By The Spider
August 15 2004

Wednesday, 11th August, 2004 Stirling Albion 3 Queen’s Park 2 (CIS League Cup – 1st Round) (Picture from qpfc.com)

There was the usual pre-match optimism from hardcore Spiders fans but, in truth, few would have put money on Queen’s to win at a venue that has not been kind to them in recent years. Stuart Kettlewell was restored to right wingback to allow Ross Clark to assume his preferred midfield role, whilst David Clarke dropped to the bench as Kenny Brannigan sensibly on this occasion adopted a more cautious starting formation.

The recently promoted home side were first to show their attacking potential when Glancy embarked on a good run in the 4^th minute which required McCue to position himself well to make a good save at the postage stamp corner. 

Queen’s responded with a David McCallum pile-driver which Hogarth just tipped beyond his far post. The big ‘keeper then tipped the resultant corner over his bar before Ally Graham’s near post header from the next one was missed by everyone as it flew across the goalmouth.

If anything Queen’s were having the better of the opening exchanges, but as so often happens against a side from a higher division, their half chances are snapped up more readily as Martin Glancy amply demonstrated in the 11^th minute when he quickly swept a deflected cross past a static Brian McCue from 15 yards.

Three minutes later Queen’s thought that they might have grabbed a quick equaliser when a great break from Paul Harvey and Martin Bonnar ended with the latter finding Frankie Carroll unmarked at the far post who coolly slotted the ball home. However, in what can only have been the most marginal of decisions referee Hardie sided with the opinion of his far-side assistant to disallow the goal for offside.

A poor kick-out from Brian McCue gave McLean an 18^th minute opening, and his powerful drive whistled inches past the errant ‘keeper’s left hand post much to his obvious relief.

The home side went further ahead in the 25^th minute, but this too should have been disallowed. Just as a corner kick was being taken on the left wing, Scott McLean used both hands to push Gavin Rushford in the back, thereby giving him the extra yard of space that he needed when the ball came over to head home unchallenged at the back post. Neither referee Hardie nor the stand-side assistant witnessed this clever but illegal act of Hartson-esque foul play, and despite the exasperation of Rushford, the award was allowed to stand.

Queen’s could have crumbled at this point, but instead reacted swiftly with Ross Clark wildly swiping an Ally Graham knock-down over the bar.

Stirling now pressed for the killer third, and came close to securing it in the 33^rd minute when Brian McCue saved O’Brien’s close range low drive with his legs, with Ross Clark stopping McLean’s first time rebound before clearing the ball to safety.

Devine then sent a direct free kick fizzing over the bar before the influential Paul Harvey set up Frankie Carroll for a first timer which Hogarth did well to save.

Just before the interval, O’Brien hit the turf for the umpteenth time. This was noteworthy given that it was the first time that he had legitimate cause to be awarded a foul,  but it was also Gavin Rushford’s first foul of the game, so referee Hardie’s decision to flash a yellow card at the young Queen’s defender seemed harsh to say the least.

En route to the game, bus convenor in chief Keith McAllister had greeted passengers with his customary "no cause for alarm" speech, but seldom can his words have come back to haunt him more as fans and players alike had to be escorted from the ground during the interval to await the arrival of the local Fire Brigade to investigate the cause of what thankfully turned out to be a false alarm."Auld Beardie" had more than a few bells ringing in his ears as he re-entered the ground following the extended break.

Meanwhile Kenny Brannigan had decided upon an important tactical substitution by taking off a beleaguered Stuart Kettlewell and replacing him with Damiano Agostini. This freed up Ross Clark from the unaccustomed left wing-back role he had needed to assume in the10th minute when David McCallum had limped off, to be replaced by Martin Bonnar. The switch also had the effect of giving O’Brien a different problem to deal with on Clarkie’s favoured right side berth as well as allowing the impressive Shaun Molloy to display his wing-back talents for the first time, thereby giving the naturally left footed athletic defender the licence to get further forward and cause the home side problems on the other flank too. A further beneficiary of the re-alignment was Paul Harvey who now played in a supporting role just behind the front pairing of Graham and Carroll.

Ally Graham had an early opportunity to reduce the deficit when he under-glanced a header from a free kick when right in front of goal. However, in the 53^rd minute, Frankie Carroll showed him how it should be done when he rose to meet a right wing cross from the aforementioned Ross Clark to nod the ball low to Hogarth’s right to grab his third headed goal in just two games. Not bad going for such a wee fellow!

The score was greeted with a loud volume of noise generated by the travelling support in the away stand, but what happened next just about took the roof of, and little wonder. Pressing hard from Stirling’s re-start, Queen’s quickly regained possession and a move down the left wing saw Shaun Molloy send over a deep outward curling cross from the edge of the Stirling penalty area. There were a few initial groans as the ball went beyond both Ally Graham and Frankie Carroll, but these quickly dissipated when it became clear that it was going to run through to the supporting Ross Clark on the right flank some 30 yards out.

In all honesty, given his perceived shots on target to shots attempted ratio, young Ross is probably not most people’s first choice to attempt to strike a moving ball first time from that angle and range, but suddenly it all became right on the night as he met the ball in glorious Carlos Alberto fashion to hit a bullet of a shot across a helpless Hogarth and into the top left hand corner of the goal.

Truly a magnificent strike and one which many Queen’s fans are unlikely to see bettered during their lifetimes. So, unexpectedly, it was all square again, but could Queen’s go one better?

For a while it looked as though they might, but after an initial period of panic, the home side began to steady the ship and quickened the pace of the game against a by now tiring Queen’s side with Brian McCue needing to look lively to touch over a pile-driver from Nugent. Scott McLean then missed an easy chance at the back post, but he more than made up for it with just over quarter of an hour remaining when he received a pass just inside the Queen's area before dragging the ball to his left to despatch a perfectly executed shot beyond a bewildered looking McCue.

Having learned from their earlier fright, Stirling now tried to shut up shop whilst keeping Queen's on the move when attempting to retain possession for long long periods. Ferguson found time in the 82nd minute to make an impressive burst from his own half, but Brian McCue was equal to the task to tip the midfielder's powerful drive over the bar.

Queen's best chance of forcing extra time came with just three minutes remaining when Frankie Carroll latched onto a loose ball in the box to execute a near perfect scissors kick only to see his ferocious shot come back off the underside of the bar, the third time in consecutive games that the Spiders have been denied by the woodwork. Brian Blair then headed over the bar from a corner as the seconds ticked away.

So no scalps for Queen's in this season's competition, but they do have the consolation prize of the admiration of their small but loyal army of fans who showed great appreciation for their side's efforts at the end.

Weather permitting (yes, this is August!), and subject to the team regaining similar energy levels, Saturday's long trip to the happy hunting ground of Borough Briggs in Elgin should hold no fears for Kenny Brannigan's players as they seek to continue the good form shown in the three games thus far.

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE : 4/5

STAR SPIDER(S) :  Shaun Molloy (looked equally good at left wing back and ran himself to a virtual standstill)

QUEEN’S PARK :  Brian McCue, Stuart Kettlewell (Damiano Agostini - 46, David McCallum (Martin Bonnar - 10), Gavin Rushford, Stevie Reilly, Shaun Molloy, Ross Clark, Paul Harvey, Ally Graham, Frankie Carroll, Brian Blair

Subs (not used) :  Steven McGovern (G/K), David Clarke, Tommy Sloan

Scorer(s) : Carroll (53), Clark (54)

Booked : Rushford (43 – late challenge)

STIRLING ALBION :  Myles Hogarth, Paul Nugent, Stewart Devine (Chris Scotland - 46), Mark McNally, George Rowe, Kevin McDonald, Paul Hay, Craig Ferguson, Scott McLean, Martin Glancy (Darren Cummings – 79), David O’Brien

Subs (not used) :  Scott Christie (G/K), James Allan, Stephen Hutchison

Scorer(s) :   Glancy (11), McLean (25, 74)

Booked : none

REFEREE : Brian Cassidy **  (* = inept, ** = poor, *** = mediocre, **** = good, ***** = excellent)