Trouten (qpfc.com)

Conditions at Cliftonhill were hardly ideal for quick passing football, but in the circumstances Queen's coped pretty well with the fiery bumpy pitch and completely dominated the early stages.

Andy McGinty rose well at the back post from a corner, but Fahey easily saved the header from a tight angle. Then Mark Ferry battered a first timer from 25 yards off the face of the crossbar with Fahey struggling to cover it.

A long through ball from Alan Trouten sent Frankie Carroll haring through on goal, and it took a last ditch defensive tackle to clear the danger. From the resultant corner, Paul Harvey's inswinger nearly crept in but Fahey managed to paw the ball away with his left hand.

Alan Trouten was looking a bit more lively than in recent weeks, but he should have done better than to scuff the ball wide when right in front of goal in the 19th minute.

'Rovers first attempt at goal came in the 23rd minute when Friel broke forward with purpose in the centre of midfield, but his 25 yarder was ballooned miles over the bar.

Queen's took a deserved lead three minutes later, albeit in scrappy circumstances. Mark Ferry and Sean McInulty challenged for a loose ball right in front of goal, and under severe pressure the 'Rovers' defender could only scoop the ball into his own net.

Tony Quinn tried his luck from 25 yards, but his shot slipped wide. Again Alan Trouten was put through one on one against Fahey, but his little dink past the 'keeper could only find the side netting.

The visitors increased their lead a minute later when Alan Touten and Paul Harvey exchanged passes on the right, and when the former's cross came over Neil Wallace could only slice the ball into the roof of his own net as Mark Ferry again moved in for the kill.

The frustration amongst the home players was apparent, and Patrick was booked shortly before the interval for needlessly kicking the ball away after a 50/50 decision had gone against him.

The Spiders should have scored a third shortly after the restart when Danny Ferry put Frankie Carroll clear on the left side of the 'Rovers' area, but instead of slipping the ball past the advancing Fahey, the little striker elected to square the ball inside to the heavily marked Alan Trouten, and the chance was lost.

Overall, the second half probably favoured 'Rovers, although the next piece of goalmouth action took a further 10 minutes to arise when David Crawford had an easy bobbling shot to save.

Friel was booked shortly afterwards for downing Frankie Carroll from behind.

The home side pulled one back in the 66th minute when Ricky Patrick pounced on a through ball to lob the ball over DC from close range.

Two minutes later, Silvestro sliced a left foot shot wide before sending another over the bar. In between those two efforts, Frankie Carroll was booked for a late challenge.

David Crawford saved a powerful direct free kick from Stirling with just over quarter of an hour remaining, but that was 'Rovers last real threat as Queen's then regained the upper hand.

Chris Silvestro was deservedly booked for taking out Alan Trouten on the stand side touchline, notwithstanding erroneous cries that the nearby Patrick was actually the offender.

Shaun Molloy could have put the icing on the cake with four minutes remaining, but his curler over Fahey narrowly slipped past the postage stamp corner.

This was an extremely important win for Queen's as it means that, like Cowdenbeath, the battle for 3rd place remains in their own hands. Whatever the outcome of Cowden's tricky fixture at Stenny next week, if Queen's can see off Elgin at Hampden, then we will have a "winner take all" scenario when the Spiders travel through to Central Park on the final Saturday of the season.

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE :  3/5

STAR SPIDER(S) :  Andy McGinty (looked very assured throughout)

QUEEN’S PARK : David Crawford, Alan Trouten, Shaun Molloy, Stevie Reilly, Andy McGinty, Paul Harvey, Ross Clark (Stuart Kettlewell - 69), Tony Quinn, Mark Ferry, Danny Ferry

Subs (not used) :  Allan Fleming (G/K), Gavin Rushford, Ally Graham, Steven Canning

Scorer(s) : McInulty o.g. (26), Wallace o.g. (35)

Booked : Carroll (69 - late challenge)

ALBION ROVERS : Chris Fahey, Neil Wallace (Gary Richardson - 81), Sean McInulty, Danny Black, Scott Friel, Kerr Potter, Chris Silvestro, Jered Stirling, Andrew Selkirk, Wayne Gordon (Ian Douglas - 63), Ricky Patrick

Subs (not used) : Matthew Carr (G/K), Garry Fleming, Graeme McCaul

Scorer(s) : Patrick (66)

Booked : Patrick (43 - dissent), Friel (61 - professional foul), Silvestro (83 - late challenge)

REFEREE :  Jamie Downie **  (* = inept, ** = poor, *** = mediocre, **** = good, ***** = excellent)

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