saw the ball played in low from the left to end up at Jaconelli's feet and he had a simple finish for the equaliser. Still it let the away fans cheer for the home manager again.
Bernard was next to be booked in the 74th minute for a body check on the Queen's no 4 who totally over-reacted leaving both players squaring up to one another with raised hands and lucky to stay on the park. Bowey had another shot go over the bar with 11 minutes to go, as Saints began to tire. Keigan tried the same at the other end two minutes later but his attempt was woeful. Ryan Stevenson replaced Taylor for the last eight minutes but to little effect. Parker did have a good run up the byeline, but his cutback was wasted. Stevenson had a decent run towards the end, but ended up pulling his shot wide. The last real action of the match saw Fraser block a shot.
Overall it wasn't a great performance from the team, but at least there were some signs of hope for the future with the whole defence Vata excluded as usual) playing well including my MoM Forsyth who looked a different class to the nervy bloke that impersonated him last week. Up front Parker was better but since he's set on leaving doesn't really matter and Sid had another good game. It's just a pity that the midfield never supplied the linking play we required with Bowey on his own better than our 3 combined.
Ach well there's a bit of hope there..,
This Match Report is copyright Temple Of Saints - not to be reused without permission. Contact webmaster@grange.demon.co.uk.
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Points |
| Clyde | 34 | 19 | 9 | 6 | 58 | 36 | 66 |
| Caley Thistle | 34 | 19 | 7 | 8 | 61 | 31 | 64 |
| Saints | 34 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 57 | 39 | 57 |
| Falkirk | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 43 | 36 | 54 |
| Ross County | 34 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 48 | 37 | 49 |
| Queen of the South | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 43 | 47 | 48 |
| St Mirren | 34 | 7 | 14 | 13 | 34 | 45 | 35 |
| Raith | 34 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 36 | 55 | 33 |
| Ayr United | 34 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 36 | 58 | 27 |
| Brechin | 34 | 6 | 8 | 20 | 33 | 68 | 26 |
Remember to vote on todays ref Craig Thomson send marks out of 10 to refvote@grange.demon.co.uk or just select a rating and press the button below ::