Venue: Palmerston Park, Dumfries
Kick-off time: 7:45pm
Attendance: 1,242
Queens' Scorers:Weatherson(2), McAlpine(2), Bowey, Lyle
Sponsor's MoM: Steve Bowey
An absolutely extrordinary game between the promotion hopefuls and the relegation battlers ended up with an unbelievable 6-5 victory for the South. From the warm-up it was abvious it was going to be a scrappy encounter with the pitch cutting up badly and the wind playing a major factor.
Some people had'nt taken their seats before Queens were off down the park when Alan Gray cut the ball inside to Steve Bowey who's shot went flying off the turf and hit the post and came straight to the feet of Joe McAlpine side-footed the ball into the roof of the net to the delight of the home fans.
Supporter's were still clapping their hands when Sean O'Connor broke down the left after Alan Gray lost possession and scuffed a shot which rolled across the face of the goal and straight to the feet of vetran Paul Wright who tapped the ball into an empty net.
Queens continued to dominate and on 14 minutes regained the lead when a Joe McAlpine cross was half-cleared to Peter Weatherson who drilled the ball through several players and into the back of the net.
Steve Bowey was next to score when he barged the "Blue-Haired" 'Ton defender off the ball and walked through to slot the ball beneath the Coyle to make it 3-1. Another blast of "Nellie the elephant" blasted around Palmerston when Weatherson scored his second of the evening and his seventh of the season to make it 4-1 and supposedly all over!
To Morton's credit they never gave up and pulled a goal back when Dave McPherson headed the ball down into the bottom corner and beyond the reach of Colin Scott. Sean O'Connor was the main threat to the Queens defence all night with his probing runs. He became even more annoying when he pulled another goal back for Morton in the 37th minute. This made the score 4-3 and the Loud Palmerston crowd had now gone silent with the scoreline being narrowed.
However, things looked up again when the eighth and also best goal of the night was scored by on-loan man Derek Lyle. From the edge of the box he hit an unstoppable shot that swirved in the air and into the top-bag beyond Coyle. Definetly one of the better goals seen this season and if his rich vain of form continues surely JC will try to sign him permanently. Anyway, next to add to his tally was Joe McAlpine when the impressive Lyle burst down the right beating the 'Ton defender for pace and crossing in a ball that Nellie left and fell to McAlpine at the back post who fired the ball into the net.
Derek Anderson was brought on at half-time for Paddy Atkinson to add some height to the defence. He seemed to do a decent job as Morton were resticted well by the Queens defence. However, two brilliant chances feel in the second half to the Greenock side. Firstly, ex-qos man Warren Hawke put the ball over at the back post when it was surely easier to score. Then near the end Paul Wright dived at the back post unmarked but failed to make connection.
Morton did score two goals in the dieing minutes of the match and both were from corners. The defence had an awful time as the "Blue haired" defender swung in balls that held up in the wind and curved towards the goal. Both goals were scored at the back post when both sets of players frantically hacked at the ball in the box. Gavin Redmond was first to benefit from the wind when the ball fell to his feet practically on the line and he knocked in what seemed to be a consolation. Then Palmerston became very nervous when Warren Hwake tapped in another goal from a corner. Queens managed to survive the last few seconds of the match to hold-on to a vital win in their promotion challenge.
Credit must go to both sets of sides, especially the defenders who had to battle with the highwinds.
Man of the match- There were many good performances tonight andeveryone has an important role to play, Joe and Peter scoring two goals each and Lyle setting-up a few as well as scoring. However, i will have to agree with the sponsor's and go with Steve Bowey. In the absence of O'Neill, Bowey ruled the midfield covering lots of ground and making crucial challenges as well as scoring his first goal.