Saints 3 Queens Park 0
Team : Cuthbert, Lawrie, Dyer, Mensing, Pamela, James,
Ryan, Sheerinho, Peaso, Jason, Stanic
Subs : Halliwell, Coyle, Jackson, Moon, O'Donnell
When this tie popped out of the bunnet it looked like a good candidate for a home win. But since then of course Queens have turned into giant-killers with a deserved win over Aberdeen. Added to that banana skin was the don't-even-go-there mental image of the return of Billy Stark to his former employers causing more of an upset and you could understand the touch of nervousness about the home fans crowded into the Main Stand. But then you thought of how much we'd dominated previous McDiarmid matches during a hectic August and you began to relax...just a bit. However the end result proved that we're finally starting to develop the killer instinct in front of goal with three clinical finishes and the usual bundle of sitters missed. No McDiarmid win for Billy Stark then, so no change there.
Owen had already announced Mad Mental Martin's groin was being rested tonight and human physiology being what it is, the rest of him was also forced to watch the match from the stand. Elsewhere the side saw Rustybitz and McManus ruled out through injury while Sheridan and Savo were rested while Derek Young had decided to forego a few months of Saintly paradise for the torture of a year in hell (also known as Maryhill) proving his exposure to Jim Leishman had addled the brain a bit. Into the side came Dyer and Peaso while Stanic pushed forward. Ryan took over on the other wing.
Saints took a while to get going against a lively Spiders who forced the first corner in the 2nd minute - the Saints defence dealt with it easily enough. It wasn't long before we hit our stride though with Saints soon firing in from all over the place. Six minutes in and Jason pounced on a loose ball before trying his luck from well outside the box with a decent shot that went just wide. Three minutes after that some great build-up play on the left (by far the most effective flank with Sheerinho playing inside of Stanic) saw Dyer and Sheerinho combine to set up Peaso in the box but he failed to control the ball.
Goran set up Sheerinho next for a 25-yarder that brought out a good save from Cairns in the away goal. Jason tried his luck in the 14th minute from distance with a shot that was spilled by the keeper but there wasn't a blue shirt following up. We came close to opening the scoring a minute later. Good control from Peaso saw him set up Goran, before meeting the return cross only to head just wide of target. Peaso tried a long-range shot next that was deflected out for a corner. That ended up in a Pamela header being held by the keeper.
We didn't have long to wait though and the opening goal was simple in its execution. Twenty minutes on the clock and a long ball through the left channel found Jason. He outpaced his marker to get to the edge of the box where he sent a sublime chip over the oncoming keeper into the net. One- nil up and Saints started to relax and play some good football.
Two minutes after the opener, another excellent Goran cross reached Stevenson at the back post but his volley was blocked on the line, with James heading over the resulting corner. We should have doubled our lead in the 25th minute when some great build-up play in midfield set up Jason inside the box with just the keeper to beat. He elected to try and place his chip this time but although the keeper was well-beaten, the woodwork denied Saints with the ball rebounding off the crossbar.
Saints kept piling on the pressure with the Queens Park keeper holding a 30-yard attempt from Ryan and then a Spiders defender blocking Goran's shot after a cutback from Peaso who showed some nice skill on the byeline. Mensing was next in on the act with a shot blocked in the 33rd minute before his first touch let him down three minutes later after more good play had set him up in the box. With five minutes to go before the interval, Saints doubled their advantage with another well-worked goal. Good work by Goran on the left ended with another dangerous cross finding Ryan. He headed the ball on for Peaso who fired a cracking volley in from 12 yards out to make it 2-0.
Ryan had another effort held before Queens came close to pulling one back on the stroke of half-time. Saints were guilty of standing off as Stark's side pushed forward. A neat pass split open the defence but luckily the final angled shot from the impressive Wetherston hit the side netting, although Cuthbert had reacted well to narrow the angle.
The second half continued in the same vein for Saints. Stevenson saw an attempt go wide and Peaso had a shot blocked before Queens broke up the park with their attack ending in a penalty claim that the referee chose to ignore. Saints duly went back on the attack with a corner fired in for James was cleared off the line.
But just before the hour mark we hit the third goal. Ryan won a free kick on the right which Sheerin sent over. It was half-cleared back to the Midfield Maestro and he slipped the ball to Jason who got behind the defence before shooting the ball between the keeper and post for a brilliant finish for the third goal.
Jason hit another long-range effort which was well saved before Peaso had a header go over the bar from a Ryan cross and then Peaso tried another 30-yard effort that was well held (though you'd have thought the players might have had a wee clue that the long-range stuff just wasn't going to come off tonight). Jason released Stevenson for a good run in the 69th minute but he ended shooting the ball well wide while a rare Spiders attack at the other end saw Wetherston win the ball down the left before cutting it back only for the final shot to go well over the bar - the Cat won't have many quieter evenings.
Andy Jackson replaced Jason in the 72nd minute and tried his luck a minute later only for Cairns to save again. Saints were well into cruise mode by now but should have extended the lead five minutes later when a good Dyer cross from the left broke to Mensing just inside the box. He controlled the ball with his chest before firing in a volley that was just wide of the goal. Mooner replaced Stanic and O'Donnell came on for Peaso as Owen gave the kids a run out for the last ten minutes but by now the edge had gone out of the game. Jackson had a decent shot in the 86th minute and Moon a good run to set up Stevenson a couple of minutes later but really the game was well and truly won. And no boos at full-time either.
MoM for me was Goran Stanic - some of his play was simply outstanding on the left. Elsewhere and Jason, Sheerin and Mensing played well while the defence was rarely troubled all night (though Lawrie still seemed reluctant to push forward). Peaso still looks a bit slow but took his goal well. Apart from that it was a good professional performance - not much more you can ask for really.
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