UNHAPPY VALENTINES DAY FOR QUEENS AT BRECHIN

Last updated : 15 February 2004 By Duke Of Galloway
EARLY BATH FOR THE KAISER
Those who travelled to Angus on Saturday will not forget Valentines day in hurry as a galliant ten men Queens were eventually overpowered by Brechin who definitely had referee Murray on their side. From the start Queens looked lively and O'Connor and Bowey should really have scored for Queens. The game however ended as a fair contest on 19 minute when Queen's Thomson was sent off for a cynical foul on King on the edge of the box. It was debatable whether the Brechin player was denied a scoring opportunity as Paton was also converging on him. It's unclear whether Thomson was sent of for a professional foul or for foul and abusive language as both reasons appear in the press. This reverse quite rightly upset Queens and Brechin took full advantage but however they couldn't find a way past Dodds as Queens somehow held on until half-time.


Half-Time Brechin City 0 Queens 0

Brechin continued to press at the start of the second half but surprisingly Queens took trhe lead on 55 minutes when Bowey turned in a Jaconelli cross. Shortly afterwards Queens had the chance to go two up when Bowey set one up for O'Connor but the big man who was strangely having an off-day missed the chance. Queens were to regret this on 72 minutes when a Templeman cross was turned in by King with Queens keeper Dodds looking sadly at fault. Brechin had their tails up and several minutes later another Templeman cross caused panic in the Doonhamers defence with first Duffy hitting the post and Beith sweeping the rebound home to gain the Glebe Park side a vital victory in their quest to avoid relegation. To end a disappointing day for Queens, Mc Colligan got entangled with Templeman almost on full-time and with the former getting his marching orders from a referee who certainly didn't do the Doonhamers any favours. This defeat almost certainly kills off any lingering hopes of the Championship but the manner of defeat must give cause for concern. There is no doubt Thomson's sending off turned the game in Brechin's favour and I feel it was a harsh decision. Once again we missed chances at vital periods of the game with O'Connor not really on song.
With several big games coming up and the prospect of suspensions,Queens will have to dig deep into their meagre resources from now until the end of the campaign. I hope the remaining players rise to the challenge