QUEENS FACE TOUGH TEST AT FALKIRK

PATON - STILL A QUEENS PLAYER

Queens fans will welcome some respite from the Christmas shopping as they follow their favourites to the new Falkirk Stadium tomorrow. For everyone this will be a maiden visit to the new home of Falkirk and it will be a tough test the Doonhamers part-timers aagainst the league leaders. Queens however are afraid of nobody these days and Iain Scott's well organised team are caopable of beating anyone in this league. Falkirk with home advantage will probably have the edge but with several hundred Queens fans giving the usual noisy support any thing can happen. Queens have no injury worries and I think the team will be around the same lines that dumped Raith Rovers last week. We have no probelms in defence and should be able to hold Lapaty and company but my concerns are up front where goals are hard to come by. Lyle has done well in recent matches foraging up front on his own and I would like to see Wood lending support but who will Scotty sacrafice to make way for the versatile player. It should be an exciting encounter and I think Queens can give the Bairns problems especially with Bowey,Burns and Gibson on song. I hope the Queens fans give Eric Paton a warm reception and remind him that we would like to see him at Palmy next season.

Photo by kind permission of QOS FC

History of the Falkirk v Queen of the South fixture

Queen o.t.S. face a trip to Falkirk at The Falkirk Stadium on Saturday evening, needing to turn around their fortunes at the ground. The The Doonhamers will be hoping to improve upon a record which has seen them lose 23 and win only 6 of the 39 games.

The most recent encounter between these two sides was less than a year ago, in March 2004, as the visitors ran out cosy 0 - 2 winners in a Scottish Division One match.

For a detailed analysis of the head-to-head between the two sides, click here

Recent encounters between the teams:
2004/2005	Sat 21 Aug	Queen o.t.S.	1 - 3	Falkirk	SCD1
2003/2004	Sat 15 May	Queen o.t.S.	1 - 0	Falkirk	SCD1
2003/2004	Sat 13 Mar	Falkirk	0 - 2	Queen o.t.S.	SCD1
2003/2004	Sat 27 Dec	Queen o.t.S.	2 - 0	Falkirk	SCD1
2003/2004	Sat 23 Aug	Falkirk	0 - 0	Queen o.t.S.	SCD1
2002/2003	Sat 01 Mar	Queen o.t.S.	2 - 1	Falkirk	SCD1
2002/2003	Sat 28 Dec	Falkirk	5 - 0	Queen o.t.S.	SCD1

Recent respective form guides

Falkirk are unbeaten in their last six home games, but have drawn three of them. A total of 11 goals have been scored by the Bairns in those games, with 5 conceded.

Queen o.t.S. have an average recent record on the road, picking up two good wins, but losing three, from the last six. The The Doonhamers's have scored 6 goals in these games, but conceded an alarming 8.

Falkirk are leading the way in the Bells Scottish Division One, with their 18 games giving them a return of 43 points. Queen o.t.S.'s 29 points from 18 games sees them lie inside the top half of the table, in 4th position.

For a detailed analysis of team form guides throughout the leagues, click here

Current form guides:	P	W	D	L	F	A	P
Falkirk	6	5	1	0	13	3	16
Queen o.t.S.	6	4	1	1	7	3	13

FootyMad's prediction ...

Queen o.t.S. have an average recent record on the road, and this could be the reason why Falkirk may poach a narrow victory, according to the Madmen. Home win

Sequence statistics:
Falkirk	Unbeaten in the last 16 home games. Unbeaten run of 13 matches.
Queen o.t.S.	Not won in previous 4 away matches. 5 games since last defeat.