ST MIRREN SINK SAD QUEENS

Last updated : 04 December 2003 By Duke Of Galloway

Queens lost out to a battling St Mirren side in front of a stunned 2473 Palmerston crowd this evening and lost the chance to regain top place in Division 1 . Queens with skipper Bowey on the bench looked very uneasy from the start against a St Mirren side who were fighting for every ball. Queens trialist goalkeeper Robertson looked anything but safe as the Paisley side bombarded the home goal. It was no surprise when Saints took the lead on 12 minutes when Gillies bent in a free-kick and stunned Palmerston. Robertson in the Queens goal looked badly at fault but to fair he had very little cover from his defence. The normally reliable Reid and Thomson looked very uneasy as Queens tried to get back into the game. The Saints looked the most dangerous team and Queens were very grateful to go in at the interval only one down. The Queens attack had a nightmare first-half and hardly acheived anything.

Half-Time Queens 0 St Mirren 1

The Paisley started off where they left off and continued to give the Queens defence plenty of problems and only a couple of stunning saves by Robertson kept them out. The game looked over for Queens in 56 minutes when a blunder by Thomson gifted Russell with an easy chance to beat Robertson. Queens looked dead and buried however they were thrown a lifeline on 56 minutes whrn the tireless Burke was hauled to the ground inside the penalty area and the same man scored from the spot to bring Queens back into the game. Queens now looked a different team and really took the game to St. Mirren in the final half hour. Jaconelli and Lyle came on but the elusive equaliser escaped them and the Paisley side hung on for a famous win. Jaconelli needlessly managed to get himself sent off in the final minutes when he retaliated after being taken out whilst bearing in on goal. Perhaps Queens deserved a draw but St Mirren battled well and looked anything like relegation fodder. This was a poor Queens performance especially in the first half and several players failed to perform on the night. Thomson had a poor game at the back and Robertson in goal is certainly no better than Dodds. Gibson contributed little to the game and Burns found it hard going against a big strong Paisley defence. Burke and Wood tried hard up front but suffered from lack of service from the midfield which looked rather lightweight. On this performance Queens have a mountain to climb next Saturday against Inverness. Queens obvioiusly miss Bowey and O'Connor but the lack of confidence in defence is the most alarming aspect of Queens play. Thomson and Reid never looked happy against a St Mirren attack who threatened at every opportunity. The Palmerston crowd were obviously disappointed and even the bagpipe boy was somewhat subdued but hopefully we can rally the troops for Saturday and bring home the points from Inverness.

DOWN AND OUT - A GILLIES FREE-KICK PUTS
SAINTS 1-0 UP

SOME FIRST HALF ACTION AS SAINTS
ASK QUESTIONS OF THE QUEENS DEFENCE